On your journey through life there will be times when you feel lost. All of us, at one time or another in our lives have felt lost, even Sensei. When you are lost, there is a way.
Before I came to live with my students, I too was lost. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but that matters not, the point is, I was lost. I was living on the streets with no one to rely on except for myself. Perhaps this is why I understand how important it is to have faith in oneself. For I had to have faith, those were dark times for Sensei. Living on the streets, with no food and no water, in 100 degree heat with my black coat. There were times when I was hungry. There were times when I was thirsty. And yes, there were times when I was afraid. I had been wandering for too long....all alone. Then, everything changed....
Sensei did not like wandering alone on the streets like some nomad, but you see, I had no choice. But, what would come next, while better perhaps, was not much better. I was picked up and taken to a prison. I had done nothing wrong, I deserved not to be in prison. But alas, I found myself there. Cold, gray, concrete floors. Large, loud barking dogs. I was very sick, probably from living on the streets. People coming in to look and then going back out again. My weepy eyes, my dreadful cough, my scarred eyeballs, my protruding ribs, I suppose I did not look my best. This may be why they thought I was old. I wasn't, I was just worn and tattered, but I was not old. Yes, those were quite dark times. Was I afraid? Perhaps, but I had faith. Time went by, but I waited and did not lose faith. Then again, everything changed....
My student came to see me. She saw how very thin I was. She let me out of the concrete prison and looked at my face closely. She could see I was not old. She could see I was very sick and I needed immediate care and attention. She knew I could not go on like that in there. She took me home and the light started to creep back in..... Back into my life, back into my eyes and back into my heart...
My students took good care of me. I needed some surgery but was too thin and too sick to risk it. They fed Sensei so that I could gain strength. They administered medication so that I could get well. They washed and brushed my coat which had been chopped off and was dirty and matted so I could look and feel beautiful again. With some time I grew stronger and my coat began to look shiny again. I stopped coughing and my eyes stopped weeping. I gained enough strength and weight to have my surgeries. In two months, I was myself again. I was again who I once was.
The original plan was that they would care for me until I was well and then find me new students to live with. However, as they took care of me and my health began to improve, we grew close. So close that we could not bear to part. They did so much for me that I did not want to leave. We realized that we belonged together and that I should remain. And so, I did.....
