An Ancient Lesson

Once there was a monastary of Shaolin monks who from time to time would be attacked by a fierce band of warriors led by a monk turned Samurai. 

During a particularly bloody battle, the warriors hid in a dark cave near the main gate of the monastary.  The high monks' Chi and instinct led him to the warrior cave where he encountered, preparing to attack, the warrior's Samurai leader with his sword not yet around his waist and on a table behind the monk.

A hand to hand battle ensued until the monk was able to grab the Samurai's sword from the table and held the razor sharp blade to the Neck of the Samurai, and realized it was an old friend of his from 14 years earlier, but he did not kill him.  Instead the monk said to the warrior, "Such LIES and DECEIT!.....They shall only get you so far with others. Yet what of YOURSELF? How far will they get your zen within? Kill you and destroy your army I will not, but answer to yourself and your actions you will!"

The monk released the Samurai, kept his sword and sent him walking away in a direction away from the danger of the battlefield as a sign of respect and honor of their old friendship and Shaolin bond.

The Samurai was perplexed as he walked away, yet saddened and touched by the monks words and forgiveness as he approached a small wooded area behind the monastary.

All of a sudden, a searing pain filled his head, and he was unable to speak. He tried to look around yet could not focus his eyes or move his neck.  He fell to his knees in unimaginable pain as he realized an arrow was sticking halfway through his neck and the tip of it resting just below his chin, as he saw his blood beginning to run down his armor plated chest. In the haste of the surprise attack by the monk in the cave he had forgotten his helmet, which would have covered the back of his neck with its steel overlaping armor plating.

Unable to move, his eyes caught a helmet rising on the horizon, the Samurai recognized the helm, it was his highest general. The General spoke in a terse tone to his leader, "You have dishonored me. You have lied and been deceitful, and would have had us murder a man of great wisdom with whom you trained under long ago under the sacred shaolin codes of Honor, Respect and Life. You have broken all moral values and sacred bonds for your own gain, for which bloodshed is uncalled for!"

The Samurai leader, pale faced and gurgling blood raised his hand as if to speak, yet when he did, the world began to rapidly spin out of control.

The last memory the Samurai had was his head landing a few feet from his severed body, facing the General, who had pulled from his neck a medalion of the shaolin seal, once given to him by the monk 14 years earlier.

The General then stood, and beckoned to his personal guard to sheath his katana with which he had beheaded the Samurai.  He then gave the order to cease the onslaught of the monks and their monastary.

The next morning, as the sun rose, so did the General and his men. They left their cave without weapons, approached the front gate of the monastary and asked to speak to the high monk without weapons.

The high monk appeared at the door, calm and smiling, with an envoy carrying a tea pot and what rustic wooden cups they had available.

The monk then spoke to the general, "General, you must know that us Shaolin do not carry weapons in our hands as you and your warriors do! We carry them in our minds! What beckons you to my front door General?". The General kneeled before the monk and produced from his swordless belt, the necklace he had brought with him of the Shaolin seal from his Samurai leader, which he held up cupped in both hands as an offering of peace to the monk. "May we have tea? I have come a long way at this hour of the day." the General said to the monk.

The monk nodded in the affirmative, and said only, very calmly to the General "Be always true to yourself, lest others learn you have not always been true to them."

-GGH

Respect. Period.

Whitney. This one's for you babe!

Ok, so we might not ever REALLY know what happened, but that's not as important as the stuff you taught us all.

If you'd had gone in another 40 years instead of now, you'd be remembered for all your greatness and overcoming such challenging addictions in life. Instead though, you went when you did and despite your greatness, a lot of people are only looking at your weaknesses.

But lets put you and I side to side.....yup...99% of what you went through in life, I did too, which for reasons of professionalism will not be elaborated on nor discussed.

That's ok with me though girl, because when you were good, you were GREAT! I fucking respect that about you, and I always will.

Thank you for teaching me to keep living my life in all the right ways, lest I or someone close to me need guidance from walking astray the path of life.

I Will Always Love You and your music, despite the end result.

Thank you for helping to teach me how to love life, especially with Valentine's Day tomorrow.

"Fight To Die Living".

-G

Thanks....moms!

So, it's Mothers' Day 2010. There have been A LOT of really wonderful mothers in my life. So I just wanted to take a moment to mention a few who have REALLY made a difference in my life.

A.J. Rolens- So amazing in so many ways! As a person, a woman, a mother, and a friend! I've known her for...oh wow...5 years now! Always a positive person, despite any negativity that may be present! This mother....completely defines what every young mother should aspire to become and follow!

A.J. has really made a profound impact in my life, even if I don't call her enough during the year to let her know that! She is one of the MOST caring and giving individuals in the world, and through that...she's taught me that no matter how much I may want to lovingly let my fists glance ever so slightly across the face of one who has done me wrong, there is always a positive and that people will always get what they deserve!

If you're reading this A.J.; thank you so much for all the smiles we've shared!

Lynn Braxton- Such a wonderful woman in every sense, this woman has taught me how to smile even when all I've wanted to do is cry my ass off non-stop. I can't count the number of times we've smiled in the faces of despair and loneliness together. Sure I'll never talk much about anything other than all the GOOD times I've shared with her, but more importantly are the BAD times we've always been there for each other, and those are the times I hold closest to me.

If you're reading this Lynn; thanks for always being there, even if we may not remember as many good times as the bad ones!!!

J.L.Terry- A woman who defines the word "woman" in every way! Smart, strong, confident, caring and compassionate. She is always demanding the best for not only her daughter, herself or her family, but for her friends and others around her. Why? Because success breeds success, and only THINKING the best and ACTING the best, will GET you the best results!

J.LTerry has taught me to realize and accomplish much more of the "It could always be better" part of the "It could always be better, but it could always be much worse" equation. There is always room for improvement and for success to grow even further than you thought possible.

If you're reading this J-Lee; a sincere "thank you" for making me realize "Endless Possibilities", even when I thought I had some things figured out!

Jane Carroll- The only other mother I've known for just about as long as my own! The teacher whose classroom I never got to be in, but whose knowledge always reached me. Early on in my life, she was one of the few people who believed in me...and my being able to be successful having been born with a cleft lip AND cleft palette, and thus having HUGE speech impediments.

The only teacher I know of to this day, who not only would literally stay until ALL the students in her class had a safe ride home, but would stay until each student who needed extra help received it. Someone whom would spend countless hours of her own time creating lessons and art projects, a truly dedicated person.

If you're reading this Jane; A big "thank you" for instilling in me at a very young age, the art of "Dedication", because to be as dedicated to something as much as you were, is truly a fine art.

Jane Driscoll (My mother)- The M1A1/ battle tank, of mothers. "Greg! Get it DONNNE!", yup...thats her. I honestly think that if Nike Co. was based on the east coast, she'd have been their spokeswoman..."Just Do It".

I really can't say much that wouldn't just be a culmination of everything every mother I know has ever taught me, that would really sum my own mother up. She's great, even when she doesn't know it,all faults included.(yes, I find them...because she is human and because I'm her son, and as such it's one of those things we're great at pointing out)

Countless drives across the east coast while looking at colleges comes to mind, because it really reminded me of what an upstanding parent she is. I'm NOT talking about leaving at 10 or 11 in the morning and spending a few hours there and coming back. I'm talking about the "If we leave by 5am, we'll get there, have time-and oh yeah, by the way I found this really great little artsy/hip/cool/'really you' kind of place, and we can eat there and then stay overnight and leave the next day"- kind of drives!

I remember Vermont, Mass, New York and of course here in Connecticut...and I think at one point it occurred to me that I had visited just about as many schools as I had fingers! Wow, and that was just for ONE of her two sons. Quite some work!

My mother is amazing. She's done a lot for me, probably more than I realize but never more than I'm willing to give her credit for.

Mom; I KNOW you're reading this, don't cry...ok, forget it...cry, it's Mother's Day! No really, I love you. Thanks for being you. Now did you REALLY think all I was going to do today was mow the lawn?! What kind of properly raised son would I be if I didn't sing your praises?!

Tigers jump through hoops, NOT boxes!

Everyone has an inner "tiger" in them. Including you! Unleash it! Let them out, allow them to dominate life with all they've got!

Thats why I love tigers as animals and metaphoric creatures! Tigers are the only animal in martial arts that use their WHOLE body to attack, instead of just one part. They are also the most well rounded animal in terms of martial arts, they're great ground fighters and can also excel standing up.

Tigers "go all out" and let nothing stop them. Rhino's just go straight ahead, for one thing. Us tigers want it ALL! Why think in terms of boxes? Why "think outside the box" and be limited to four sides when you can think in terms of circles, and be aware of everything around you? In martial arts, the saying is "a circle breaks a straight line", which means any motion in a straight line can be offset or countered by a circular motion. In essence, lets drop the whole "box" mentality and adopt a different, success proven one!

Circles equal success, straight lines do not. A box is made of four of those!!! I see in terms of "circles of success", so why be limited to boxes?!?!

STOP allowing yourself to only see how everyone else does, in that "box" mentality. There is a reason why King Aurthur had a "round table". He knew that true success starts at any given point, and spreads outward. So let yourself start right now and think of this moment as your "success point", or "the moment you realized you needed to be successful, outside of everything 'ordinary' or 'conventional' ". Now allow yourself to focus on the idea of "spreading out", instead of "stepping/ thinking outside the box", because remember... we're not in a "box" mentality anymore so there is no box to step out of.

If everyone did this, we'd be a much more successful planet, nation, state, city, community and most of all, PERSON! Too many people are afraid to think in innovative ways. This is mine, and I'm sharing it with you, because "successful leadership" is teaching others how to succeed and excel in their own lives!

Forget the box! Define your "success point" and create your circle of leadership and positivity!

On a closing note: It's Monday! Let out that inner tiger and attack this week! Be a trail blazer in the jungle of life and set your path to a successful week!

-Greg

I'd like to dedicate this post to the "Meeting of The Minds" participants...some of the most wonderful friends a person could ever have! I love you ladies and gents!

"Boxing is a sport, Fighting is an Art, Life is a canvas"

“Boxing is a sport, Fighting is an Art, Life is a canvas”- Gregory G. Hale, December 23^rd 2009.

So one would do wise to learn the art of fighting well, that they should cover their canvas with all that they desire, and thus have fought for.

In retrospect, one may be great at achieving, yet know nothing of the art of fighting. A boxer punches as is required of the sport. A fighter must use their whole body, every muscle, on their feet or on the ground. What is the true “Art of Fighting”? It is something that 12 years of martial arts, two black belts, and living out of a motel room in Detroit on $12 a week taught me. To use everything you know and have, to completely overcome any obstacle. Only a tiger knows the art of fighting, for the tiger is the only animal to use it’s whole body, and every part of it, while attacking.

Thus being said, it is not merely enough to “gain” without “a past of reason”, or a history of determination. The boxer merely punches to achieve, while the fighter does everything, no holds barred, to achieve their victory. Such is the way one should live life. Do all with more than ample reason to do so, and paint the history of your past rich with achievements.

The past year has been filled with change of all types. Change of heart, change of place (mental and physical), change of situations in many different scenarios, and so forth. Yet the years know no reason, only time. Therefore it is our job to place reason into each and every year, and thusly into every action, every word, every thought. The mind must be even with the heart, as we commence the celebration of every year, and in doing so, our minds must therefore be richly cleansed of all un-reasonableness, before we can start this next year with nothing short of the greatest of reasons. Life.

One must learn to accept all that has occurred, before they can experience all that has not yet happened. There should be no questions of “why?”, only moments of acceptance followed either by righteous amounts of joyfulness or equal amounts of mourning. A dear and wise friend of mine, Mr. Mike Forbes, touched on this recently during a conversation regarding this practice. You need to let go of anything that is holding you back before you can truly appreciate what is to come next. There is no holding back, only soulful and emotional cleansing. It is within the process of this cleansing that we must learn to realize and then hold on to the reason for our actions, and that reason being life it’s self. The reason for our actions must be in promoting life, through loving. We must love ourselves, others, neighbors, family members, and loved ones enough as general human beings, so that in each action exercised our love is shared with everyone else, in the hope that they too will continue to give the gift of love, and experience the true meaning of living, “A love filled reason”.

On closing, remember to do this:

"Love. Not to abate ones' fear of death, yet to ensure that life was worth living"

Living right by letting go.

Sometimes we need to let go of that which is holding us down. It can be very hard to let go, especially when you have an emotional attachment.

You must ask yourself, in letting go, will it positively impact you? Will you be better off in the long run, by letting go? We find that most of the time, the answer to this question is "yes", and only due to the fact that we needed to let go, because that which was holding us down was something negative, and therefore not beneficial to us in any way possible.

We need to reevaluate what it is that we call "positive" in our life. One must understand that every meaningful interaction we have, not only with others but with ourselves must thoroughly be grounded in the basic meanings of the word "love". When we hold onto that which holds us back, depresses, saddens, or causes us to feel negative, that there is in fact no love involved. One can not truly say they are loving themselves when they allow such negativity to be present in their life.

There is no love of ones self, nor is there often any love for those around us, as well as those whom we do love, when we do not at first allow ourselves to love "us" from within. One does not truly love when they hold onto a negative, no matter what it may be.

It is upon this understanding and realization about living right, that we must realize the other part to this puzzle. There is no point in living life if you are not going to love everyone around you with at least the most basic love for another human being. One must learn to therefore face anger knowing that anger its self is only an unheard crying out to be loved. Therefore, we must face anger not with equal amounts of anger, but with undivided love, compassion, and attention.

This is never easy to do, nor should it be expected to be, as this requires one to let go of all other emotions and feelings they may have, and be in an "emotionless" state of mind. Let nothing impact your basic love for that person or persons as other humans on this earth, and then proceed forward with an open heart, open ears, and open arms.

"The only emotion worth learning, is to be 'emotionless'. There are times at which in giving nothing, we gain all"- G.H.