Doing what you love

Today, I wanted to talk about doing things you truly enjoy doing.  I have found that I enjoy playing music and jujitsu (in case you don's know what that is its a martial art). Now, I know that those are like apples and oranges in comparison but, I love them both dearly. I get great joy out of both of these activities.  I also find that jiujitsu is a great outlet for me, plus it's a killer workout!


I play the viola, a very dainty instrument.  Well, not as dainty as a violin, but still pretty dainty!

(This is Alexandria, my viola. Yes, she has a name)
 

Playing brings me great joy and a challenge, which I love me a good old challenge!  I have preformed with an orchestra, strings ensemble, and by myself of coarse.  But fiddling around with my two friends and brother (some pun intended :D), who play piano, violin and cello, is by far my favorite.  I've taken lessons for about 3 1/2  with a lovely teacher, who is much more than just a teacher to me.  I would say she is a mentor or even a friend, a person I can simply talk to.  Like I said in the intro, my love for playing the viola is just as strong as my love for the martial art jiujitsu, which seems to be a bit odd.  I like to consider them to be like yin and yang, they bring a balance of dainty and manly?

Jiujitsu is a martial art; however, it falls under the grappling category, which means there is no striking ( punching, kicking, etc.)  Wrestling, also falls under the category of grappling.  It's a very hands on sport and most of the time you're rolling around with sweaty, stinky men.  Few girls do jiujitsu, which is funny because girls tend to be much better at it than guys.  In Japaneses, jujitsu can roughly be translated to "gentle" or "gentle hands". The sport is not so much about strength, although that does play a large role. I have learned a lot about myself from taking jiujitsu. Not only that I can push myself significantly more than I ever believed I could also I'm a lot stronger than I think.  I have never been one for sports. I did dance for five years but was never really good at it. After getting my first stripe this month I feel on top of the world, but I realize I still have a very long way to go in my knowledge of this spectacular martial art.  

                                                     (This is my belt and new gym bag!)

I truly believe doing things you love plays a huge role in life. Not only does it make you happy it feeds your soul and brightens your days.  I recommend having a sport you love doing or just loving to workout. Its been proven that exercising puts you in a better mood and energizes you, helps you sleep, and there are many more health benefits to working out.  Having a hobby is wonderful, too! It gives you something to do and excel at no matter if it's drawing, learning to play an instrument, building model planes, or cooking! It challenges you to do your best and always to do better than your best. Looking at my two loves, you can see plainly that they have nothing in common. But I think that's what makes them so great together. Bringing balance to life is so vital.  Not only should you be balanced in work, school, friends, and hobbies, but also with God. He should be in the middle of your everything, He's the One bringing balance into your life.  So as I go, I would like to leave with this quote about trying new things, so maybe you will start up a new hobby or sport that you will get joy out of.

"I never loose, I either win or I learn."

Keep trying and never give up great things don't come easily.

Annaliese~