SRKF COVID Protocols In a Province That Has None

As common sense already predicted, we are seeing a significant increase in COVID cases since the Calgary Stampede last month. Despite the alarming rise in cases, the provincial government is going ahead with their plan to remove all restrictions by August 16. To be clear, this means that people who test positive for COVID will no longer be required to isolate themselves. We are now in this unpredictable situation where our COVID numbers are rising alarmingly fast while we are simultaneously removing all restrictions that have been helping keep the numbers down. It is not easy to keep a kung fu school financially viable while keeping our students safe in a province with no COVID protocols. 

Strong leadership is often more about optics than the logical specifics of a situation. Setting a public example of common sense and awareness will go a long way to help inspire our community to work together so that everyone can function within the reality of the pandemic as safely as possible. 

Ignoring what needs to be done to address a crisis only adds more fuel for the crisis to continue. We need leadership that looks out for the welfare of our population over the long term rather than only looking out for their own short term lust for power and money. 

“Nothing is sweeter and addictive than power, the unlucky soul this demon possesses, if he is not sacrificed on its altar will sacrifice others himself to get it”  ― Bangambiki Habyarimana

Space, Our Salvation?

Richard Branson completed his first flight into space today. Of course this flight is controversial and accompanied by much negativity concerning a billionaire spending his money on something like that. There is a lot of social benefit that could come from spending money on other things than space exploration. Of course this flight takes place while most of the western portion of the North American continent is enduring an unprecedented heat wave and wildfires.

Mankind is truly a unique species. Only we knowingly and willingly destroy the very planet that gives us life when it means more money in our pockets. We are quick to point fingers at people like Richard Branson as if a billionaire investing money in social programs is going to solve our greed focused societal problems that get ignored by the politicians we perpetually put in charge of our welfare.

Bill Nye the Science Guy changed my mind about space exploration. I used to disagree with the resources that were being expended to explore outer space while things were falling apart on our planet. Bill Nye’s opinion on the situation makes a lot of sense to me. He sees the biggest problem we face on earth is the abstract perspective that we are alone in the universe. Religious dogma and blind faith encourage many people to ignore their responsibilities as citizens of this planet and justify their conspicuous consumption of finite resources. Bill Nye believes that the massive paradigm shift that is going to be required to get people to prioritize the health of our environment over the economy will only be initiated by changing everyone’s world view. Finding intelligent life outside of planet earth could be the catalyst we need if we are going to save ourselves from the self-destructive path we are on.

“When we explore the cosmos, we come to believe and prove that we can solve problems that have never been solved. It brings out the best in us. Space exploration imbues everyone with an optimistic view of the future.” - Bill Nye (b. 1955)

Sustainability

With us reaching record high temperatures this week, it is impossible to not think about how our actions are impacting the earth’s climate. We all agree that climate change is real but we tend to argue over what is causing it. What is not deniable is that our actions, as a society, are not helping the situation.

Our economic models are based upon infinite growth. Stock prices of companies are based upon market growth, not sustainability. Investment is made on the assumption of growth, not just profitability. This brings us to a system where CEOs are rewarded for increasing the dividends of shareholders, not for strengthening the company they lead and thus. Constant and infinite expansion of the economy is impossible on a planet with finite resources yet our economic model is based upon that exact impossibility.

Doughnut Economics - a viable strategy that acknowledges the unsustainable nature and inevitably catastrophic outcome of our current economic model. Judging by how a large portion of us put the economy over the lives of our most vulnerable citizens during the pandemic, we have a long way to go before a model like this has a chance of catching on.

“Here’s the conundrum: No country has ever ended human deprivation without a growing economy. And no country has ever ended ecological degradation with one.” ― Kate Raworth (b. 1970)

Wants and Needs

My province is getting ready to move into the next phase of our reopening. There have been so many phases of relaunch that we have passed through - both forward and backward that I don’t even keep track of what each phase means.  There has not been much logic behind our province’s decisions. Our relaunch phases always come too soon and our shutdown phases always come too late. While I am an advocate of putting the greater good of the public’s health first, I have to acknowledge that how our provincial government is handling things has made a lot of the public health measures in place ineffective. 

Like everyone else in a democracy,  I am subject to the will of the majority. Yes, our Premier publicly lied and cheated to win his party’s leadership but the majority of my fellow citizens wanted him to lead our province and so I accept that. That is how a democracy works. I may have not voted for him but he is my Premier and I am going to participate in my community by providing leadership and support where it is needed. 

The problem that I see us facing as a community is our inability to distinguish between wants and needs. We all want to make our mortgage payments while some of us need a ventilator. When our hospitals are full and we are running out of ventilators to help deal with the impact of the pandemic, the ability to logically differentiate between wants and needs is paramount. While it is not ideal to have a bank foreclose on my house, it is infinitely better than having my neighbour’s child die because he succumbed to COVID-19. 

The good of the whole has to be the priority of a community. Everyone understands that. Unfortunately we have all been conditioned to confuse wants and needs when it comes to the economy. Our economic policies have never been socially or environmentally sustainable yet we continue to support this self-destructive trajectory. As we fight with each other and continue to prolong this pandemic through our actions, this has never been as clearly highlighted as it is now.

“Democracy is not simply a license to indulge individual whims and proclivities. It is also holding oneself accountable to some reasonable degree for the conditions of peace and chaos that impact the lives of those who inhabit one’s beloved extended community.” - Aberjhani (b. 1957)  

SRKF Break-A-Thon

 

After “What is your tuition?”, the most common question I am asked by parents of prospective students is “Are there any fundraising requirements?” Neither question is ideal because without any frame of reference, the answer is totally irrelevant. 

Tuition is relative. You get what you pay for. If you do not know what you are getting before asking the price, what is the purpose of the question? When you purchase a car your price range for the same model can span thousands of dollars depending upon the options you want. Why would martial arts be any different?

Fundraising is also relative. Many activities for children come with fundraising requirements. It is a way for a lot of organizations to supplement tuition so that they can quote you a lower price for tuition that is then made up for with fundraising responsibilities. Fundamentally, the fundraising question is asked to help qualify the first question about tuition. 

Fundraising at Silent River Kung Fu is not about tuition supplementation. In fact, it is not even about money. Fundraising at SRKF is about responsibility but not financial responsibility. It is about social responsibility. 

Silent River Kung Fu teaches kung fu as a traditional martial art. This means we teach martial arts the way they were meant to be taught. Our intelligent curriculum is a reflection of our values and those values transcend fighting and physical self defence. Of course our students learn to become good fighters but more importantly, they learn to become more cognizant and engaged human beings. 

Learning kung fu is empowering. Students are taught to recognize what power their words, influence, and actions wield.  That power must be tempered with a sense of humility and responsibility. Borrowing a phrase from my mentor Tom Callos, Silent River Kung Fu students are taught to take their kung fu out of the kwoon and into the world. 

Once a year Silent River Kung Fu students engage in an optional fund-raising project. This year’s fundraising project will be a Break-A-Thon where SRKF students will solicit pledges for breaking boards to raise money for charity and, more importantly, raise awareness of issues that affect us all.

This year the money raised through the Silent River Benevolent Foundation will go to support the Northern Lights Wolf Centre, the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS), and Rahul Bharti whose tireless work is so important for the homeless of Katmandu. 

The work that the Northern Lights Wolf Centre does to draw attention of the importance of wolves as a keystone species highlights the power of a single action. Killing wolves and removing them from an ecosystem has produced devastating consequences for the entire system. Reintroducing them back into an ecosystem has reversed those consequences by returning balance to the environment. Every action and every inaction each comes with a consequence - good or bad. 

Many instructors and students of Silent River Kung Fu have adopted their pets through the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society. SCARS is a no-kill organization that rescues animals in need and finds suitable homes for them. It has been said that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she treats animals. Empathy and compassion are two of the most important attributes of a real martial artist. 

Rahul Bharti has dedicated a lot of his life to helping people less fortunate than us. Rahul does not accept donations for his projects unless you are directly engaged with his work. He recognizes that money is not going to change anything but the awareness that we create can change the world.

“ He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” - Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Culture Shift

Our species has been living beyond its means ever since wealth became the priority. We’re willing to sacrifice tomorrow to make a buck today. We’re okay with destroying anything that gets in the way of economic growth.

COVID-19 has proven that we can implement massive changes in very little time when circumstances force the change upon us. Changes that were impossible for many to conceive being possible in their lifetime became normalized after only 90 days.

Don’t let inertia rule your life. Change is not the problem - motivation is.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.” - Zig Ziglar (1926 - 2012)

Debate Is Over

Earth day this year fell smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. I know past years have seen groups amass on opposite side of the fence when it comes to man’s impact on his environment. I would hope that this year the debate is over. The results of us being forced to back off on our out of control consumption are impossible to miss. The air is cleaner and the earth is healthier after only a couple of weeks into the forced shutdown. No need to debate cause and effect on that one.

Another argument that should also be put to rest - minimum wage. Many are claiming it is impossible to live off the subsidy the government is giving them during this pandemic despite their subsidy being greater than what our most vulnerable citizens are forced to live on year-round.

Lastly as someone who has worked in healthcare for most of his life, I am a little tired of everyone superficially “supporting healthcare workers”. This not a cool social media thing to do. It is something you should be doing 24/7 outside of a pandemic. And if you really believe in supporting healthcare workers, stop voting in political parties who are making it impossible for healthcare workers to make patient care their priority. We need to stop forcing the privatization of this essential service.

As it has been said before - this pandemic will not define us but it will reveal us.

 “Poverty is not having nothing. Poverty is being legally excluded from having sufficient access to resources to exist. Life on Earth used to lack a price tag. We changed that by locking up access to natural resources & letting the owner class hold all the keys. Unconditional Basic Income is your key.” — Scott Santens

Election

So I participated in the Climate March yesterday. Full confession - it wasn’t my first and it won’t be my last.

I’m not a big fan of protests but we are running out of options to get some ideas through to those in charge. The scientists have spoken and it is pretty much unanimous - we’ve screwed up our environment and we are about to pay the price. The time for change is long past and so it is now or never. Yet the people with the power and responsibility to guide us in the right direction seem reluctant to change the destructive course we are currently on.

Whenever I hear a politician utter the propaganda that we need to temper any positive change for the environment with caution so that we do not affect the economy, I am dumbfounded. Do they think the science cares about the economy? You can’t eat the money in your wallet and you can’t buy food that is not available. We need to think about what is truly important and when I do that, I do not see anything more important than Mother Earth. Everything we have is due to her - INCLUDING OUR PRECIOUS ECONOMY! Destroy her and we destroy ourselves.

Vote for your future, our children are depending on you.

“The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.” – Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)

It Is Time

The past provincial election ramped up the divisive rhetoric about the provincial economy and the climate change disaster. The current federal election is proving to be just as divisive along the same issues.

I don’t understand the “Alberta First” attitude when it comes to the oil industry. Our economy is in the mess it is in because we have no other industry in this province. If a politician really wants to put Alberta first, you would think they would be running on a platform of economic diversification, not doubling down on coal and petroleum. For a province that is traditionally conservative, you would think there would be more people speaking out about the over-subsidization of the oil industry. As lawyer Eugene Kung famously said: “The idea of building this [Trans Mountain pipeline] expansion, which essentially locks in production and expansion of the oil sands for the next several decades, is the exact wrong direction we need to go. It'd be like building a Blockbuster Video franchise in 2012."

The point is, oil is past its prime. Holding out for just one more boom is basically the low hanging fruit that gets gobbled up by politicians with no plan or ethics. That strategy only serves to get them elected, it does not serve the future of the population they supposedly represent.

My livelihood has always depended upon the petroleum industry. I have lived through many booms and busts and my family benefited and suffered accordingly. I don’t understand why we continue to allow our politicians to lock us into an economy that is dependent upon a dying industry. Yes jobs are on the line but we don’t see blacksmiths lining up for subsidies to keep their industry alive. It is tough but we need to adapt. Economies must evolve.

“My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil.” - J. Paul Getty (1892 - 1976)

Greta Thunberg

“I have not come to offer prepared remarks at this hearing, I am submitting this report as my testimony because I don’t want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to the scientists. And I want you to unite behind the science. And then I want you to take action.”

While the rest of us argue about the obvious climate crisis, a teenager is showing the world how it should be done with her simple 8 sentence letter to the US Congress. The time for hearings and committees is long past. It is time for action.

“You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don’t exist any more. Because you did not act in time.” - Greta Thunberg (b. 2003)

Eye For Detail

A dream is a goal without a tangible plan, and action without mindful intent is just chaos in the wind.

“My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Deeper

I spent the weekend removing dead trees from my yard. As the years get hotter and dryer, more pests and disease are the norm. I can’t remember when I last had a tree die but I suspect it is going to be the norm from this point on. Last summer was spent in a constant smoke haze from all the forest fires and the wildfire running rampant west of me this weekend is a harbinger of what we should expect this year as well.

My generation has definitely failed as leaders and protectors of our children. We’re busy lining our pockets while staying hell-bent on maintaining an unsustainable orgy of consumption and waste. Someone is going to have accept less. Why or how a parent can ignore the price that is going to be paid by our children boggles my mind.

 “It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.” - Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)

Open Eyes

I spent the last two weeks doing a lot of travelling. Nothing significant as I spent double the days travelling than I spent at my destinations. That type of schedule leaves one a little flustered at the end of the ordeal.

I haven’t been through Jasper for a few years but this weekend’s travel-through completely shocked me at the state of things. Where there was once crystal clean mountain water is now sandbars and mud. This being right after the winter melt where the water reserves are at their seasonal high. Vast groves of green pine are now turned brown from the pine beetle infestation. This past warm winter promises no relief on that front.

Climate change is happening, that is no longer debatable. Whether it is being brought about by human activity or not is totally irrelevant. We should be doing everything in our power to reduce our impact. You may not agree with that strategy now but you definitely will come around when you realize you cannot eat your money.

“By the time we see that climate change is really bad, your ability to fix it is extremely limited . . . The carbon gets top there, but the heating effect is delayed. And then the effect of that heat on the species and ecosystem is delayed. That means that even when you turn virtuous, things are actually going to get worse for quite a while.” - Bill Gates (b. 1955)

Postmortem

The election is now behind us and the unthinkable has happened. After two years of watching Trump’s exploits unfold and feeling grateful that I live north of the forty-ninth parallel, I find Canada going down the same crazy path as the US.

We just elected a guy who committed fraud in order to ensure he took the party leadership. We all knew he did it and the vast majority of us voted for him anyway. He is already vowing to go after any organization that opposed his election by using the resources of the government to shut them down. This is what now passes as acceptable behavior of our elected officials. Gone are the days when our government worked for the people. Now they only work for their own self-interests and ideology. We have normalized this behavior by knowingly voting for a crook and liar.

I am not sure what the future holds for my daughters but I sure hope we can figure out how to eat oil as we are sacrificing everything for it.

“The angry men know that this golden age (of fossil fuels) has gone; but they cannot find the words for the constraints they hate. Clutching their copies of Atlas Shrugged, they flail around, accusing those who would impede them of communism, fascism, religiosity, misanthropy, but knowing at heart that these restrictions are driven by something far more repulsive to the unrestrained man: the decencies we owe to other human beings.” - George Monibot (b. 1963)

Wake Up

When I was a child, my mom told me about the predictions of Nostradamus. One in particular had to with the emergence of an “Antichrist” that would herald the end of times. At that time I was somewhat fascinated with the idea of the apocalypse. I always felt that my life would end at an early stage, either through misadventure or the final end of all things.

Throughout my teens, I became keenly aware of the state of the planet. Pollution and conspicuous consumption were rendering vast tracks of land uninhabitable and the exploitation of the earth’s resources was driving many species into extinction at an ever increasing rate. This awareness is what inspired my environmentalist leanings.

Taking stock today I am aware that, despite my generation’s naive confidence that we were going to fix the problems created by past generations, the world is in a substantially worse condition than anyone ever thought possible. Global warming is no longer a debatable fact yet we are electing world leaders who don’t understand the difference between weather and climate. We watch with disinterest while those same leaders dismantle all plans to help save the planet. My generation is more concerned about the money in our wallets than the availability of food on the table for our children’s children.

The thought that crosses my mind today is - are we witnessing the end of times? Is Nostradamus’ Antichrist among us? If the Antichrist is indeed a great antagonist expected to fill the world with wickedness, how can we ignore our society’s unwavering worship of ‘more’ and the havoc our greed is causing? Everything has its price and our ethics and values are completely flexible as long as the price is right.

“. . . So many evils shall be committed . . .that almost the entire world shall be found undone and desolate. Before these events happen, many rare birds will cry in the air, ‘Now! Now!’ and sometime later will vanish.” - Nostradamus (1503 - 1566)

Cognitive Dissonance

Last year there was a news item on the BBC about a litter of piglets rescued from a fire that were later served as sausage to the firefighters who had rescued them. The farmer predicted that vegetarians were not going to be happy with the way he showed his appreciation but in fact it was mainly meat eaters that were appalled with the situation.

Six years ago, an American passenger jet on the tarmac in Washington had to be towed out to the runway for takeoff because it could not dislodge itself from the holes its wheels had sunk into from the extreme heat.

Coal-fired power plants in the US have been temporarily shut down because the waterways that they draw on to cool their machinery were either too hot or too dry.

The cognitive dissonance that is at play to allow us to be appalled by piglets saved from a fire being slaughtered to feed the firemen who saved them is also at play when we use more fossil fuel-burning machinery to get another fossil-burning piece of equipment dislodged from a tarmac that is increasingly overheated due to climate change so that it can go on its fossil fuel-burning way.

Cognitive dissonance or not, the chickens are coming home to roost.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true.” - Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855)

Thanksgiving

I had the opportunity to ride my motorcycle for the first time in a few weeks on Friday night. I did not realize how much I missed it until about ten minutes in. My best meditative moments come while I am on a bike. My mind empties and I am precisely in the present moment. I need more moments like that.

Sleep has been difficult to come by in the past few months. My concern over the future my children face is never out of my thoughts. We have already crossed a tipping point where the catastrophic consequence of global warming is no longer something we can avert. It is not a matter of if, it is just a matter of when - and, from what I am seeing, when begins now.

Thanksgiving is a heartening reset bringing gratitude, and gratitude is always a welcome anchor to the present moment. I have a lot l am grateful for and despite the carnage being inflicted upon my children’s future, I will strive to use this holiday to inspire my gratitude to stay in front of me beyond the opportunity this weekend provides.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

How Much?

I have spent years considering the possibility of quitting my job. I spent a lot time contemplating how much money I would need to take care of my monthly financial obligations if I lost my main source of income. Mortgages, groceries, utilities, the list goes on. Working or not, those expenses are a monthly reality. My estimates did not stop there. I had to consider the possibility of interest rates going up, the economy crashing, and how world politics would affect my situation.

The longer I analyzed the risk, the more confused I got. I came to realize that the reality of building a nest egg large enough to quench my fears would mean working until I was in my grave. So at the end of January, I took a blind leap and pulled the plug on my job and ventured into the unknown. Last week I surpassed the seven month mark on my big risk venture. My verdict? I need a lot less than I thought I did.

What if we all realized that we actually had enough? Would we all start living and working to feed our needs or would we continue to work to feed our greed? I fear there will always be those who feel they never have enough. I am not sure how much longer the earth can hold on while they try to work that out.

“For greed all nature is too little.” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

Surface vs Depth

I found an old stock of dishwasher detergent in the store room I was cleaning out. It is the exact same tab detergent that I am still using but with a difference. These vintage detergent tabs are individually packaged in foil wrappers. The current version is the same detergent tab enclosed in a water soluble coating. Obviously this new method is reducing the amount of waste that is ending up in the landfill. This is a very good thing. What I am wondering about is the environmental impact of the water soluble coating used on today’s version. What chemicals and processes were used to create this solution and what are the long term impacts?

I have no doubts that the manufacturer initiated the change to address environmental concerns. I also have no doubts as to the depth of their concerns. Most corporations focus only on short-term profits for their shareholders, not on the sustainability of their business practices or the health of their customers and the planet that is serving us all. My point is, the manufacturer made the change to improve public perception of their product’s environmental footprint, and any actual benefit to the environment was, if at all, a collateral benefit. In essence, their change was perception-driven and had no soul behind it.

I see this same issue with people’s kung fu. Some students train to learn while others train to be promoted. While the two approaches may appear to serve mastery, only one approach has soul behind it. Those training to learn show up to class with a plan and a purpose. They control their lesson and ensure they get what they need. Those training to be promoted never have a specific plan and rely upon their instructor to map out their progress. This is only half of the educational formula. The instructor is there to teach and the student is there to learn. If either one of the two does not have a plan, any knowledge passed on is only superficial.

Unlike my dishwasher detergent company, kung fu cannot be superficial. There must be soul behind our intent so all our energy is applied to mastering the art beyond just superficial ranks and appearances. There are two types of black belts - those who wear the belt and those who live the life.

“It takes time to practice generosity, but being generous is the best use of our time.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

The Abstration of the Environment

As part of our intelligent curriculum, Silent River Kung Fu students engage to raise awareness and funding for several initiatives and charities. It is a challenge to keep the purpose of our intelligent curriculum about that engagement and not allow it to be reduced to just a matter of writing a cheque.

Poverty, addiction, depression, extinction, pollution, starvation — these tend to be abstract concepts for many of us. There is a significant difference between knowledge and experience, but not even first hand experience will guarantee a society the clarity and resolve required to address a problem, even a catastrophic one, right in front of them. Over half of the world’s insects have disappeared in the past few years. Where are the bees? Pine beetles are destroying our forests. Fish are disappearing from the ocean. The coral reefs are dying off. Polar bears are starving. Forest fires and wild fires are the new norm, as are catastrophic hurricanes and storms. These are facts. Unfortunately, they are abstract facts. The consequence of these facts is not being directly felt by most of us. Yeah, the food supply is disappearing but I can still get my Big Mac and fries as easily as ever. Less insects? Maybe I can finally enjoy a summer without being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

It does not seem likely that we are going to be proactive about reducing our society’s impact on our planet. Yes, I know, for many global warming is not being caused by man. Why would deniers slow down their consumption and exploitation if it is not going to make any difference to future generations anyway? The polarization of our society on that front alone is disconcerting. If we are going to make a difference as a species, the environment cannot remain an abstraction. So what now?

I spent some of my weekend frolicking with wolves at the Northern Lights Wolf Centre in Golden, BC. It is unlikely the environment will remain an abstraction for anyone after spending time with Shelley and Casey Black. Passion cuts through barriers and these two are passionate about wolves and their role as a keystone species. The facts are there for anyone who wishes to see them. Yellowstone Park’s ecological revitalization after the reintroduction of wolves into the park cannot be refuted. Even armed with those facts, our society continues to ignore the keystone roll that wolves play in securing our future.

Take a trip to the Northern Lights Wolf Centre. I guarantee the plight of wolves will no longer be an abstraction after you have had a full grown grey wolf stand on your head. Environmental awareness is self defence. Arm yourself by educating yourself.

“Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it alright would rather preserve its life than destroy it.” - Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)