Make Someone Smile...

“Give without memory and receive without forget.” - Grandmaster Byung Min Kim

Grandmaster Kim is my teacher and he has been a motivating factor in the way I teach my students. He guides me on how to live a Black Belt life and in turn I share his wisdom with my students. Grandmaster Kim shared his Four Pillars to Enlightenment to achieve inner peace and harmony with me and now I share one pillar with you.

Performing random acts of kindness is the fourth and final pillar. His quote is top of mind every day and is another way to say, “be selfless”. Selflessness is one of the foundations of Taekwondo. To give without memory is to give of yourself and expect nothing in return. But in fact when you do something nice for someone you usually do get something back...a thank you, a smile, and gratitude.

Random acts of kindness are an integral part of living a Black Belt life. Performing service is important on many levels and service is tied directly to respect and integrity, both tenets of Taekwondo. When we respect each other we tend to do kind things for each other. Providing a service freely is doing something positive without being asked. Integrity is doing the right thing without being watched. Service and integrity are about setting a positive example for others.

Receive without forget tells us to remember the gratitude we feel when someone does something positive for us, and to return the favor, and pass on the goodness to someone else.

Every month UMAC focuses on a different theme which is incorporated into our lessons, After-School Program, and Summer Camp. This month the theme is service and my blog titled, “Service Begins With You” is posted on my UMAC web site. I teach each student, from the time they are a White Belt, that they have a responsibility to perform good deeds. My goal is to instill a positive habit which they will associate with their Martial Arts training...making a positive impact in their community by doing selfless deeds regularly.

How do you make someone smile?

Make a goal to perform at least one random act of kindness each day and see the effect this has on your life. You will make life better for someone else. And you will feel great for sharing.

And if someone does something nice for you...then pass it on.

Make someone smile...every day!

Thank you for this opportunity to serve you.

Master Chris Berlow, 6th Dan

Professional Martial Artist, Owner, and Author

UMAC Briarcliff

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