I am so tired. I sit on the third flight of the ‘day’, a day which started more than 24 ago and didn’t even get to hear the flight safety briefing before I was out cold. In Osaka airport I had regained access to the world of Facebook and the many updates from friends told me that many were on their way to Okinawa. I found myself, as I drifted off, thinking about the reasons we all do this. If many of my friends are doing the same then I can’t be mad…right?

Certainly those who don’t know ‘the way’ are probably justified in their opinion, most, when they hear that I am going to Okinawa ‘again’, are at the stage when they shake their heads and I am sure they think I am off to some version of karate kid or such like.

I consider myself more than lucky to be able to train in Okinawa, to be surrounded by amazing karateka all of whom make the same sac

rifices as I do to make the journey. Now those who don’t do karate have started to shake their head again… I can see it… how could travelling to Okinawa be a sacrifice…and for the most part, it is not. But then there are the family holidays that have not been because of Okinawa, the weekend getaways that were forgone so that precious work holidays could be saved.

 

Once here, the physical investment can be significant… there is a rhythm that takes over, early morning training, late evenings and that’s before you factor in the heat and dreaded jet lag.

It’s therefore easy to fall into a pseudo universe and go from a ‘we have arrived’ scenario, to a ‘I can’t believe it’s gone so fast’ facebook situation. I want to savor every single moment. I firmly believe that the creation of memories is what wealth generation should be focused upon. It is the memories we have and share that make us who we are and the ones we share with others are some of the most important. I therefore come to Okianwa with great hopes and plans of training, learning, and exploring and if I become part of someone elses memories, well, then that really would make me very happy.

We land with a soft thud, I’ve been out cold for 2.5 hours… but I can now make the all important Facebook update 🙂