The Animal Kingdom – A source of inspiration

If you are subscribed to Zen-Dragon on Youtube, chances are you have seen the video I put up on why martial artists imitate animals. In case you haven’t, I put the video here, so you can watch it if you want to find out how inspiration from animals can be applied in a martial context.

The rest of this piece will cover my thoughts on what animals have to teach us beyond the realm of fighting.

I regard all of humanity as highly evolved animals. In some contexts I will refrain from refering to us as animals, depending on what I wish to communicate and the context, but regardless of our cultural influences, the fact remains that we ourselves are a part of nature.

Compared to modern life as a human being, animals live lives of extreme simplicity. Life as an animal tends to be very intense and focused primarily on survival. Luckily, a significant portion of humanity is not at constant risk like that. Instead most of us live complex lives, juggling a number of priorities in the face of constant distractions.

It is in this sense, I strongly believe we can learn from the animal  kingdom and its less civilised inhabitants.

I’m not saying we should let fully go of social codes, technology, academic pursuits, or the many other facets of our culture which have brought us to where we are now.

But to the extent which it is possible, I think it is beneficial for most of us to reflect on our lifestyle and try to simplify it.
That way we are better able to truly focus on that which matters the most to us.

A lion catching a gazelle has only one focus, if it was concerned about it’s hair while trying to text someone, it would miss out on its next meal.

Focusing on too much at a time probably won’t cost you your next meal, but life goes by…

Don’t miss out on what matters the most to you.