#133 Action as Medicine

Taking action, the physical act of "doing" can be like salve to the soul. It can be a tool, a medicine, a cure, something that actually leads us on a path to healing and what we want to accomplish in our lives. If we get caught up in our thinking and thoughts it can be paralyzing. In order to free ourselves from that paralysis we have to take action and do something. A simple example is just to get up and move your body. If your body is feeling stiff, get up and stretch, go for a walk, and by moving your body will feel better. The actions can be small actions; they do not have to be big actions. Bruce Lee was a philosopher and he wrote a lot about his thoughts and how he thought that life should be lived. He did more than just write; he put his theories into practice and lived his philosophies. Bruce Lee was a normal person who lived his own philosophies and became a globally loved icon. "Action is a high road to confidence and self-esteem. Its rewards are tangible. The cultivation of the spirit is elusive and difficult and the tendency toward it is rarely spontaneous, whereas, the opportunities for action are many." When you put your mind to it, and you accomplish what you need to, it is empowering and boosts our self-esteem and confidence. In order to accomplish anything you have to take action. We must take conscious action. "Only actions give to life its strength." "The doer alone learns." "Action is our relationship to everything. Action is not a matter of right or wrong. It is only when action is partial that there is a right and wrong." When you only halfway do something, you do not learn anything and it does not help you grow. The quality of your action is important, even if it is small. "To be balanced is to be more or less at rest. Action, then, is the art or method of unbalancing toward keeping oneself striving and growing." "I've always been buffeted by circumstance because I thought of myself as a human being (affected by) outside conditioning. Now I realize that I am the power that commands the feeling of my mind and from which circumstances grow." Many times we feel as if we cannot take action because of how it affects others or outside influences have too much hold on us. Bruce Lee is saying that it is ourselves who hold the power, affects how we feel, and it is us as an individual who chooses the direction we want to go. "Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand."  "When actions are directly related to the problem of life and death, recollection and anticipation must be relinquished for the sake of fluidity of thought and lightening rapidity of action!" Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]