What does it mean to walk in alignment? If you have ever attempted to bring to fruition any project great or small, you need someone to walk in alignment with you. Whether it be something small (pass the sugar?) or something large ( lets transform the world we live in), in each case alignment is called for.
One very vivid example for me is kumite, or what we call free sparring. Even though my intent is to hit my opponent and my opponent is trying to do the same, in the larger scheme of what is happening we are in alignment. Some have equivocated fighting to a type of dance, and in many cases it is. You read your opponent, the subtle moves, the shifts and move accordingly. You step when they step, shift when they do. Block, parry, evade, strike or take down are all part of a greater whole.
So how do I bring this into my life? Especially if I’m not a fighter or don’t practice a martial art?
Even the act of being in a relationship is an example of alignment, both people agreed at some point to be with each other, to grow in love, to make themselves open and vulnerable so that love can grow. When you are in alignment, your thoughts are rarely about “me” or “us” but they have a tendency to be in the frame and context of “what does he want/need or what does she want/need?”
Being in alignment has you see yourself in relation to a greater whole and so you don’t have an overinflated view of yourself, you stop being so significant and you become relevant. The needs of others become paramount because, you realize that as those needs are met, yours are met as well, after all, being in alignment precludes connection. Which means that as you progress further and further along this path of alignment you realize that we are all connected and that no one persons needs are more important than any others, rather that all are equally important and pressing.
The inverse is also true, when we are out of alignment is when we are the most petty, egocentric, and selfish. We trample the feelings of others with no regard, because in our view those feelings cant be as deep or as heartfelt as our own. If you look at the majority of arguments great and small, they stem from some moment of discord that has at its roots,being misaligned.
Harmony, peace, tranquility all arise from being aligned, as does power, velocity and strength. I strive to be aligned to the people in my life constantly. It is not always easy, and many times I fail. The important thing is that I realize when I am not aligned and rectify it as soon as I am able to. When I do, my day, my life shifts and my perspective does as well.
strong spirit-strong mind-strong body
Sensei Orlando
