Bittersweet

Yesterday was the beginning of the Year of the Rooster and last night marked the end of the year for my Year of the Monkey I Ho Chuan Team. It was truly a privilege to share the Monkey year with such a great group of people. It was a challenging year that was marked with many pitfalls, tragedies, and spectacular successes.

Despite so much going wrong yesterday leading up to our Chinese New Year Banquet, the evening was spectacular. Everyone’s performances were inspired and spot on. The lion/dragon dance, even though we all agreed it could have used more time to evolve, was probably the best we could have ever hoped for. I am ecstatic about how everything came together.

My euphoria over the success of last night’s event is tempered by my recognition that, no matter how much you prepare, mistakes and oversights always happen. Last night was no different. My wish is that everyone remembers the spirit of the evening and forgives any perceived slight.

It was my intention to share more about Master Margie Hilbig last night with my students who never had the opportunity to meet her. I found it difficult to find the words to adequately describe a mentor who I owe so much to. I miss her dearly and I am still wrapping my mind around a world without her in it. I also realized, after the fact, that despite having Master Macdonald help promote my black belts, I never even introduced him. I am sorry Sifu. Those promotions themselves also did not go off without a hitch. The order they happened in did not reflect the actual seniority of those black belts. Sifu Lindstrom, you are still senior to Sifu Csillag. Sifu Csillag you are still senior to Sifu Langner. Nothing has changed and no slight was intended. Gerry  Emas, my friend. You have been so generous with your time and expertise with me and my school. I failed to publicly thank you at the end of our banquet for always being there to chronicle our events with your photographs. My oversight is not a reflection of my lack of gratitude. Thank you for all you do. Sifu Eva Dennis, you were promoted to 5th degree last night. A master instructor. I know my words did not even come close to encapsulating what you have brought to our lives at Silent River Kung Fu. My apologies for my inability to express myself adequately. And the biggest faux pas of the night was our failure to mention Advanced Remediation Solutions - the sponsor of our new lion Liu Bei. Terry and Dean, the evening was crazy. We lost our MC at the last minute and never truly recovered. I can assure you that your sponsorship will be mentioned at every dance we do. I am very sorry that we all dropped the ball on that one.

There is no doubt that there are more that I should be apologizing for. A wonderful evening like we experienced last night is only possible with the efforts of many, many people. I am grateful for everyone who made it an evening to remember and I hope any oversights on my part are not allowed to diminish the experience in your eyes.

Finally to the new Sifus - Sifu Brian Chervenka, Sifu Sharida Csillag, and Sifu Chantal Prince. It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to share this past year with you three. I am proud to have you as SRKF black belts.

“Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

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)

Engagement

The new calendar year just begun and Chinese New Year is only two weeks away. It is the season when the majority begin anew. New goals, new motivation, new resolve. Progress is fickle, yet self perpetuating. Staying engaged and committed is the key to success.

I’ve been committed to kung fu for well over thirty years and I am hoping to have another thirty productive years in the art ahead of me. I try to start each day by recognizing it as an opportunity to begin anew but for me there is no reset button as big as Chinese New Year. My gratitude for my blessed life is vast but there is always some mediocrity stubbornly clinging to me. The transition from the Year of the Monkey to the Year of the Rooster is another opportunity to mindfully brush it off.

“The beginning is always today.” - Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 - 1797)

Intelligent Curriculum Part 2

The challenge I face when presenting intelligent curriculum, curriculum that challenges a person to think, is that not everyone wants to open their mind to thoughts or ideas that do not support and reinforce their already formulated beliefs. Seth Godin wrote an excellent blog this week stating - “Is it possible we’ve made things simpler than they ought to be, and established non-curiosity as the new standard?”

How we look at things sometimes is only a product of inherited dogma. Intelligent curriculum promotes curiosity and creativity. Curious creativity has always shaken the pillars of the world.

“When you're young, you look at television and think, there's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want.” - Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

Grieving Reflection

Tomorrow will mark a week since Master Margie Hilbig passed away. Since finding out, I have thought of nothing else.

A couple of months ago I noticed that Margie’s signature on my certification certificate from 1995 had faded, it was almost gone. I thought how it would give me an excuse to visit her and get her to sign it again, assuming she did not purposely use disappearing ink. Of course life kind of got in my way and I never got around to visiting her. There is always tomorrow can become an easy excuse to procrastinate.

Well, Margie is gone. The faded signature seems so irrelevant now. I would give anything to have the opportunity for another visit with her. Margie knew what she meant to me. I was never shy with my feelings around her and I reminded her every time I met with her. I regret not having that one last visit, one more opportunity, to remind her of just how much she meant to me.

My intention is to never go through these types of regrets again. I keep gratitude in front of me and I am always reminding myself of where I am and how I got here. I need to be more diligent about reaching out to my mentors and expressing my gratitude while they are still in my life. Life is way too short for such regrets.

“I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regrets.” - D.H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930)