Dear Master Ron, Rusty, and Kha,
With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the holiday season following close behind, I want to take this opportunity to extend my warmest wishes to each of you and to all members of the Silkisondan Karate community. May you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a holiday season filled with love, peace, and blessings shared with your families.
I would also like to share the following thoughts with all members as a reminder of the importance of striving for self-improvement wherever possible.
We live in a world filled with imperfection, where absolutes are absent. As the ancients wisely said: “Imperfection and incompleteness are the only absolutes in this world.” This brings to mind a perspective on internal and external scenarios:
Consider buying a new car—an “external” choice. For the same model and make, most cars will perform similarly, if not identically, at first. However, once the car becomes ours, how we maintain and drive it is entirely up to us. Over time, perhaps a year or more, each car will likely differ based on how it has been cared for. The question then arises: What aspect do we have full control over—the external or the internal? The answer is clear.
The lesson here is to focus on improving ourselves, as the effort to grow and refine should continue throughout our lives.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving,
Master Thinh