#41 Unity

Bruce Lee lived his life as a human being who was connected to all of humankind—one unified family on this planet. He said, “You know how I like to think of myself? As a human being. Because under then sky, under the heavens, there is but one family.” What we need, especially in these divided times, is a message of unity and connection. Bruce Lee has a way of uniting people, and his fans are global. We continue to hear stories of how Bruce has affected so many different people from all around the world. One such story is about the town of Mostar in Bosnia, After years of enduring a violent civil war, they finally reached peace and wanted to build a monument that symbolized this new peace. They decided to construct a statue of Bruce Lee as a “symbol the whole community could rally behind” and a “monument to the idea of universal justice, one idea having that justice, knowledge, honesty, good intentions can fight against corruption, evil, ignorance.” To many people around the world, Bruce Lee symbolizes an energy of universal justice because he lived with integrity, advocated for the underdog and dedicated his life to self actualization and being in harmony with his fellow man, his community and the planet. No matter where Bruce was in his life, his close friends said he always treated people the same and authentically—no matter who they were. His wife Linda would say that Bruce looked at everyone evenly. “Wisdom does not consist in trying to wrest the good from the evil but in learning to “ride” them as a cork adapts itself to the crests and troughs of the waves.” “The world is to be seen as an inseparable, interrelated field, no part of which can actually be separated from the other. Oppositions are mutually dependent instead of mutually dependent instead of mutually exclusive, and there is no longer any conflict between the individual man and nature. That is, there can be no bright stars without dim stars, and, without the surrounding darkness, no stars at all.” Take Action: Think of something you can do to create unity energy in your life and try to take action towards it. Think of a person who you would normally have judgment for, and try to have compassion for them instead. #AAHA Allen Joe is credited with giving Bruce Lee his first set of weights and inspiring Bruce to build up his body. Allen trained under Ed Yarick with such luminaries as the four Mr. America Body Building Championships: Clancy Ross, Jack Delinger, Roy Hilligenn, and Hercules-actor Steve Reeves. In fact, Allen was the first Asian to win the Mr. Northern California Bodybuilding Championship in 1946. He is also a World War II veteran, Allen currently 94 years old says, “you can never forget Bruce, once you have met him” and indeed, he still carries a picture of Bruce in his wallet. #BruceLeeMoment This week’s moment comes from Khnum “Stic” Ibomu (dead prez): “I am a hip hop artist and producer (dead prez), and Bruce Lee's legacy and philosophy has been one of my greatest inspirations. I am writing this letter to express my sincere gratitude for the impactful work you are doing to continue sharing the legacy of your father in a way that is tremendously helpful for others. I can't put into words how much of an inspiration and personal contribution he has made and continues to make in my life. I truly appreciate the podcast and how much love goes into sharing his philosophy and making the concepts tangible and actionable. Bruce's wisdom is immeasurably valuable and your eloquent unpacking has given me new layers of perspective and invigoration. Thanks to Bruce's inspiration, I realized that I am not limited to fit in any one box and I've been able to explore and develop many aspects of my self from the "no way as the way" Philosophy I have adopted from His teachings.” Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast