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We’re going on to the third year of the COVID pandemic, Quebec has started a new wave of infections, Ontario’s waste water analysis is also indicating an imminent surge, and there are still people who do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. 

There is a lot emotion that goes into a person’s world view. The main weapon we have at our disposal in controlling those emotions is knowledge and understanding. We have the power of reasoning available to us and the intellect, for the most part, to understand the concepts of cause and effect, as well as the ability to reason out that freedom and rights come with significant responsibility.

My personal belief is that government mandates are never going to be effective unless there is a zero tolerance approach to enforcement. We can argue all we want about whether or not a mandated measure is effective but the argument has absolutely no merit unless the mandated measures are implemented completely and then the resulting data proves them effective or ineffective. If we are not following the mandates, there is no way to prove, one way or another, the validity of the strategy. Unfortunately for the minority who absolutely refuse to comply with any mandate unless they are not personally inconvenienced by it, they can keep fueling this pandemic indefinitely and continue to argue that the mandates are not effective despite the fact that it is their personal actions that are guaranteeing the failure of any mandate.

We will never be at the point where we can rely upon everyone to pull together in a unified, logical strategy. To be clear, when I say logical, I am talking about strategies based upon science and common sense, not strategies based upon emotions. Politics, personal agendas, and illogical paradigms will continue to divide us and continue to be used to promote personal benefit over what is best for our community and society as a whole.

No leadership or strategy is going to benefit everyone equally. Compromise is the only way we can progress together. Unfortunately for the privileged few, compromise tends not to be in their vocabulary.

We are letting politicians decide medical strategies. We are ignoring healthcare professionals and doing our own “research” on the internet. This is why we have entered the third year of a global pandemic with no end in sight.

“Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears...”  ― Nitya Prakash (b. 1988)

Strength and Energy

Kung fu, while being a great way to get get into shape, is so much more than a physical activity. Of course there is all the character development that comes from learning discipline and respect, and there is the obvious self-esteem benefits: followers become leaders and angry people become calm and compassionate. The less obvious benefits from practicing the art, at least for those who never achieve the higher ranks, comes in the form of cultivating your chi, your internal energy.

Energy. Everyone has it but not everyone can use it. It takes years to develop your awareness of your chi and decades longer before you can control and use it. Using chi comes from mindfully practicing the six harmonies or more specifically, practice the three internal harmonies: sprit with intent, intent with chi, chi with strength.

From my experience, the biggest thing in the way of a person mastering those three internal harmonies is their attitude. When I say attitude, I mean the intent behind their actions — what is the thought process behind what they are doing?

Physical output requires engagement. Engagement of the muscles, and the alignment of the skeleton. Internal output (energy) requires letting go and releasing. Yes, a very abstract concept but nevertheless an important concept.

“The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.” - Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930 - 2002)

Fight Club

I am sure everyone is aware of the CBC story of the fight club in Spruce Grove. Violence and bullying are unfortunate aspects of our society that we all have to deal with in one way or another. The particulars of this situation have created a lot of outrage, anger, and fear in our community. It is important that we apply logic to any response or we run the risk of promoting the very thing we are fighting against.

Traditional, I repeat, TRADITIONAL martial arts teach character, humility, and compassion. They do not just teach how to physically defend yourself. I know some of the modern "martial arts" advocate not teaching someone of questionable character. Their logic? "It will make them dangerous". They could not be more wrong. Martial arts builds character. If all they existed for was to eliminate weak character, what value would they hold? If your activity is making people dangerous, it is not a martial art. Violence does not end violence. It just perpetuates the problem. Building character and confidence gives people alternative outlets when their ego is challenged. Learning a traditional martial art does not make a person dangerous. Everyone, whether trained or not, is capable of violence in the right circumstance. Those circumstances are determined by the strength of your character which determines the choices you make. Traditional martial arts takes people of weak and questionable character and, over time, teaches them humility while giving them the confidence and self esteem they need to make intelligent and compassionate decisions.

Creating bullies to combat bullies is not the solution, eliminating bullies is.

"We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people." - Jackie Chan (b. 1954)

Post-Truth

“The Donald”. The 45th President of the United States. It boggles the mind. Popular vote or not, there are a lot of people who support him. I struggle to understand how intelligent people, and he does have intelligent people who support him, have come to terms with his misogyny, his confession of being a sexual predator, his racist and hate rhetoric, or his disdain for scientific facts and anything that puts the health of the planet over corporate greed. He has been labeled as being a “straight shooter”, a guy who speaks his mind. I don’t understand how anyone can be classified as a straight shooter when he is a known liar. You may agree with his ideas and promises but again, the man is a confirmed liar. Are you expecting that everything you have chosen to look past is not going to come back and hit you in the face anytime in the next four years? Yes, I get the argument that all politicians are liars. But not all politicians are sexual predators, nor do I believe any other US President has lied so blatantly in his inaugural address. But I digress, here we are. Somehow a man who can’t be trusted to tell the truth has somehow become one of the most powerful leaders on the planet.

I understand that by appealing to people’s emotions and fears creates an environment where facts and reasoning are ignored. Furthermore, people acting on fear will gravitate to authoritarianism at the expense of democracy and personal freedom. The part I don’t understand is that those same people do not find Donald Trump that much more scary than the status quo.

CBC Radio 1: Ideas - The Truth About Post-Truth

“Democracy is not compatible with capitalism but is congruent with a version of democratic socialism in which the wealth, resources, and benefits of a social order are shared in an equitable and just manner.” - Henry Giroux (b. 1943)

Salmon Rushdie

I had the opportunity to see Salman Rushdie speak on freedom of expression earlier this week. Salman Rushdie has spent a large portion of his adult life in hiding and under police protection after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa requiring Rushdie’s death over his book The Satanic Verses. Considering what Rushdie has endured over his writings, I had great curiosity about his feelings on this subject.

I hadn’t really thought about the subject of freedom of expression before seeing Salman Rushdie. My views were pretty standard - hate mongering and racism have no place in society. After hearing Rushdie speak, I have had to rethink the extent of my views on this subject. While I hold to my original view, I agree with Rushdie that suppressing people’s words, no matter what those words are, is an attack on freedom of expression. In fact, trying to suppress anything tends to bring the very thing you are trying to suppress into the limelight. Rushdie’s statement on the subject — “I want to know who the assholes are.”

It is difficult to watch someone like Donald Trump tear a nation apart. It seems that the more he lies and bullies, the more entrenched his supporters become. Yet stopping him from spreading his message of hate and exclusion would only help to cover up the problem. After what has happened in the American election campaign, the USA can no longer ignore who they really are. Until they come to terms with that reality, their problems are not going anywhere.

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” - Sir Salman Rushdie (b. 1947)

Minimalism

It has been an ongoing personal goal of mine to reduce the number of my possessions to 100. I recognize that it is not a perfectly achievable goal but like kung fu, the value of pursuing it is found in the journey, not the destination.

Reducing possessions and opting out of the consumption paradigm opens up options for me and maximizes my freedom. The monetary cost of a possession is only one aspect of its true cost. It is easy to forget what the ongoing cost of keeping the possessions I acquire is. The consequences of big ticket items like a car or a house are more obvious. The responsibility that comes with purchases of those magnitudes is not easy to ignore. Job security and ongoing cash flow became greater priorities so I could service my loans and maintain my investments. My five year career plan instantly became a twenty five year retirement strategy. Options that were there the day before, evaporated the instant I took on huge financial responsibility.

There is nothing like a household move to help one understand the hidden costs of minor possessions. My move in 2006 opened my eyes to all the stuff I had acquired over my lifetime that I was not aware I still possessed. Yet each time I came across these forgotten items, they became sacred treasures that I was reluctant to part with. Luckily for me. moving costs, packing time, and the reality of a new house that did not have a basement all helped me maintain a logical perspective and eliminate some of the excess that had crept into my life. Freeing myself of all that clutter had a reciprocal effect on my mind. As my home became less cluttered, so did my thoughts.

I recognize that I will never get down to 100 possessions. My house requires appliances and furnishings and my garage requires motorcycles. Regardless, I will continue to reduce what I own and stay mindful of what I acquire. Nothing changes the world quicker than spending my money mindfully. Governments and corporations will always listen to the votes I cast with my wallet. Such is the priority of the capitalistic society we live in. Environmental responsibility and social justice? Never at the expense of the economy or revenue.

What makes this a super cool personal goal for me is the positive influences I am surrounded with. A couple of weeks ago I had a great conversation with Sifu Rybak and Sifu Robinson about the value of being minimalistic. Whenever you can share something this authentically spiritual with someone, it becomes that much more compelling. How lucky I am to be surrounded by like-minded people.

“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” - Socrates (470 - 399 BC)

Kindness

Bullying is a problem that perpetuates social issues beyond today’s victim. An experience like bullying leaves scars behind as a reminder of the ordeal. Unlike physical scars, the emotional scars inflicted by bullying can be contagious. They colour your interpretations, and influence your reactions. Emotional scars become an integral part of how you interact with the world. We are, after all, the sum of our experiences.

Our approach to bullying tends to be very reactionary. Schools have a “zero tolerance” approach to bullying that focuses on punishment but does little to address prevention. I think that society tends to look at bullying as something that has been around since the dawn of time and therefore it will be here until the end of time. What if we were to proactively address the problem of bullying and concentrate on prevention? What if we shifted our focus from eliminating bullying to promoting kindness? Would not the positive action of kindness help eliminate bullying?

You cannot eliminate bullying until you eliminate the bullies. Bullies come by their tendencies honestly. They are not born that way, they become that way through the sum of their experiences. Most bullies are victims themselves who have come to practice what they have learned. Emotional scars have a way of making it difficult to see the world through the eyes of another. A little mindful kindness goes a long way toward developing empathy. The ripples created by an act of kindness can develop into a wave of positive change.

It all begins with a single, mindful act.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo Buscaglia (1824 - 1998)

Children Do As They See

Bullying is an issue that continues to blight our society. Learning disabilities, health issues, and suicide are just some of the consequences of bullying. Our school system is not protecting our children from bullies and at the same time they punish the victims as harshly as the perpetrator if the victim dares to take a stand. Social media gives bullies 24/7 access to their victims, creating a relentless atmosphere of persecution. What is it about our so called ‘civilized’ society that allows this supposedly unacceptable behaviour continue to flourish?

Watching the USA’s Tea Party in action should open anyone’s eyes as to how it has become acceptable to use fear and intimidation to get what you want. In fact it seams that over the past ten years or so, fear and intimidation are the standard modus operandi for politicians in North America. Was there ever a time that Stephen Harper was not known as a bully?

As long as we continue to accept bullying and intimidation tactics from our leaders, is it reasonable for us to expect anything less from our children? As with most issues change comes from having your voice heard. Bad behaviour is only unacceptable if someone takes a stand and does not condone it. Silence and a blind eye has never changed a thing.

“Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” - Hermann Goering (1893 - 1946)