Creating the Right Light

A kung fu kwoon is more than a training hall. For many, it is a spiritual entity. It moulds your perspective while it hones your motivation. Only those who have taken ownership and immersed themselves into the care of the kwoon truly understand what I am talking about and thus reap in the benefit.

It is impossible to think about the Silent River kwoon without thinking about Sifu Kevin Lindstrom and his wife September McGregor. Their creativity, sweat, and hard work are part of every wall and fixture. From our first major renovation in 2010 to our expansion a year later - the two of them have lead these projects tirelessly and passionately.

This year’s remodeling of our end bay was once again lead by Kevin and September. Their involvement and skill is so important that we scheduled the work around their availability. Their commitment is so complete that despite Kevin being away for work for weeks at a time, they spent his first four days back from his latest rotation dedicated to the kwoon’ s needs.

The next time you are in our kwoon and notice the special energy that comes from training there, don’t forget to thank Sifu Kevin Lindstrom and September McGregor.

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” – Aaron Rose (b. 1969)

When The Student Is Ready

If lessons were reserved for a time when you are ready, the lesson would be on hold indefinitely. Lessons often are beyond your scope. If they are not, they would hold less value. Every lesson should bring with it a tuning of your perspective - an opening of your mind. 

We are limited in our growth until something stimulates us to go beyond our arbitrary limits. Some of the lessons I am mastering today were taught to me thirty plus years ago by Grand Master Simon. I just did not have the insights to process the lesson properly until now. If he would not have taught me the lesson those decades ago, the basics I now possess that allow me to process the lesson completely would be wasted. I needed the point of reference he provided.

When a lesson is given, the only failure possible comes from assuming the lesson is beyond your scope and ignoring it. If you put every lesson into your toolbox, it will be there when your skillset is ready. It is a mistake to discard a tool because you are too impatient to store it for future use. 

 “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” - Buddha

Complacency

Settling into a rhythm that serves you and your goals is the first step to achieving that state of effortless effort. Nothing worth accomplishing is effortless but there is that sweet spot where your effort becomes so routine that the effort you must apply to your situation becomes effortless in itself. Positive habits and structured days ensure progress while helping you avoid the stagnation and depreciation of the skills you are working so hard to acquire. 

Effortless effort is a wonderful state to achieve but without mindfulness, effortless effort is only a single step away from complacency. Complacency is not an ally of mastery. Complacency resides on the same side of the street as mediocrity. Just because something works today does not mean there is not another way that is more efficient. Strategies for success must evolve as you evolve. 

“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” - Andy Grove (1936 - 2016

Karma and the Ant

I was reminded about the importance of mindfulness and the value of journaling a couple of months ago. 

A friend of mine recalled a story I had told her that I had almost completely forgot about. A few years ago I met my someone for lunch in a park. We spent our lunch hour together and then headed back to our respective workplaces. When I got back to work I noticed an ant had hitchhiked with me on my lunch utensils. I was on the fifth floor of the building and I did not want to kill the ant. I also knew that it was not a simple matter of just releasing him into the wild. He would not survive if he could not get back to his colony a couple of kilometers away. So I packed my ant into one of my lunch containers and he spent the afternoon with me at work. When I was finished for my day, my ant and I hopped back on my motorcycle and returned to the park where my lunch date had taken place. I found the exact spot where I had eaten and I released the ant into his home habitat. I remember the day very well now that I was reminded of it and it makes me smile and lifts my spirit. 

When it comes to positivity and happiness, karma generated by an act like that is gold to someone like me. But if the act fades into obscurity, the value to me is greatly diminished. Sure the ant still benefitted from the situation but my benefit was almost gone until my friend reminded me of the incident.

Mindfulness allows one to reflect before reacting and make positive choices. It is so easy to make the correct choice and then forget about the value of the decision when the stress of life gets in the way. Journaling is a fantastic tool that allows one to draw positivity from past experiences to retune perspective and reset attitude. 

“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue” - Buddha (563 BC - 483 BC)