Monday, March 2, 2009

O que e Mandinga

So many things are going on right now: acting gigs, teaching, performing music, applying to grad school, women, seeking the right type of employment, and of course, capoeira. It gets hard to manage them all. Even more so, how to manuver in and out of these different disciplines and be in the moment, giving them the attention they deserve, is even harder. However, something from that mystical game I play, capoeira, is showing me the way. They/we call it mandinga. It's hard to explain exactly what it is. It's almost one of those things that "just is". But if I were to try to translate it into English or layman's terms, it would be something near the equivilent of street smarts mixed with cunningness with a side bit of charm. Add in the Hand of God guiding you and this is getting close to what Mandinga could be interpreted as. Mandinga is moving with grace in the face of terror, exuding the confidence that you will be all right when it's all said and done because everything is always all right. Mandinga is feeling hurt and in pain but rising to each and every occassion because you don't know how to do anything else [Please note that rising to every occassion doesn't have to mean winning every match. It just means not loosing].

I could offer a million definitions of what Mandinga is but none will completely capture its essence. Rather, I am simply giving thanks to the Great One for dashing me with a little bit of this magic potion to be able to make it in this crazy world. With all that I am handling, and being nervous about the state of my job/finances, I still feel confident, clear-headed, and progressive. I know the Great One didn't bring me this far to fall short on my journey. Thank You. The game of life is gaining in intensity right now but I am still able to "jogo bonito."