“First learn stand…then learn fly…nature’s rule..Daniel-san, not mine.” — Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid movie)
Do you remember the “wax-on, wax-off” lesson from the movie The Karate Kid?
Let me refresh your memory. Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel karate, but to Daniel all it seems like he’s doing is chores. There is a scene where Daniel is fed up with Mr. Miyagi ordering him to “wax on” and “wax off,” sanding the floor, and painting the fence and the house when he’s supposed to be learning karate. In reality, Daniel was learning karate all along. You can say this is how life is. We don’t realize that what does not make sense today will make sense in the future. I’m not saying that everything we go through in life will make sense to us — just some things.
Karate Kid Lesson (Daniel gets fed up)
We may have/had several Mr. Miyagi’s (teachers and mentors) in our lives, or we may be getting our lessons from the school of life. Or both. In life there will be things we go through, lessons we learn, that we didn’t ask for or want.
When I was 12 years old my grandfather gave me a typewriter for Christmas. I didn’t know how to type but still I was happy to get it. Two years later my father decided that I should go to summer school to learn how to type. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it but decided to go into it with a positive attitude. Well, I took the class and at the end received a grade of “D.” Not so good. My father didn’t think so either. Summer wasn’t over and another session of the typing class was being offered. He sent me back to take that typing course over again. I was not a happy camper. At the time, I didn’t think learning to type was such a big deal. This time when I finished the course my grade was a “B.” Two summers after taking that course I was able to use my typing skills to get a summer job working as a clerk-typist at a branch of the American Embassy in downtown Madrid, Spain. I spent two summer’s working in that position. It was a great experience. To this day, typing still continues to benefit me.
Think about your own life. What experiences have you had that didn’t make sense to you at the time, but made sense to you later?
UPDATE (17 May 10): The remake of “The Karate Kid” opens in theaters on June 11, 2010. The movie stars Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) and Jackie Chan. If the movie trailer is any indication, it looks like this new version will be just as good as the first. Check out the movie trailer: