I Am Project - Connected

Over the past couple of decades, I have belonged to almost every martial arts business association available. I have never been a business orientated instructor but I have always recognized that my ability to impact my students, and thus the world around me, is tied to the success of my business. Even though my school was continuing to prosper, I felt a total disconnect from the martial arts industry. The industry’s values were not my own and their definition of success did not coincide with mine. What is disturbing to me is that this disconnection I felt did not manifest into something tangible that I could put my finger on. It was only an obscure shape just beyond my peripheral vision that caused a constant ache in my soul.

On the morning of December 21, 2006, I finally had this disconnection completely defined. My definition came in the form of a posting Tom Callos placed on the Martial Arts Business listserve in response to a post concerning strategy as applied to warrior-citizens. Tom’s passion for redefining the martial arts industry poured out of his response. Here was someone who felt as I and who was actually leading a movement that was redefining my industry into something of true value and relevance.

I joined Tom’s association The 100. that day, the UBBT a couple of years later, and I have to say my optimism has never been more vibrant. I am surrounded by like-minded people whose passion mirrors mine, making our collective voice very powerful. This connection, or perhaps lack of disconnection, is so important if one wishes to live a life of consequence.

When I am connected I recognize my responsibility in creating a world whose values reflect my own. This connection keeps me cognizant of the fact that while I have surrounded myself with positive, enlightened people, I have to keep my eyes focused beyond the horizon. I don’t want to get trapped in a cycle of preaching to the choir. If I am connected I will not get complacent and I hopefully will stay vigilant for opportunities to inspire others outside my immediate realm of influence to become more active in the cause for global change.

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another - and ourselves.” Jack Kornfield (b. 1945)

I Am Project - Responsible

Today the world is focused on the economy. I remember way back when we were shifting our attention to the environmental crisis we found ourselves in. Then the dot com boom hit and everyone put the environment on the back burner while the media kept us fascinated with stories of overnight billionaires. The dot com boom eventually busted but the economy’s growth continued to swell to unsustainable proportions. Recently, ecological and natural disasters became the top stories in the news and so the environment returned as a priority for many of us. Now with the economical collapse facing the globe, I fear the environment will be sacrificed in an attempt to once again get our rate of unsustainable consumption back up to the pre-collapse levels so that we can continue to define prosperity by the size of our television screens and the number of options on our SUV. If we all take responsibility for what goes on in our own communities, we can make a difference no matter what the economic outlook is.

Back in 2007 I was involved in meetings with GE Medical in Annapolis, Maryland. I met with most of their management and engineering staff and was really impressed with their passion for the patients their products support. As with most large corporations in strong communities, GE Medical sees the value of promoting the scope of their social consciousness. They were rightly proud of the volunteer work their management staff performed in New Orleans after Katrina destroyed the city.

When I returned to Canada, I felt a sense of responsibility for something that bothered me the whole time I stayed in Annapolis. There I was in an amazingly beautiful city but everywhere I looked there were trash bins overflowing with plastic water bottles and pop cans. The largest consuming country on the planet and the State of Maryland did not have a recycling program - everything went into the trash.

In subsequent follow ups with GE Medical, I commended them for their community activism but pleaded with them to exert as much political and corporate pressure on the city of Annapolis and the state of Maryland to institute programs that encourage and enforce recycling of goods. While volunteering after Katrina definitely gets corporations the most press, something as basic as a recycling program would have a much deeper impact on the state of the world.

When you consider the number of participants worldwide, if everyone involved in the UBBT, or martial arts in general, were to take the responsibility of writing a letter to the corporations in their own communities that encourages these corporations to become active with local environmental issues, great political pressure can be brought to bear. These corporations represent a major power in the local economy and at the end of the day, when money talks governments will listen.

"Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, lies the danger that we shall do nothing."
- Adolph Monod (1802 - 1856)

I Am Project - Educated

The current political situation in Canada has got me thinking a lot more about the problems we are encountering with our system. The parliamentary system makes sense and allows for democratic representation on paper but the way the system has evolved in Canada has left each of us with very little say in the affairs of state.

I continue to think about why we allow our political leaders to force our elected representatives to vote according to party guidelines as opposed to their constituent’s wishes. I have come to the conclusion that it is because most of us do not understand how our system works. However when I think about it, most major problems we face are due to lack of understanding.

How many people are jumping on the biofuel bandwagon who do not realize the damage being inflicted on the world’s already critically short food supply by diverting food for fuel? Are we all aware of the environmental impact of clear cutting rainforest to make way for crops to produce more ethanol based fuel? Without properly educating ourselves we may be creating two or three global crises for every one we think we are addressing.

What about the fertile farmland that is destroyed each year to support urban development. Would these projects go ahead if people completely understood the global food crisis?

Most of the environmental and socioeconomic issues facing the world can be solved through nonpartisan education. Once the majority properly educate themselves we can force our political leaders to govern our countries such that we all can live a life worth living without compromising our values.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
- Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

I Am Project - Blessed

I am at my all time busiest for the year. Chinese New Year festivities last for a couple of weeks and we will be hitting our peak next Saturday at our annual banquet. It has been a difficult time for me to stay focused on my UBBT commitments while I organize and prepare for our big event but somehow I have managed to stay on track. Things always seem to work out for me.

All my life I have felt blessed. From a very young age I developed the habit of ending my days with a quiet reflection of the day’s events. I would give a silent thanks for everything I experienced during the day and I found that when I implemented this practice, everything could be construed as a positive experience. Perhaps that is due to me being an optimist or perhaps I am an optimist due to this technique.

While a lot of things have not gone as planned, things that first appeared to have the potential of being setbacks have almost always turned out to be stepping stones to greater things. From injuries to demos gone horribly wrong, they have all contributed to personal growth in areas that were previously hidden from me.

Because I am blessed I am able to transform negatives into positives and evolve on a daily basis and live a life worth living.

“Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate”
- William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994)