Loren Christensen

25. A young man traveling home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his journey, he saw a great teacher on the other side. The young man yells over to him, "Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?"
The teacher looks up and down the river, and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side."
24. I strive to make everything in my life – martial arts, writing, relationships - simple. Some people seem to do just the opposite.
23. My martial arts adventure, which began in 1965, has been an amazing ride. I would do it all over again.
22. The one thing that still impresses me in the martial arts is great speed.
21. Law enforcement: I had a 29-year love/hate relationship with it.
20. I’ve shot at two people. I’m so glad I missed them.
19. When I was a cop, I liked it when child abusers resisted arrest.
18. When I had to do something dangerous as a cop, I would call my kids and tell them that I loved them. I never told them why I was calling.
17. Exhilaration: Watching an AC-47 airplane, known as “Puff the Magic Dragon,” spew 18,000 rounds per minute (300 rounds per second) down onto a Vietnam rice paddy.
16. In Vietnam, I punched a guy in the chest so hard that he had a heart attack. It was a long night waiting to see if he would live and if I would go to jail. He did.
15. Fear: Standing on a rooftop in Saigon, Vietnam and watching thousands of people flee the city. What do they know that we don’t?
14. My three kids have brought me tremendous joy and they’ve added age lines to my face.
13. I made a lot of mistakes as a father; I hope they remember the good things I did.
12. I wish my grandkids lived closer.
11. When I was a young man, I thought that much of what my parents did and thought was goofy. As I get older, I see their wisdom.
10. There is no experience that equals meditating in a Zen monastery as the sun comes up.
9. When you meditate on something deeply, not just think about it, it reveals itself to you.
8. Approaching everything with a beginner’s mind means you have an attitude of openness, eagerness and no preconceptions. The “beginner’s mind” kanji is tattooed on my arm.
7. Life/God: The older I get the more questions I have but seldom do the answers satisfy.
6. Whoever said that “God will never give you more than you can handle” was never truly given more than he can handle.
5. I write at least five days a week, 8:30 to about 3:00 pm.
4. Our two dogs and one cat - Rocky a 5-pound Yorkie, Boot a 6-pound Maltese and Lexii, a 17-pound cranky fir ball - spend their days in my office with me. I like that.
3. Splurging: Lisa and I have two home theaters, a sound system that can blow your face off, and hundreds and hundreds of DVDs.
2. There are some movies I can watch over and over. Lost in Translation and Ghost Dog to name two.
1. Friendship is one mind in two bodies. That describes Lisa and me, plus a whole bunch of other things.

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