#12 The Medicine for my Suffering
“The medicine for my suffering I had within me from the very beginning but I did not take it. My ailment came from within myself, but I did not observe it until this moment. Now I see I will never find the light unless, like a candle, I am my own fuel.”
This quote is very close to Shannon’s heart. When her brother Brandon unexpectedly died in 1993 on the set of the Crow, Shannon was overwhelmed with intense pain and grief. It was on her journey to find healing from her grief that she started to delve into her father’s writings for the first time and she found this quote. Bruce’s words helped his daughter find space to heal and process Brandon’s death.
Shannon is motivated to share her father’s writings and quotes because his words personally helped her get through the toughest time of her life. After discovering her father’s writings, Shannon experienced her own #BruceLeeMoment of self-awareness and the call to be on a path of self-actualization. She quit acting and decided to dedicate her life to spreading her father’s wisdom and legacy.
We also talk about Kung-fu: the acquisition of skill through hard work. You can have kung-fu in anything, whatever you’ve developed mastery in. We often ask our team and visitors: what is your Kung-fu?
Three layers of awareness:
- Awareness of self
- Awareness of in-between
- Awareness of the world
Take Action: Start with noticing where you are struggling in your life; it might be something big or small. Decide to move in a positive direction and seek the tools that are out there that will help you have constructive motion. We recommend journaling to help you take action with your struggle. If you would like to share your moment of taking action, we would love to hear from you!
Share via social media @BruceLee or by email at hello@brucelee.com
#AAHA
(Awesome Asians and Hapas)
This week’s #AAHA shout out goes to Phil Yu, also known as Angry Asian Man, a Korean American blogger and content creator. He started off with just his blog, highlighting things out in the world that he had issue with or he felt needed more discussion. Now he has won numerous awards, has a podcast and youtube talkshow, and sits on the board of Visual Communications that produces the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. Phil has given a voice to his own culture and his own identity, and we think that’s awesome!
#BruceLeeMoment
This week’s #BruceLeeMoment comes to us via email from Justin Lewis:
Hello Shannon and Sharon,
My #BruceLeeMoment happened to me at 18. My parents were great at making their kids feel comfortable when we were growing up, but I knew for a while that there were some problems with my parents’ relationship. Finally they got divorced and it spun me off into this world I didn’t know and made me very uncomfortable with my surroundings. I was angry for a while and had no problem whatsoever letting my feelings be known. Being a young man, I was faced for the first time to try to cope with something outside my comfort zone. It was here that I rediscovered a documentary. Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey. Now I’ve seen this doc before, but when Bruce was going against the Escrima master with the bamboo stick, something stuck with me. The whole speech about “the willingness to adapt to broken rhythm” spoke to me and from then on, I was able to start to adapt to my surroundings, and try to be more fluid with life. Now I’m moving on to the next #BruceLeeMoment in my life, as I pursue my career in writing for film and comic books. After listening to your podcast about Taking Action, I realize that it is now or never. I learned how it was to be reactive, but now let’s see what happens when I become active. Thanks, and keep up the good work two!
Forever flowing, Justin “Lou” Lewis
Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at hello@brucelee.com.
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