Walter and Me

Walter Magnene. Here’s a name I have kept in front of me for over thirty years. I have not talked to Walter or even seen him over that same period. In fact, I am not even sure how to spell his last name. Yet I keep his name in front of me because of that lesson I learned so long ago.

I was in grade five, and Walter was in grade seven. Walter had low confidence and was bullied and picked on by his classmates. Walter’s school life was difficult and gloomy. It was not surprising that Walter tended to lash out on occasion. Since Walter and I took the same route to school, I tended to be the target for Walter whenever he needed to blow off steam. Lucky for me I was fast on my feet and Walter could never catch me. This routine became our norm. Eventually we both forgot what had spawned the original conflict, it was just what we did.

While I had started out as an innocent victim who was being picked on by an older, bigger boy, I now had anger issues of my own. I became an annoying, fleet footed, smart aleck who would unload a verbal barrage at Walter before speeding off into the horizon and leaving him in a cloud of dust. Picture Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Such is the cycle of bullying.

I remember the day our situation changed forever. It was Spring, and I had brought some of my model airplanes to school for show and tell. School had finished, and I was playing in the playground with some of my friends before heading for home. I had just decided to call it a day. I bent over to pick up my bag of model airplanes, stood up, and found myself looking straight into the chest of my arch nemesis - Walter Magnene. The same Walter Magnene that I had dubbed Walter Maggot the week before. Time stood still. A soft breeze rustled through the leaves of nearby trees. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. While my body fought to control my bladder, my mouth took on a life of its own, and I heard myself say, “ Hi Walter! We’re just leaving to play at my house, would you like to come?” I waited for the inevitable pain to arrive via his grade seven fist while my mouth continued to independently take matters into its own hands by pasting the biggest, friendliest smile across its lips. Walter looked me in the eyes, blinked twice and replied, “Sorry I can’t make it, but thank you for the invitation.” ** And then he walked away. Other than inducing a state of euphoria that caused me to forget my model airplanes in the sandbox and lose them forever, I had come out of the incident unscathed. While Walter and I never became friends, our conflict was over forever.

My point? I was involved with a conflict for so long that rather than look for a solution, I just accepted it as the norm and adapted a strategy that was reactive as opposed to reflective. This strategy not only didn’t alleviate the situation but exasperated it. However, when our situation became explosive, the incident, and in fact the entire conflict, was resolved with dialogue. Beyond the total eradication of your enemy and all his allies, this is the only way any conflict can be resolved.

I think our world leaders could learn a lot from Walter and me.

** I am 99% certain that these were his exact words. I remember thinking at the time - “What grade seven kid talks like that? No wonder he gets picked on.”

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
- George W. Bush (b 1946)

Sacred Balance

My first journal entry of 2008 - a brand new year with awesome potential. Now the hard part. Figure out how to best realize that potential and actually make a difference.

I have been reading David Suzuki’s “The Sacred Balance”. This book is truly inspiring and enlightening. The quality that gives us, the human species, such an advantage and the ability to excel in the bleakest corners of nature is our cultural diversity. As per Suzuki: “Our ability to exploit our surroundings and to pass on with language the lessons learned by failure and success accelerated the pace of human evolution. Humans have had an added edge in culture. Every individual human being must begin life from the same starting point, as an infant, laboriously acquiring all the accumulated lore and beliefs of society until he or she is ready to become a productive adult. But culture grows steadily, without having to go through the same learning curve every generation. Compared with rates of biological change, culture evolves with lightning speed - and for this reason we have come a long way in a relatively short time.”

Wow, why did I never really think about this before? It is something I have known but not really dedicated much thought to. I guess I started thinking more about it in the past year which is why I am on this accountability kick. I have looked at what I have accomplished in my life and upon reflection I realize that I have wasted a lot of time and potential. That is the folly of the arrogance of my youth - failure to accept my own mortality. Really what kind of lasting impact did I expect to have on the world in the short time that I am going to be here? Very little since I have been living my life as if I have an infinite amount of time to accomplish my goals. Eureka! If I invest my time and efforts toward influencing my culture, the impact of my life will be felt for many generations long after my death.

Silent River Kung Fu is a culture that is growing and evolving. Every one of us is contributing to this culture. I continuously remind my students that they are the future of kung fu. Two thousand years of development and refinement are now in their hands. What happens now will help determine the future of kung fu for the next two thousand years.

So what happens now? Are we going to define kung fu by the quality of our kicks and punches or the quality of our character? It is time to guide our culture and set an example for our community that shows just what value we are bringing to the table.

We are martial artists who define our growth not by the perfection of our skill but by the self realization and enlightenment we achieve from the challenge of the journey. We are leaders. We are accountable. We are Silent River Kung Fu.

“A leader is a dealer in hope.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)

1000 Cranes for Peace

This has been a difficult, tumultuous week. For me, the last week of the calendar year tends to be an optimistic week where I look forward to the awesome potential the coming new year holds in store. I have had a very difficult time keeping my optimism afloat after the brutal murders in Pakistan that included the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. It is a wiggly world we live in and our future as a viable species continues to remain dismal. My hope is that our leaders will reflect upon the course that has brought us to this point and perhaps consider reconciliation as an option to retaliation.

Our children are going to inherit a world that is increasingly dominated by conflict. It is important that they learn Peace Education as part of their overall strategy of self defense. There is a project I was planning to initiate at the start of the Year of the Rat but in light of everything that is happening today, I feel it may be more appropriate to begin the project now.

A truly inspiring example of reconciliation over retaliation is the story of Sadako Susaki. Sadako was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima. In 1955, at the age of eleven, Sadako was diagnosed with the atom bomb disease - Leukemia. Sadako’s best friend told her that there is an old Japanese legend which states that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako began folding origami cranes with the wish to be healthy again. Her drive and determination so inspired her schoolmates that when Sadako died on October 25, 1955, her schoolmates began a project to build a monument to Sadako and all the children of Japan who were killed by the atomic bomb. School children throughout Japan and nine other countries got involved and helped raise funds for the project.

In 1958, the city of Hiroshima unveiled the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Park. This “Tower of a Thousand Cranes” has the children’s wish inscribed in its stone pedestal: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in this world”. Today, people all over the world support this call for peace by folding one thousand paper cranes and sending them to Sadako’s statue in Hiroshima Peace Park.

The project that I am initiating will be a yearly project. My goal is to inspire Silent River Kung Fu students to fold one thousand paper cranes by Canada Day in the name of peace. We will send the one thousand cranes to the Mayor of Hiroshima to be placed at Sadako’s statue on August 6 - the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Our world could be on the brink of another nuclear conflict. A conflict that has been fueled by intolerance and xenophobia. The potential of the human race is limitless. Perhaps this project will evoke reflection over reaction and reconciliation over retaliation and maybe, just maybe, someday there will be peace in this world.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
- Jimi Hendrix (1942 - 1970)

Sophie

One of my first memories of Sophie was when she was still a baby. She had been left alone in the kitchen for only a few minutes. Last seen, she was happily playing with her toys. The suspicious silence raised an alarm that something was not right. Big understatement. Sophie had somehow got into a large bag of baking flour. Grandma’s kitchen was obscured by a thick fog that was being generated by Sophie’s merry tossing of the flour into the air. Everything was covered in flour - everything. It took hours of cleaning to restore the kitchen and another hour of bathing to clean Sophie and get the flour out of her hair. This is my first memory of Sophie. Sophie is now eight years old and has not changed a bit.

Sophie is a dog. Sophie is a dog’s dog. Sophie is THE dog. Sophie is a one hundred and five pound Bouvier Des Flandres. Sophie is mischievous. Sophie is always in trouble. I had an epiphany last night - Sophie has life totally figured out.

I have watched this dog with fascination. She is not a typical dog, of that there is no doubt. Sophie is constantly in trouble but somehow she is okay with that. Like any dog Sophie is eager to please, however not at the expense of her ideals. Sophie is a firm believer in certain things and she would never compromise her ideology in order to make an impression on someone. Therefore Sophie will chase the squirrels, she will tease the cats, she will sleep on the furniture, and she will steal my food. She seizes every moment of every day. I even find myself watching her when she sleeps. The dog is a world class sleeper. I have never seen anything sleep so sound. She is always in the moment.

Sophie excels at life. Sophie loves herself and absolutely loves being a dog. The first time Sophie visited Silent River Kung Fu, she spent the first half hour prancing back and forth in front of the mirrors admiring herself (heavily damaging the mats with her Bouvier weighted claws in the process - another story for another time). How can one not be inspired by that self confidence? Can each of us look at ourselves in the mirror and honestly say that we love that person? Most of us can’t really say that we even truly know that person. We spend an extraordinary amount of time every day trying to hide our flaws and portray an image that is more defined by what we think others expect rather than showing who we truly are. Do we even realize how much stress this facade creates for us? Imagine a life where you know and love yourself so completely that you have no inhibitions about showing exactly who you are to the world and where you are completely accepted as this person. Sophie lives this life.

Kung fu teaches us more about ourselves every day. As we learn more about ourselves we learn to face our flaws and either accept them as part of who we are or strive to eliminate them. Self confidence is gained through this self realization. When you truly understand yourself, you will respect, accept, and love yourself.

A life can be dictated by personal beliefs and ideals, uninfluenced by peer pressure and the fear of being labeled an outcast. This is Sophie’s life. She is the most honest, pure soul I have ever met and I love her.

"There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms."
- George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

Dogmatic Revision

I have been devoting some thought toward the paradigm paralysis that is infecting western society and causing us to accept two dimensional and short sighted leadership despite the overwhelming evidence that our culture is in decline. Somehow we have arrived at this point in time where our culture’s materialistic ambitions have appreciated beyond our spiritual values. If the planet is going to have a minimal chance of survival, people are going to have to adjust their definition of quality of life to include the quality of the air they breath, the water they drink, the food they eat, and the company they share.

Values can be classified into two groups: Personal Values and Cultural Values. I believe that as individuals, on a whole, our personal value system tends to be compatible with a peaceful, healthy planet. Our cultural values however, contradict our personal values and are actually systematically destroying those personal values. The crux of the matter is that cultural values tend to be doctrinal and ideological in nature and rooted in political and religious dogma making them very difficult to change. Where does one begin?

If, as individuals, we begin demanding our leadership represent our personal values, cultural values would shift to reflect this ideology. The problem with dogma is that it is taught and passed down from teacher to student. Very little creative thought is applied to qualify learned dogma and it tends to be accepted without question. In order to deconstruct accepted dogma, one must be motivated to consider alternative tenets.

Part of the problem with trying to initiate change is obtaining access to the people who need to listen. Typically lectures and dissertations are only attended and read by others who already have an interest in the subject or issue being presented. These people are already convinced and therefore not our primary target. This is why post secondary institutions are a hot bed of activism. Many students have a veil lifted from their eyes when they are forced to read and research assignments on subjects chosen by their programs, not themselves. Anyone in a teaching position has the power and responsibility to lift that veil of indifference from each and every one of their students. Dogma must become rooted in empirical experience and a priori deduction as opposed to the acceptance of indiscriminate convictions.

The bottom line again is accountability. If we become accountable as teachers for eliminating mindless indifference and if we become accountable as individuals for demanding representation of our personal values by our leaders, our society will begin to adopt cultural values that are more in harmony with our planet’s needs.

“No country or people who are slaves to dogma and the dogmatic mentality can progress, and unhappily our country and people have become extraordinarily dogmatic and little-minded”
- Jawahairal Nehru (1889 - 1964)

Ultimate Sacrifice

While the governments of my province and my country continue to taut emission intensity reduction, our overall emissions of greenhouse gases have reached an all time high. Despite signing the Kyoto Accord in 1998 and ratifying it four years later, Canada continues to talk about the possibility of a solution but has done nothing about implementing any legislation to target overall emissions. As long as we continue to concentrate on intensity reduction but allow production to grow, our disrespect of the planet can only be classified as suicidal. If our provincial government does not begin to take a leadership role in controlling the oil industry’s overall emissions, that responsibility will be taken out of our hands. Does no one remember the National Energy Program? It is inevitable that change will have to be legislated, either that or we are ultimately finished. It is not a matter of if but rather a matter of when and how. I’m embarrassed to acknowledge that Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown more leadership in protecting Alberta’s resources and sovereignty than our own provincial government. See article.

No one seems willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to help our planet. You would think the ultimate sacrifice would be life itself but no, it is not. We now define the ultimate sacrifice as the size of our wallet. For our children’s financial well being, we seem willing to sacrifice the rights of our grandchildren to a healthy, fulfilling life on a non-toxic planet. We may want things to change but we’re not willing to make changes if they are gong to adversely affect our financial bottom line.

Aboriginal cultures have always sought to live their lives in such a way as to ensure long term sustainability of resources. It is time for the rest of us to adopt the same approach and stop waiting for someone else or technology to provide a solution. We must begin to recognize our ability and responsibility to personally make a difference in the health of our planet.

There is a very simple solution that requires a major paradigm shift in consumer values from economical goods to ecologically friendly goods. If each and every one of us began conscientiously spending our money on products that reflect our values and beliefs, industry would adapt and follow the money. If we demand ecological accountability and sustainability in the products we purchase, industry will produce ecologically accountable and sustainable products.

"What you risk reveals what you value."
- Jeanette Winterson ( b 1959)

Out of the Kwoon and Into the World

Today begins the second month of this online journal. Upon reflection, this project has not travelled in the direction I had anticipated. My reason for starting this was simple. Accountability. I envisioned this blog as a tool to hold myself accountable for achieving the goals and standards I have set for myself.

I have several plans and goals in the works at any given point of time but I have no deadlines. I never stop striving to achieve my goals but because I keep adding new goals, my attention and focus are constantly in flux. My progress on any specific path tends to be slow. I find myself trapped in the perpetual cycle of addressing one crisis or another and having to concentrate on whatever the immediate priorities these crises define. Most often these immediate priorities are only that - immediate. They have no long term benefit or consequence, they only require my immediate attention because they are time sensitive. Most time sensitive priorities only evolve into such due to procrastination. I found myself continually dealing with minor crises that had become my number one priority due to neglect rather than making any progress on truly important, less time sensitive initiatives. This journal was to help keep me focused on my important pillar shaking goals and values. By publicly disclosing them, I am now accountable for results or the lack of results. Public scrutiny can be a great focus motivator.

Now a month into this project I have come to realize that the benefits I am realizing go way beyond what I had expected. Yes I am more focused on the important issues because of their public declaration but I am also considerably more efficient. By documenting my thoughts I have been forced to organize them into a linear stream as opposed to the standard abstract chaotic pie in the sky mishmash that is usually bouncing around my skull like a pinball. I have been able to apply this newfound focus to my students and give them tangible tools to help them get maximum benefit from their training. Our new motto “Out of the Kwoon and into the world” is only words without substance unless we actually give people the means to put this philosophy into action.

That is the crux of it all - translating words into tangible actions that produce empirical results. There is a world of difference between doing what you want to do and doing what you need to do. Beyond accountability, this blog is initiating the development of the strategies and tools I require to help organize my words into action and ensure I continually challenge myself to notice the difference between the want to do’s and the need to do’s in my life.

"If you do what you need to do when you need to do it, then someday you can do what you want to do when you want to do it."
- Jimmy John's Sandwich Shop