Strength of resolve

At what point does someone simply say I can't figure this out so I an going to stop trying?  Or at what point does someone say I still don't get this so I have to keep trying till I do?

Both ways are looking at a problem but the difference is the outcome and how you see yourself in the world.  Being a grinder and problem solver I have tended to take the second approach.  Many times I have encountered what appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle in front of my progress.  It can be intimidating.  It can be demoralizing.  But it should not be defeating.  Even if I have to stop, walk away from it, then turn back and try, try, try again.  Every time I try I win. Even if I don't succeed and over come the obstacle, by trying, I am able to make my spirit stronger than the obstacle.

Strength of resolve will win out over any obstacle.

What has Kung Fu done for me

I have been thinking hard the past month about what Kung Fu is doing for me.  To me there is the obvious of going to class.  Class provides a point of new knowledge.  There is always something new to learn and to understand.  This is a physical reward, as I am able to apply new techniques to my expanding  repertoire of Kung Fu skills. This is the physical learning of Kung Fu.

What about the mental aspects of the Art?  This is something that is ongoing.  As I train more, mentally I am becoming stronger.  Meaning that as situations come up in life I approach them from a state of calmness and not from a state of aggressiveness.  This to me is one of the great benefits of learning Kung Fu.  Calmness cannot be over rated.  It puts a person in the position of strength.  Decisions are made with a calm mind not and aggressive cluttered mind.

 

Then there is the outward dimension of leaning Kung Fu.  What do others see in me?  My wife commented to me that Kung Fu has changed me.  She said that the training has me more focused, calmer, and more caring about my self and the people around me.  She told me it has made me a better person.  If nothing else, to have someone who I care for immensely to say it has made me a better person is definitely worth the long hours of training.  

Books

When I was in my teen years there were two thing that truly terrified me.  One was public speaking and the other was reading books. Public speaking is not that unusual many people have this issue. When I began university and decided I wanted to have a career in business and because of that I made a choice that to be get over my fear of public speaking I had to do public speaking.  I consciously put myself in situations where I would have to talk in front of people.  As time went on the natural fear I had of public speaking became a motivator.  I am not sure the actual feeling I have when I have to public speak is differ from my teen years but the motivation is different. That feeling now registers as excitement.

The other fear, I now realize, was totally irrational. I was a lucky person in school that grades came easy to me but I read as little as possible to get by. To this day I don't understand why I had this fear. I was about 22 when I was about to begin university (I started later than most people because I didn't have the means to go to university out of high school).  Again I realized if I was to succeed at university I had to read.

So I began to read. It was hard at first because I had never just sat for an hour and turned pages. I began by reading Louis Lamour, a western novelist.  Westerns were always an interest for me so I thought this was a great way to start.  Very soon after I branched out and was reading history which to this day is one of my greatest interests.

Both fears in hindsight were both irrational.  They were senseless, I had no bases to be afraid.

The most interesting thing is that nowadays both public speaking and reading give me some of the most pleasure in my life.  I am lucky to have a great partner and Wife that understands this.  My house has books all over the place and there is not a room where there are not books. She understands my passion for books and is supportive.  To the point where she tolerates books everywhere.

What is my point here.  It is a simple lesson.  The next time I have an irrational fear I need to engage that fear and not ignore it.

Blue Jays

I don't have much to say this week.  I have been focused on other things so I will just say:

Congratulations Blue Jays for driving as deep as you did into the playoffs.  Canada is proud.

Perspective

I have heard from people in I Ho Chuan, and with people I work with, about getting angry with things that happen during their day.  Many times when they are driving.  I have had problems with anger in my past (I still do but I think I am able to see it and understand it for what it is) and have had for lack of a better word: tantrums.

I try as hard as I can to keep anger out of my life as it is a very destructive emotion.  I have seen the emotion affect me and those around my very negatively.  Without anger in my life I can see clear, I can assess a situation based on intellect rather than emotion.  Most outcomes are almost always better.

As I wander through life without anger, or at least managing the emotion, I find that I see and pick up thing around me in a more positive light.  The other day I am driving home on highway 16 and someone cut in fairly close in front of me.  This could be a moment of anger; however I let it go.  A few kilometres down the road I was passing an older car quite rusted.  I noticed the window down and a hand came out of the window with a thumbs up.  As I passed I gave a thumbs up back and a younger guy in his early 20's was in the car. My guess is he liked the jeep I was driving and was  acknowledging it.  Because I didn't feel anger earlier my mind was open to seeing something that was cool.

For myself the more I have been able to recognize and control negative emotions in my life, I have found my life has gotten better.  The world is a much more interesting place when negative emotions are limited.

Autumn

As someone who has had the chance to travel throughout the world one of the things that truly amazes me about Canada is the change of the seasons. This is quite unique for the northern climes. I was able to travel the backroads for most of the weekend.  The pallet of colors was truly amazing: orange, yellow, green, red, brown, grey, whites and small patches of black.

The prairies are beautiful at most times of the year.  This is the time of year I always get homesick. I grew up in the mountains of  Jasper.  The autumn was always special in the mountains the air is crisp, there are no bugs, the weather is usually dry and you can see the colors climbing down the mountains on all sides of the valleys.

It is something that people from the mountains always look forward too.  It is the last of the warmth before winter and the universe gives an incredible light show to end the warm days of summer.

My Constant Struggle

In many of my blogs I have had a common theme of working towards being in the moment.  This is still a daily struggle for me.  I  am continually working on the "Do" and forgetting about the "Be".  These are words a mentor of mine uses.  The do is getting out there and doing the things you need to do to reach your goals.  But when your are in the "Do" you also have to consciously be in the "Be".

The "Be" is the moment, to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.  It seems like a switch that I have to constantly make sure it is on.  I have began meditating in the mornings and have been able to train my mind to stop thinking and to just have a clear head and concentrate on just truly being in the moment.  It is powerful to be able to be in that state.  But then after writing down my thoughts and goals for the day I start "Doing" and my mind shuts off and I am no longer in the moment.

I understand that being in the moment is a learned behavior, or at least for me it is.  Or maybe it is unlearning other behaviors.  The reward for being in the moment is I have a better day, I am more mindful of others, and I think beyond myself.  I just wish I could figure out how to do it all the time.