Non Lethal Dose of Good

Rained out for a day.   And It’s a Kung Fu night!  YEEEEEEESSSSS!  Probably forgot much of my belongings in Vermilion, but I was packed up in record time.  Beeline home and off to the Kwoon.  For me it was like unleashing a caged animal.  Like getting an injection of motivation, energy, discipline.

I thought back a few nights ago when I recognized a death race shirt on a fella just stepping out for a run.  I pulled the truck over and talked to him, not because I am all that personable, but rather I NEEDED, this influence.  We talked briefly about training, what legs we were running, how things were going for this year’s endeavor.  That contact was important to me, because alternatively while out on the work site, most people deem walking to the truck for a cigarette and coffee more exercise than they wish to muster.

The way the world is now, most people involved in Kung Fu deal with these two extremes;  Torn between building something great  using the synergy of like minded people, and falling the other way under the influence of those that are the sinks and vacuums of everything that is good.

Obviously each person has a different level of positive influence they require to keep them on the right track.  Being away from the Kwoon and getting more than my fair share of people giving it the college try, I am starting to realize my personal threshold for dummies.  Surprisingly it is quite high.

The death race is coming up in a week, and this is a great event for so many reasons, but mostly because like Kung Fu, the atmosphere is rich with people that are health conscious, strive for physical discipline, and feed off other individuals of like mind.  The challenge for me as of late is not recognizing when I am reaching my dummy threshold, but rather where to go to get a dose of the good stuff.  I am slowly learning to take full advantage of every opportunity.  Even opening a newspaper and scrolling past the negative and reading the stories involving, as put in Mastery terms....miracles.

I feel as a martial artist, especially a Silent River Martial artist, we are dealers.  It is our responsibility to first tend to our needs for preserving what makes us exceptional.  To know what we require personally to keep us thriving positively, and then, knowing what we have in reserve to improve those we influence. 

Vince.

Truthfulness

I have reflected a great deal on the last couple of posts.  I am really enjoying the honesty in both Mr. Chervenka and Sifu Regier’s journal entry.  These posts have got me thinking about truthfulness. 

What makes a person an excellent human being?   When we talk Mastery are we talking about mastery in just Kung Fu, or mastery in other aspects reverent to our lives.  I think it is easy to get caught up in chasing a particular goal, to get so focused that we forget it is the process that makes things great. I think a trap I have fallen into at times is one in which my efforts may be focused on the goal of black belt such that neglect creeps into other aspects of my life. 

I think the blinders have to be removed every now and then, and you have to give an honest review of where you are at in life.  You may be achieving your requirements in Kung Fu, but where are you at with other aspects of your life.  Are relationships falling off the rails, are you missing important events, are you neglecting certain aspects of your job.  If this is the case, then I don’t think Kung Fu is serving you in a positive way or the way I think it is intended.

Are you meticulous in your training, yet hand in a half effort report at work, or miss out on your child’s baseball game.  I think it is important to look hard to see if there is a great disconnect between what you learn or teach in Kung Fu, and what you do outside of Kung Fu.  Naturally, focus and hard training in Kung Fu will spill over in positive aspects of your life, but I feel that leaving a bomb crater around every place except the Kwoon can be dangerous as it will eventually lead to resentment.  This is what I am feeling with my job right now.  I enjoy my work, but I can’t help but resent the fact I am missing church, family, Kung Fu, friends and events that make me who I am.

I have decided to assess my spirituality, family life and relationships, achievements, work ethic and quality and be completely true to myself.  My job as of late has led to neglect on more than one front.  If I am being completely truthful, Kung Fu at times has also. What I feel is important however, is constant self reflection.  This is what I believe Mr. Chervenka has just undergone by reading his post.

Some things I have noticed with myself since joining the I Ho Chuan.  Initially, I looked at it as a high bar or benchmark to see if you have the heart, the moxy.  Am I made of black belt fibre?  To a point I still believe this.  But now being away from the Kwoon for a couple months, I stand further from the action, and see it more as a process to force self reflection (or self destruction).

I don’t know why, but the requirements of work have never forced me to ask the tough questions like the UBBT and I Ho Chuan has.  With work, I have always blundered on, head down, butt in the air.  As of late, I have never had this many conversations with my wife regarding what seems to be working out, what isn’t, and what may need to change.  Self reflection and evaluation has been at an all time high for me.

It reminds me of a piece of advice a person gave to me before heading off to Forestry school.  He said, you are not going to college to learn about trees, you are going to college to learn how to learn.  There was a great deal of truth to that.  I am thinking more that the I Ho Chuan and UBBT is more the development of process rather than a means to an end.

Vince.

Worse than the Caramilk secret

As my time in Drumheller is nearing a close, and I am destined to head back north to Lloydminster, I took time to reflect on my experience in southern Alberta.  The diversity of this province is mind blowing.  And like my great, great grandfather that settled here in I believe 1887, I have found no other place I would rather be.

Over the past couple weeks I have seen and studied more plants, animals, weeds, landforms and soils than I have in a long time. Yesterday a huge snake skittled across the road, today a moose (on the prairies of all things!!) came to visit me and pose for a photo on site.  How many people can say they’ve completed Awakening the Dragon on the top of a hoodoo in the  wake of a setting sun?  Or explored a series of mud arches in the hoodoos that formed down a really cool and dangerous looking creek bed.  

But there is one thing I have to understand before leaving this part of the province.  More baffling than Jimmy Hoffa, crop circles, or the sock thief in the washing machine.

I have come across a couple farmer fields that have these weird plywood enclosures disbursed throughout.  Even more curiously there is an open side that is always facing the same direction.  They are spaced very evenly with about 40 meters apart in a grid configuration.  Inside the enclosure, there is nothing.  On the outside they are painted very colorful, some with very distinct patterns to them.  The shelters are about 3 feet wide, by maybe 6 feet long, by 5 feet high.

Even Google was stumped.  The only thing I can think of is perhaps bee hive enclosures, but then why are they empty?

The truth is out there.

Where is the time going?

Today was a tough day for me.  Mostly because I knew another I Ho Chuan meeting has slipped by and I am here in Drumheller.  I am feeling very disconnected and definitely feel like I am falling behind in a ginormous way.  There are so many limitations being away from home.  So many things you take for granted.  Time is mega precious out here, and I am juggling trying to spread my time into fulfilling my requirements.  What I have realized, is that as much as I wish to multitask the problem away, I am going to have to focus on less elements.  100% of things 50% complete is a failure.  50% of things 100% complete is a partial success.  I guess I know which direction I have to go.

What is important to me right now is maintaining my health, and that means, decent food to the best of my ability and sleep.  I have run 1/10th of what I did last year in preparation for the Death Race.....that could be a problem.

Enough ranting for today.

Vince.