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