"Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel

and is transformed into a razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion."

~ Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of the Martial Art of Aikido

from The Art of Peace

You feel the heat?

Good.

Now, STAND in it.

Imagine water getting ready to transform into pure air. As you turn up the heat what happens? The water boils, eh?

If you really want to transform, you CAN’T turn down that heat!

The moment we start transforming, we want to reduce the pressure.

Ueshiba tells us pretty clearly how we’re forged. It’s the heat of those challenges that remove the impurities…

Don’t believe him? How about Rumi?

“This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away.”