Discipline

I had the privilege to see one of my living heroes speak this week. Henry Rollins has always inspired me with his social consciousness and his willingness to walk the walk and not just do the talk.

This was the second time I have seen him speak and he did not disappoint. He spoke, non-stop, for over two and half hours without a break, water, or interruption. If you know Henry Rollins you know how quickly he speaks. Anyone else presenting the same material would have needed an extra half to full hour to cover it all.

If I were to ignore the inspiration from his words, I still would come away totally inspired by his discipline. Discipline is in my wheelhouse but Henry Rollins’ discipline is on another level.

Living in a province whose mantra is consume, exploit, and take care of only your own, it was invigorating to spend that time with hundreds of other people, all masked no less, who reminded me that there is a lot of good out here.

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.” - Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986)

Positive Cycles

Something I wrote for a student struggling to find the time to train . . . 

Everyday we are all faced with decisions. Sometimes success is only a positive decision away. It is a lot easier to make a positive decision when you have clarity in your goals. Why are you studying kung fu? Obviously you have spent years practicing it for a reason. If that reason is empowerment, then you already know that there are benefits to all aspects of your life when you train in kung fu. If your training is benefitting all aspects of your life, how can cutting kung fu to focus on other aspects of your life even make sense? 

You have separated your kung fu from your life to the point where it may have already just become yet another stressor. If your training is relegated to "When I have time", there really is no future in the art for you until that perspective/priority changes.

Think about your diet. Very few of us eat clean. We rush about our day sometimes only feeding ourselves with what is handy and convenient instead of mindfully consuming food that nurtures us. Yet when we consistently clean up our diet, we feel the immediate benefits - clarity of thought and reduction of stress. Those benefits give us more time to mindfully prepare our future meals. The cycle has now become self-perpetuating - in a positive way.

At the same time, it does not take much to let things slide. A day here and a day there where, in a weak moment, we let down our guard and eat something we know is not good for us but it is more convenient. Our clarity begins to erode and is not so clear, our thoughts not so efficient, and our stress begins to build. Once again this cycle now becomes self-perpetuating - in a negative way.

If you want to stay on a positive cycle, STAY ON A POSITIVE CYCLE! It really is that simple. If you want to get on a positive cycle, GET ON A POSITIVE CYCLE! That too is really that simple. There is no magic to earning a black belt. Train. If you do not want to train? Train! Positive cycles do not just randomly start. You need to make the correct decisions - one at a time, every time.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” - Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973)

Beliefs and Behaviours

It is unfortunate that our actions do not always reflect our values. It is never a simple matter to fully understand where our true values lay yet most of us are quite adamant about what we believe in and hold to be true. Yet if one were to analyze their daily actions, they would soon realize how much hypocrisy has crept into their lives.

If you are an advocate for animal rights and are against animal cruelty but purchase products that are tested on lab animals, you are actually supporting animal cruelty, not fighting against it.

Perhaps your real values are about money, not animal rights. Or maybe life has become so hectic that you are unable to make mindful decisions. At this point you either have to admit that your values are not what you thought they were or that you are a hypocrite.

With all the divisive political rhetoric out here, reconciliation is going to be difficult unless everyone first understands themselves and their actions. The problem is not the destructive behaviour out here, the problem is the the lack of mindfulness. Behaviour will never change unless there is clarity in action. Knowing why we do things is the fundamental foundation of positive change.

“Voting is not something that we do only once every four years; it’s a daily way of life. We vote with our wallets through every purchase decision that we make. For example: there is only one reason why grocery stores in Hawaii sell mangoes that are imported from Ecuador: people keep buying them. Tropical fruit grows right here on the island but we can’t blame the stores for supplying what we demand. If we change our ways and only buy local mangoes, however, then they will only sell local mangoes; it’s that simple.” - Timber Hawkeye (b. 1977)

6th Wave

We have had to make some changes at our school to address the sixth wave of the pandemic. We launched our endemic plan a few months ago but the current situation here, on the third year of the current pandemic, is the worst it has ever been.

The real problem we are facing right now has been endemic throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Suspending all restrictions during a significant infection wave of a three year pandemic is why we are here. The problem is lack of leadership. This lack of leadership though is no longer the fault of the UCP government, that fault lies squarely on each of our shoulders. 

We all have the right to forgo masks and isolation at the expense of every vulnerable and immune-compromised citizen. Unfortunately we also have the right to suspend the use of common sense:

• People not considering the incubation period of COVID-19 before the onset of symptoms. 
• People not understanding that they are contagious for two days prior to showing symptoms. 
• People not understanding the limitations of a rapid test and the likelihood of testing negative, despite being symptomatic, for days before finally getting a positive confirmation of COVID. 

All of those factors are fueling the current pandemic wave because people are not isolating after a known exposure. The majority of us are waiting until the onset of symptoms or worse yet, a positive rapid test confirmation before isolating. Under those conditions, you have already spread the virus before you even knew you were infected. You’re closing the barn door after the cows have got out.

“Common sense is not so common.” - Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Grief

Everyone obviously grieves differently. I don’t have a good handle on how I handle grief but I am starting to understand a bit better.

I thought I was very good at handling grief. So good in in fact that for a while I thought there might be something wrong with me. My ability to compartmentalize is borderline sociopathic. Or so I thought.

On the first anniversary of my father’s death, I am much more aware of how my grieving process is more complicated than I thought. I can tell my mental health is compromised and how I am dealing with his death, or not dealing with it, is spilling over into other areas of my life.

Yesterday I visited my dad’s gravesite for the first time since his funeral last year. What I had anticipated to be a healing process did not turn out the way I had hoped or envisioned. I find my grief to be even more profound today than it was before my pilgrimage.

Obviously I have a way to go before his passing is behind me. I miss you dad.

“There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.” - Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC)