Need Oil?

I have spent the week trying to catch up on the thirteen projects I currently have on my plate that have all reached a status of critical. I never notice how these things sneak up on me and how I always underestimate the amount of time I will have available to apply to each project. The more organized I become, the more efficiently my time is spent and more clarity returns to my perspective. Therefore I intend to spend the next couple of weeks clearing the clutter from my environment so that I can slowly but efficiently make some headway on these projects.

While I chased my tail all week, people lined up to be one of the first to own Apple’s new iPad. People spent hours in the queue to get their hands on the latest thing they didn’t even know they needed a couple of months ago. At the same time British Petroleum failed to stop the flow of oil into the ocean with their top fill method. What is now the largest oil spill in US history will be continuing to spew crude into the Gulf of Mexico until at least August. Will we even care by then or is this environmental disaster just going to become background noise that fails to distract us from our own immediate lives. As a society we need to wake up before it is too late.

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently.” - Bill Watterson (b. 1958)

Boredom or Apathy?

So about a month ago Craig Venter brought to life the world’s first synthetic cells. He described the cells as “The first self-replicating species we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a computer.” I know some of mankind is looking at the possibilities in front of us to improve the world and perhaps repair some of the damage that has been inflicted upon the planet in the name of capitalism. Being a jaded realist, I know at the same time there is a whole other group that is wringing their hands with glee as they imagine the money that can be made exploiting this science.

Boredom is a state from which a person can be roused but apathy implies a fundamental lack of basic humanity. Let’s hope our current state of affairs is a result of widespread boredom because with the ability to design and create life comes colossal responsibility. I pray we’re up for it.

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” - Josiah Charles Stamp (1880 - 1941)

Vocabulary of Motion

As with most martial artists of my generation, one of the greatest influences on my kung fu was Bruce Lee. The intensity he brought to any technique was only overshadowed by the fluidity of his movements. It is difficult to imagine anyone moving with more agility and passion.

In kung fu I have always been taught to value innovation over imitation. Kung fu is an art, not a science and as such a person’s mindset when practicing their craft is as important as the specifics of the techniques they are executing. When it comes to movement, the journey is more important than the destination. The art is found in how we move not what we have moved nor where we have moved it.

The whole idea behind a curriculum is to produce the knowledge and skill required for mastery of a particular subject. In kung fu all the specifics of our curriculum are meant to be tools to help the practitioner perfect their craft and become the martial artist they wish to be. In essence, everything we do and train with is all about perfecting the six harmonies. The beauty and power of kung fu is found in the six harmonies and the mastery of them can only be achieved through mindful practice of the ideal, not the specifics.

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)

I Gotta Be Me

Fulfilling journalling has become a challenge for me these past couple of months. My mandate this year was to concentrate more on documenting my training and personal growth, or at the very least have my journals reflect more directly my participation in the UBBT. But alas I find my thoughts, and therefore my writing, constantly pulled back to the things that cause the screaming in my soul. I guess I should not be fighting against the current as obviously this is where my personal growth is taking me and that in itself is helping define my Ultimate Black Belt Test.

Something I think about often is the number of great thinkers and enlightened people we lose every year. I live in a world that is influenced by some truly amazing individuals, people who inspire a better world and create a legacy that will influence the ways of the world for countless generations to come. Who is going to replace the loss that will be felt when these people are no longer around? So many of us walk on this planet but so very few are actually stepping up as leaders and examples of enlightened living.

So I guess I will succumb to the inexhaustible pull I feel to journalling about the issues that weigh upon me, and believe me they are many but they all would be dealt with if we were to eradicate apathy and indifference.

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” - Elie Wiesel (b. 1928)

And So It Goes

Sixteen hundred ducks die on a tailings pond in the oilsands and an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico is spewing crude into the ocean. It is easy to point a finger at greedy corporations but we have no one to blame but ourselves. As our appetite for fossil fuels remains insatiable, corporations will continue to get rich while meeting our demand. Everyone is aware of what is happening but yet we ignore any solution if it threatens our current lifestyle.

Bottom line is if we begin to live simply and cut back on what we are consuming, the market for high risk and dirty oil will dry up. Trying to sustain the unsustainable is not only impossible but immoral.

"The conspicuous consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as a spiritual error, or even bad manners" - Barbara Kingsolver (b. 1955)