Back at it

Well its been a hiatus.  I have been travelling and tied up with work.  Looks like it will continue to be busy for the next while.  I was happy to be back in the Kwoon last night after a few weeks away. 

Training is such a great way to get calm and focus on what the immediate task is in front of me.  Leaving the floor with a sweat on is one of lifes great pleasures.  I hope to be able get to most classes in November but next week may be a bit of a challenge.

See you all on the mats

Everyone wants to be a Cowboy until it's time to do Cowboy stuff

I have been reading a number of books on Mastery and on Success.  I grew up in the mountains in the back country and working with horses.  Most people see a rider coming down a trail or a rider out on the plains in a cinema blockbuster and say wow that is what I want to be.

What is not seen is the work that needs to be done so you can ride off into the sunset.  The constant fixing of  fence, trimming feet, putting shoes on the horse, taking shoes off the horse, more trimming, shovelling out the paddocks, cutting hay, picking hay, throwing hay, early mornings gathering horses, fixing tack, fixing vehicles, the list is endless.

This past month I had a few examples of the not so fun stuff of being a cowboy.  This weekend I had to move and restack a bunch of my winter hay as I found a bunch of leaks in the tarping.  It only took about 6 hours but it was tedious  and not how I wanted to spend my 6 hours.  My brother took a few weeks off in September and went to wrangle for a outfitter friend of his up in the mountains.  It was a 2 week trip with 12 dudes and 30 head of horses.  They got snowed in with 70 cm of heavy wet snow and the crew had to work their way out in a very unpleasant atmosphere.

Why am I talking about this?  Well in away it is similar to achieving mastery.  This is in anything, not just Kung Fu.  I hope by now we all have a picture in our head about the kind of Black belt we want to be.  It is the work we need to put into to achieve mastery and it can be tedious and boring, doing the same things over and over.  But without this,  making this part of training as part of the process, we can never achieve mastery or a Black Belt with meaning.  It is the work and constant repetitiveness that allows for us to reach Mastery.  In my reading those that embrace this part of the process become the true masters.  The true masters do the Cowboy stuff.

Just my thoughts

I am late on writing this weeks post.  The reason is I cannot make sense of what is going on in this world.  The things that have happened in many corners of the world are perplexing me .  This is not the world I grew up in.  But in my reading I know that horrific events have been happening
 throughout history. A year ago, 2 years ago, 10 years ago, 50 years ago, 200 years ago, 1,000years ago and beyond.

I live in a world where I talk to my neighbor and I get along with them.  I travel around the world and I  get along with the people I meet.  I talk with people that disagree with me philosophically and I get along with them.

So why are there people who think that killing people is an option.  This is hard for me to comprehend.  There is no simple reason that this happens.  Many people want to make it simple but it is not.

All I know is it makes me upset and I can’t help but cry when these things happen.. My parents left me with two very important  things if you work hard towards your goals  you will ultimately suceed and we need to respect everyone.

I am so confused and downtrodden right now I don’t know what more to say.

I have not lost hope in humanity but I am challenged right now.

Mental Training

I had a breakfast meeting with an old friend last week.  We talked about many things which was not limited too, but included retirement, investments, travel and my training.  My friend was asking many questions about my training, most of them focused on how I have changed mentally.

I was able to explain to him that where I benefited the most is in my ability to have control over my emotions.  I was explaining that the mental aspects of training has trained me and my mind to remain in the moment.  My mind is better than anytime in my life and I am able to remain focused.  Due to this, I have better control over my emotions.  I explained that when I feel distress, anger or other negative emotions, I recognize it immediately and am able to get rid of that emotion in my mind.  To be able to recognize bad or non-productive emotions allows me to have more productive days, but also to have more enjoyable days.

I told him that having control over my mind truly moves training to every aspect of my life and relationships.  After our discussion he is thinking of maybe to start training.  It will be interesting to see if he does.

I saw this picture and it made me think of my friend's and my discussion.

Chinese New Years Disappointment

We tried and tried to make this happen, but unfortunately due to my wife's work schedule and her commitments, I can't make it happen.

It disappoints me, but, I cannot be at the Chinese New Years Celebration.  My wife works at NAIT and she can only take time off during the school year when the students are off.  This year it happens at the same time as Chinese New Years.

We are off to Belize and that is the only week we can go.

I did make a commitment to this team and will do everything I can, short of being there the night of the celebration, to make it a success.

Warm Days Cool Nights

This past weekend my older son and myself spent some time along the McLeod river.  Him and me have been going to this spot every fall for the last few years.  It is a time of year we both like, warm sunny days and cool nights.

We were treated to a spectacular lightning and thunder storm that lasted for about 4 hours on friday night.  The rain came down so hard at one point we could hardly hear each other talk.  It was a great time.

We spent the better part of two days walking up and down the river just enjoying the day.  At this time of year there aren't many people around this area.  I was sitting on the rivers edge and an older gentleman walking with a cane asked if he could sit down and talk.  I said sure and we talked for a short while.  I learned he lived in the Robb area most of his life and he told me many fishing stories about places all around the Robb area.  A great education on the rivers edge.

I am already looking forward to next years trip.

Sunrise

I have been able to get a few good shots of a number of sunrises these past few months.  Although they have been spectacular, for most of them the photo does not always do them justice.  These are a few of the ones that I think turned out the best.