“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”.
Aristotle
The stairs up and the stairs down are the same stairs … your perspective depends on a choice. So if « we are what we repeatedly do » then this includes the not so flattering acts that could eventually become habits.
What acts did you repeat today? Where did you work the groves into habits? The choices are not by the year, the month, the week or even the day but by the moment. Choose what you are going to become by the moment.
Iron Tree can be a place for you to work on the repetition of movements designed to form character, build balance, and increase strength. It can be a place for the repetition of ideas meant to teach you wisdom, fortitude, and perseverance. However, to build these habits you need to act, which starts with feet on the floor.
There is no judgement in the worn spaces, they tell a story. The story may not be the one you wished to tell but it is a story none the less. Listen to it because it is a truth. Your training is like this. Your character is like this. You cast a shadow and if you do not like the shape you do not blame the light.
Unlike the stone stairs above, you are never beyond reshaping your habits. It just takes repetition, repetition, repetition. So check your wear marks and adjust your acts so the repetition creates the excellence you strive for.
Sifu