The Way of The Warrior, Part Three
by Keare Smith

Evolve, grow, mature. These words describe a reoccurring theme that has played a major role in my life the past six years. When I graduated high school and left Garner, NC in 2008, it was time. Time for me to grow up. But it took four years at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA for me to realize that I’ll never completely grow up. I wasn’t ready to mature, and I’ll explain why.

I won’t go into detail about my personal life off the track in Blacksburg, but I will admit that I lived an unorthodox life for a college athlete. From the outside looking in (mainly from the points of view of my parents, teammates, and coaches), it seemed as though I lacked “maturity” on and off the track. I had frustrated the head coach at Virginia Tech so much that he straight-up called me the biggest waste of talent he had come across. And he also had no problem overtly calling me out at meetings.

[am4show not_have=”g5;”]

[/am4show][am4guest]

[/am4guest][am4show have=”g5;”]

But I didn’t care. At least that’s what I continued to tell myself. I actually did care though. I had gone to Virginia Tech with the intention of becoming a professional track and field athlete. When things began heading south freshman year, a part of me wept inside. All I wanted to do was run professionally, but as the years went by, it seemed more and more like a teenage fantasy than a probable future reality.

This realization truly hurt, and no one around me really could understand. All I heard was that I needed to grow up, and that I lacked maturity and focus. At the time, I was too young to really figure out a way to explain the advanced thoughts that were running through my mind. I later realized that what was going on in my head was a transformation, a sort of evolution. I was starting to realize so much about reality and the world I lived in, the inner transformation was truly uplifting. I became an observer of my outside world, which at the time happened to be a large public university filled with drunk, social college students.

As time progressed, I no longer expected of myself the things everyone else expected of me. Since track wasn’t going my way and I couldn’t care less about school, I decided that I would dedicate my college years to having fun. Although it seemed like a good idea, I realized that this strategy was just a coping mechanism. Something was missing in my life, and I felt the need to cope for that missing key to happiness. It took me a couple of years to realize what I was truly missing all those years: the hurdles.

***

“When you truly understand the way, you can take any form that you want to. It is almost as if you had developed miraculous powers. You can become as light as a feather, as fluid as water, or as stiff as a board. Regardless of the form you take, once you have understood my strategy you can not be beaten by one man or ten thousand. Your “attitude/no attitude” cannot be stirred except from within, once you  have understood my strategy you will be a warrior to be reckoned with.” -Miyamoto Musashi

At the end of Part Two of this series, I revealed that I would be embarking on a spiritual journey to Costa Rica. And for a month (June 15th-July 15th) I did just that. My fiancé and I flew down intending to relax and enjoy our surroundings. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect; this was my first trip out of the US. But it turns out I couldn’t have picked a better place to visit. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking. Words cannot describe how beautiful Costa Rica is. I learned why it’s one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. Despite the fact that there are plenty of major tourism cities in Costa Rica, we decided to go the rustic route. We stayed at a place called the yoga farm in Punta Banco, Costa Rica. This small town changed our lives forever. I learned of the Costa Rican way of “Pura Vida” (Pure life), and I developed a stronger appreciation for simplicity. It was here that the concept of evolution began to take shape in my mind.

Due to the lack of technological stimulation in Costa Rica, I had a lot of time to reflect inward. I realized that I am who I am today because of the hurdles. I am who I am today because of the struggles I went through at Virginia Tech. I am who I am today because of my father’s unexpected death last November. The list goes on and on. I am a collection of knowledge and experiences that has been gathered throughout my 24 years of life on earth.

I am constantly evolving. You are constantly evolving. We are constantly evolving. It took me a while to fully understand this concept, but the goal of each one of us as a conscious human being is to evolve. Everything on this planet has this innate purpose to evolve. Life is an ongoing process of evolution. Due to the modernization of humans and human civilizations, evolution is no longer just about survival. In our advanced culture, we are able to evolve not just as individuals, but also as who we are in relation to what we do.

The way of the warrior is a specialized aspect of this evolutionary process. The warrior focuses on the particular path of evolving as a warrior. The warrior has identified this path of special evolution that will lead him to an understanding about life not only as a warrior, but as a person. This evolution will lead to a greater understanding of not just being a warrior, but of life as a whole. This understanding brings about a sense of power over oneself and one’s emotions. You understand the end goal, which gives you an inner sense of calm and peace.

This concept can be directly applied to the life of a hurdler. At this moment in my evolution, I categorize myself as a hurdler. The hurdles have taught me life lessons that directly correlate to life outside of hurdles. Lessons of perseverance, patience, and love. Conversely, life outside the hurdles has also taught me lessons that directly effect who I am as a hurdler. Once you understand the parallels between the evolution of who you are and the evolution of what you do, you gain an understanding that gives off a message of inner control that people can sense. Just as Musashi states, your “attitude/ no attitude” cannot be stirred except from within. The goal of your journey is to continue with your overall evolution; therefore, you must understand the connections of every aspect of your life in order realize your evolutionary goal. You can only be stirred from within because you know that you are in control of your own evolution.

***

“The more you practice, the more the “spirit of the thing itself” will reveal itself to you. For whatever reason you have chosen to be a warrior, you must understand your responsibility to the one art and to yourself. They are one and the same.” -Musashi

Extraordinarily, the above quote reinforces what I stated above. In the grand scheme of the way of the warrior, your ultimate goal is to evolve. During my reading of Musashi’s book, I came to the realization that he had the intention of passing off his innate wisdom to the reader, but only to those individuals able to see the deeper meaning. You must understand your responsibility to evolve as a warrior and as a person. You must understand your responsibility to evolve as a hurdler and a person. Through his chosen art, Musashi was able to come to the realization of the “spirit of the thing itself.” Evolution.

With continued practice and perseverance, eventually you will evolve in your chosen art form. It is the way everything in our world works. Accept the fact that hard work will pay off; it has to because everything naturally evolves. Your improvements in your chosen art occur because of the way of evolution. If you are relentless in your pursuit as a hurdler, your form will evolve. Musashi gained the understanding of what the meaning of the spirit of the thing itself was, and I am thankful that I came to the realization of the true meanings of his teachings.

This concept of the “spirit of the thing itself” has actually taken shape in my current reality. After returning to the US from Costa Rica, I decided to leave my home in New York for seven weeks to focus on one thing: my hurdling career. These last few weeks back in North Carolina training with Coach McGill and the guys has been incredible. And recently, once I recognized what Musashi meant, the spirit of the hurdles has begun revealing itself to me. Not too long ago I started executing my trail leg in a very unconventional way. I didn’t think about this new trail leg; it just came to me. I tried it, felt the difference, and just continued to do it. What’s so different about it is that the motion of my new trail leg is very similar to a lead leg motion. Instead of opening it wide, I raise it up. I felt comfortable with the fact that it was okay to not fully open up my hips to bring my trail leg through. I didn’t learn this technique through studying other hurdlers or by experimenting. It just came to me. In a very poetic way, the spirit of the hurdles itself revealed to me a new way of hurdling.

***

“The truth is that strength lies in the interior of the warrior; in his heart, his mind, and his spirit.” -Musashi

Through the years, I probably did a lot of things I wasn’t supposed to do as a serious athlete. But nonetheless I was evolving. I was learning about myself through my interactions with other individuals and my experiences outside of hurdling. My process of evolution revealed things to me that changed my views on life and what it all means. Today I am a hurdler, just as I was six years ago and just as I will be twenty years from now. I will always be a hurdler because it is my chosen art form. Hurdling is what has played a vital role in the evolution of who I am today and who I will be in the future.

Speaking of the future, I mentioned that I am back training with Coach McGill. This is an exciting time for me because, for the first time in three years, I am actually training with the intention of racing again. Coach and I are working very hard and having a lot of fun at the same time. I feel as though we have figured out the formula for success, and that it is only a matter of time before the track and field world takes notice. I don’t know what will happen on the track in 2015, but I am confident in the fact that we will surprise the world.

[/am4show]