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“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” – Confucius (551 - 479 BC)

After fifteen years of blogging every week, this will be my last posting for the foreseeable future.

I began my blog as part of the requirements for the Ultimate Black Belt Test. My first posting went up on November 4, 2007 and I have not missed a weekly posting except when I was taking part in a UBBT event in Alabama without access to a computer or the internet. After Master Tom Callos retired the UBBT project, I continued my weekly blogging as an act of discipline to set an example for my students.

I have nothing but gratitude for everything that Tom Callos has brought into my life. So much of my current daily practice came about because of his guidance and encouragement. I have not regretted accepting and implementing his advice on anything, and the fifteen years of weekly blogging is probably the most powerful gift he has given me.

Not all of my posts were good or even pertinent. Often my postings were more about the discipline of following through with my promises and commitments as opposed to the thoughts and ideas I was recording. Regardless of the intent behind any particular post, I learned a lot about myself and the world around me from the process. No regrets.

My focus from this point on will be shifting from my own personal training and evolution to that of my students. I have been blessed with a long, prosperous career in the martial arts and I want to devote my remaining time to improving my student outcomes, influencing positive change in the martial arts industry, and promoting egalitarian ideals and initiatives within my community.

Ending my run is a bittersweet moment for me. I have mixed emotions about my decision but I am at peace.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss (1904 - 1991)

Discipline

I had the privilege to see one of my living heroes speak this week. Henry Rollins has always inspired me with his social consciousness and his willingness to walk the walk and not just do the talk.

This was the second time I have seen him speak and he did not disappoint. He spoke, non-stop, for over two and half hours without a break, water, or interruption. If you know Henry Rollins you know how quickly he speaks. Anyone else presenting the same material would have needed an extra half to full hour to cover it all.

If I were to ignore the inspiration from his words, I still would come away totally inspired by his discipline. Discipline is in my wheelhouse but Henry Rollins’ discipline is on another level.

Living in a province whose mantra is consume, exploit, and take care of only your own, it was invigorating to spend that time with hundreds of other people, all masked no less, who reminded me that there is a lot of good out here.

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.” - Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986)

Beliefs and Behaviours

It is unfortunate that our actions do not always reflect our values. It is never a simple matter to fully understand where our true values lay yet most of us are quite adamant about what we believe in and hold to be true. Yet if one were to analyze their daily actions, they would soon realize how much hypocrisy has crept into their lives.

If you are an advocate for animal rights and are against animal cruelty but purchase products that are tested on lab animals, you are actually supporting animal cruelty, not fighting against it.

Perhaps your real values are about money, not animal rights. Or maybe life has become so hectic that you are unable to make mindful decisions. At this point you either have to admit that your values are not what you thought they were or that you are a hypocrite.

With all the divisive political rhetoric out here, reconciliation is going to be difficult unless everyone first understands themselves and their actions. The problem is not the destructive behaviour out here, the problem is the the lack of mindfulness. Behaviour will never change unless there is clarity in action. Knowing why we do things is the fundamental foundation of positive change.

“Voting is not something that we do only once every four years; it’s a daily way of life. We vote with our wallets through every purchase decision that we make. For example: there is only one reason why grocery stores in Hawaii sell mangoes that are imported from Ecuador: people keep buying them. Tropical fruit grows right here on the island but we can’t blame the stores for supplying what we demand. If we change our ways and only buy local mangoes, however, then they will only sell local mangoes; it’s that simple.” - Timber Hawkeye (b. 1977)

SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP

We’re going on to the third year of the COVID pandemic, Quebec has started a new wave of infections, Ontario’s waste water analysis is also indicating an imminent surge, and there are still people who do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. 

There is a lot emotion that goes into a person’s world view. The main weapon we have at our disposal in controlling those emotions is knowledge and understanding. We have the power of reasoning available to us and the intellect, for the most part, to understand the concepts of cause and effect, as well as the ability to reason out that freedom and rights come with significant responsibility.

My personal belief is that government mandates are never going to be effective unless there is a zero tolerance approach to enforcement. We can argue all we want about whether or not a mandated measure is effective but the argument has absolutely no merit unless the mandated measures are implemented completely and then the resulting data proves them effective or ineffective. If we are not following the mandates, there is no way to prove, one way or another, the validity of the strategy. Unfortunately for the minority who absolutely refuse to comply with any mandate unless they are not personally inconvenienced by it, they can keep fueling this pandemic indefinitely and continue to argue that the mandates are not effective despite the fact that it is their personal actions that are guaranteeing the failure of any mandate.

We will never be at the point where we can rely upon everyone to pull together in a unified, logical strategy. To be clear, when I say logical, I am talking about strategies based upon science and common sense, not strategies based upon emotions. Politics, personal agendas, and illogical paradigms will continue to divide us and continue to be used to promote personal benefit over what is best for our community and society as a whole.

No leadership or strategy is going to benefit everyone equally. Compromise is the only way we can progress together. Unfortunately for the privileged few, compromise tends not to be in their vocabulary.

We are letting politicians decide medical strategies. We are ignoring healthcare professionals and doing our own “research” on the internet. This is why we have entered the third year of a global pandemic with no end in sight.

“Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears...”  ― Nitya Prakash (b. 1988)

Investing in Karma

Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes are an inevitable byproduct of effort and growth. Some mistakes are stupid but if our intent is positive and pure, they are nevertheless honest.

The word Karma literally translates as action. Many believe that our actions are reciprocated so a positive action will return positivity. A negative action will return negativity. For many the concept of Karma is spiritual, almost magical. For me, Karma is just common sense.

Every action has a consequence. My action that intentionally causes harm will in turn cause harm to myself - if only for the guilt that accompanies such actions. Likewise kind actions produce ripples of kindness that continue to spread and multiply, eventually coming back to me.

I continually invest in Karma. I know my actions have consequences and I know those consequences affect the world that I am part of. I try to be the change I want to see in the world.

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” - Wayne Dyer (1940 - 2015)

Poverty

I have been meeting with other members of our community to discuss poverty reduction strategies. Today we discussed the resiliency aspect of the topic and I found myself handcuffed by my thoughts. 

If we're working within the existing parameters that have created the issues that presently exist, how can resiliency be addressed? 

Treating symptoms is not the same as solving problems. A municipality committed to eliminating poverty is not going to make a lot of headway unless we have a provincial government with the same level of commitment. 

One step at a time. 

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it." - Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

Truth and Reconciliation

September 30th marks the first National Day forTruth and Reconciliation in Canada. I believe this is an important initiative to help bring awareness and understanding of what our indigenous citizens have unjustly endured by the hands of our nation.

Racism and bigotry prevails in our society and in recent years it has even become more socially acceptable to publicly support and spread bigoted ideas and actions. September 30th is an opportunity to reverse this trend. It is an important day for reflection and, hopefully, reconciliation.

I am someone who believes that one of our greatest strengths as a nation is our diversity. Our diversity brings creativity and opportunity to every problem and situation. Pre-conceived ideas and beliefs only limit what we are capable of achieving.

Silent River Kung Fu is observing Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30th and will not be conducting any formal classes on this day. Our students are all encouraged to reflect upon the legacy of residential schools and the systemic racism that still infects our society. In light of the current healthcare crisis in this province, we will not be officially participating in any public events and we are encouraging our students to remain isolated and safe.

“We have been investing in our collective ignorance, and we have to stop." — Marie Wilson

Another Election

We are headed to another federal election this month and the country seems more divided than ever. I had a campaign volunteer for one of the major political parties come to my door this week and the second he was aware that I was not going to vote for his candidate, he became very confrontational and combative. No political discourse, no listening to another’s point of view, just immediate aggression.

Our country has changed a lot since 2006. Gone are the days when our MPs were to vote according to their constituents’ wishes. It is all about the political party and supporting the party leader, not the people who voted for you. It is no wonder that most Canadians ignore who their riding MP is and cast their vote for who they would prefer to be Prime Minister.

Divisive politics used to be the domain of a particular federal political party. Now those tactics are starting to be used by another political party. We no longer have positive campaigns that outline a party’s agenda. Our election campaigns are nothing but misinformation and finger pointing. We are expected to vote for who will do the least amount of damage. It now appears that expecting our elected government to improve the quality of our lives is not considered reasonable or even doable.

Clearly there is more to quality of life in Canada than the quantity of money in my bank account. So how should I cast my vote? Should I vote for the party that best represents my values or should I strategically vote for the party that has the best chance of defeating the party that I feel is going to do the most amount of damage?

“A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies.” - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

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)

Why

Why do we do anything? Have we forgotten? We have been conditioned to commodify everything so much that we forget why we did it in the first place. We work hard to earn money to improve the quality of our lives. Yet more often than not we forget about the quality of life we were striving for and only focus on acquiring more and more money, even sacrificing the quality of our life to to earn more than we need.

If we do not consistently remind ourselves of why we are doing what we are doing, our attitude will no longer align with our goals. Education becomes commodified to become about the degree instead of the knowledge that the degree represents. In kung fu, forms practice devolves into a hoop to jump through in order to earn another promotion as opposed to being about personal mastery.

Where am I? What am I doing? Two important questions that cut through the haze of distraction and remind us of why we do what we do.

“Fact: If standard of living is your number one objective, quality of life almost never improves. But if quality of life is your number one objective, standard of living invariably improves.” - Zig Ziglar (1926 - 2012)

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)  

Two Weeks

Tomorrow my dad will have been gone two weeks. It definitely is not getting easier, in fact it still has not totally sunk in that I will not see him again. The one positive thing is that my mind is filled with mostly happy memories of him. I was scared that my only memories would be of his final years fighting COPD, dementia, and then him dying alone.  Small blessings I guess. 

My dad did die alone though, as are a lot of other people during this pandemic. Listening to people talk about being judged about their personal decisions or hearing people put a spin on the situation by trying to make what they are doing to be about freedom and censorship boggles my mind. Just because people do not agree with you does not mean they are not listening to you. However, you cannot demand that someone respect your decision or your point of view. Respect must be earned. Your personal opinions do not trump science and proven facts. 

My dad died alone and he did not have to die alone. He died alone because this province cannot do what needs to be done to control this pandemic. We are blessed to live in a free society. Those freedoms come with a price. That price is responsibility. Look out for everyone else and everyone else should be looking out for you. We are in this together. Inconvenience for the good of your community is not the suppression of your rights. Surely we all understand this simple concept. 

We need to get it together and start doing what is right. People are dying unnecessarily. People, like my dad, are dying alone. 

“When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.” — Edith Hamilton (1867 - 1963)

A New World

This past week has been a week filled with change. This week is the first week the world, for me, has existed without my dad in it. I have been preparing for this inevitability for a long time yet somehow I was not prepared when the time came. It is even more difficult today than it was when he died a week ago. 

My dad spent his final year mostly alone. The timing of the pandemic could not have been worse. It is frustrating that a man who spent his entire life in service of others was forced to end his days isolated because so many of us cannot wrap our minds around the concept that freedom comes with responsibility. I am gobsmacked at the irony of him dying alone while others are out enjoying themselves at an illegal rodeo the very same week.

“My father said there were two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. The takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.” — Marlo Thomas (b. 1937)

Together

We’re well over a year into a pandemic that probably has another year to go before it is behind us. Who knows, it could be longer. Some countries like New Zealand have already put most of this pandemic behind them but we’re still pushing toward a peak. I don’t understand the reluctance that people have with complying with health orders, especially those who are so concerned about the economy. As New Zealand has proven, following common sense, and enforcing that common sense when needed, gets the economy back on track a lot sooner than our everyman for himself approach that is killing most business in this province through a death of a thousand cuts. 

I get the argument about civil rights and freedoms but some of us are sounding like spoiled teenagers. Freedom comes with responsibility. It has never been about doing whatever you want when you want. It is about earning the freedom we have by contributing to your community and accepting the responsibility that comes with all those freedoms you hold dear. Nothing is for free, everything is earned. 

Yes, we have incompetent politicians making stupid mistakes that is costing us lives and livelihoods. We put those politicians into power and so rather than fighting them, it would be infinitely better if we tried to help them. Pulling together is still the best way to overcome any adversity. We can fight any problem better when we are not always fighting ourselves. 

“I think the best of us comes when we are working together collectively. And it doesn't mean that we can't disagree. We've got to learn, as Dad taught us, to disagree without being disagreeable.” - Martin Luther King III (b. 1957) 

Doomed

When this pandemic hit us over a year ago, despite having many months to prepare for the inevitable, our provincial leadership was scrambling to adopt measures and protocols to limit the spread of the virus. After floundering for weeks while we watched the virus spread, the government finally acted. Hospital visitation was curtailed, senior care facilities were locked down, and schools were closed along with non-essential businesses.

Fast forward a year. 

Today, while we battle the third and most intense wave of the pandemic, hospital visitation is curtailed, senior care facilities are locked down, but schools are wide open along with most non-essential businesses. Despite our healthcare system being stressed to the max and the pandemic raging worse than ever, feel free to get your tattoos finished and your hair styled, but don’t even think about trying to get your 90 year old father’s 85 year old sister in for a visit with him one more time before his dementia robs him of his final memories of her.

Priorities. We sure have them straight. If it is not about my wallet, it does not rate in this province.

 

“We shall be better prepared for the future if we see how terrible, how doomed the present is.” — Iris Murdoch (1919 - 1999)

Responsibility

We live in a democracy but I do not believe all of us truly understand what that means. By its very nature, a democracy implies compromise. We go with the majority and whether or not you are in agreement with that majority, you must accept their will. Threatening violence or political separation every time you do not get what you want does not serve a democracy. 

It is not difficult to confuse democracy with politics. If we democratically elect a government, we are empowering that government to make decisions on our behalf. I do not get to vote on every decision, I only get to vote for who is going to make those decisions on my behalf. It is my expectation that the government that represents me will make their decisions based upon what is best for the majority of their citizens. I don’t think it is unreasonable for me to assume that any government that represents its people will make decisions based upon the proper triaging of priorities. Saving a life takes precedent over saving a paycheck. Seems pretty obvious. Money can be replaced, a life cannot. Death is absolute, bankruptcy is not.

When politics enter a democracy, the government does not always represent the majority of their citizens. It does not take much for a government to be influenced by vocal minorities, especially when those minorities can bring a lot of campaign money to the table.

An indisputable fact cannot be more absolutely clear - our intensive care units are overflowing. At certain points of this pandemic, up to 80% of certain hospital beds have been infected by COVID outbreaks. Whether you think this virus is dangerous or not, it is affecting our health system's ability to cope. That means cancer patients are not getting timely treatment, psychiatric patients' treatments are compromised and in some cases, not even available anymore. People needing care and therapy cannot receive it because our system is overloaded, underfunded, and unable to cope with the realities of the pandemic.

So where are we today in Alberta? Our healthcare workers, a year into this pandemic, have been working relentlessly to cope under adverse conditions while the infection rate remains at an unsustainable level. At the exact same time many of our population are refusing to adhere to a mask policy that our government is failing to enforce. The biggest tragedy is how many special interest groups are preying upon the appallingly weak leadership in this government by successfully lobbying for the relaxing of COVID restrictions, at the very time that our healthcare experts are advocating for the opposite approach.

If this government is not going to provide the leadership necessary to save lives, who are they representing?

“People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.” - Saul Alinsky (1909 - 1972)

What About

Trickle up economics?

Clearly, after 50 years of data accumulation, economic studies show that trickle down economics do not work. Of course there is solid logic behind the idea - corporations make more money, they create more jobs - money trickles down, everyone wins. Unfortunately that model does not take into account greed. When corporations make more money, that money trickles up to shareholders first in the form of dividends. Whatever is left then goes to create more jobs - usually low paying jobs that require further corporate subsidy by the state for these underpaid workers in the form of welfare and other social assistance. There is a reason why Wal-Mart is one of the biggest beneficiaries of welfare. This is why the rich just keep getting richer - they bleed the system from both ends.

If it was so easy to bamboozle everyone with the hypothesis of trickle down economics, it should be just as easy to convince everyone of the benefits of trickle up economics. Pay a living wage to all your workers and they have more money to spend on the products and services you produce and that they need. Everyone wins in this symbiotic, sustainable model.

Trickle down economics have a better chance of working if corporations were run to benefit the corporation first, the shareholders second. Unfortunately that is not what happens in real life. Decisions are made to maximize the CEO’s salary bonuses and those bonuses are always tied to shareholder return on investment. This is why we continue to see corporations make short term decisions that maximize profits but actually hurt the integrity of the corporation over the long term. Shareholders and CEOs are not in all it for the long term. Most are just in it long enough to maximize their income until they can find a more lucrative opportunity.

“The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we’ll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.” - Warren Buffett (b. 1930)

Rights and Responsibilities

My business is currently enduring its second shutdown of this pandemic. I get to go first but everyone else in the province will be following very shortly unless something miraculous happens to take the pressure off of our healthcare system. 

The latest polarizing incident to happen this week was the arrest of an individual who refused to wear a mask in an Edmonton Costco. Watching people’s extreme reactions to the incident just confirms the need for another flipping of the switch. We are not responsible enough to be trusted to make the correct decisions when it comes to controlling the outbreak. Control needs to be taken out of our hands. 

We’re very quick to point out our rights as free citizens of a free country. We’re very slow to recognize the responsibilities that go with those rights. Cause and effect guys, that is what is at play. Nothing is for free. 

We have the ability to avoid a shutdown but that is not something that can be done without universal cooperation. Wear a mask and maintain social distancing or have the government step in and shut everything down. Your choice. If you feel you should have the right to both ways, then don’t expect to have access to a hospital bed if you need one in the near future. If you feel you should have access regardless of the situation, stop complaining when taxes have to be raised in order to expand the healthcare system to cater to your demanded rights. Cause and effect.

We have freedom and safety as a society because we work together for the common good. Those of us who are in a vulnerable state requiring the empathy and support of the rest of us may be the same people who are reaching back to lend you a hand when you need it in the future. The only certainty in this life is change is inevitable - nothing is permanent. Your actions today are a preview of your future world. You create your karma.

“Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty." - John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937)

Leadership

With the US election indicating a change is coming, I am breathing a sigh of relief. The past four years of chaotic leadership coming out of that country has caused a lot of damage that is going to take years, if not decades, to repair.

Sometimes when we are getting something we want, we don’t take the time to consider the consequences. When a government is supposed to represent 100% of its citizens, there has to be more leadership coming from them beyond stimulating the economy. Continuous growth is not possible. Our resources are finite and at some point even the wealthy will come to realize they cannot eat their cash.

I am hopeful that stable leadership will reverse the ‘me first’ attitude that prevails in our society. There is more that brings us together than divides us. We need to recognize that we’re stronger and better off together than apart.

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” — Caesar Chavez (1927 - 1993)