I finished the book Addicted to Busy: Recovery for the Rushed Soul by Brady Boyd last night. It was a great book. Now before you rush out and read it, I must issue a warning. This book was written by a Christian pastor and a large portion of the book does relate to resting in relation to faith. I have done my best to mine out the some of the gems in this book that are universal regardless of your faith choice.
He started with a warning to choose rest before it chooses you. When rest chooses you, it is not always on the terms that any of us would choose and often it looks like a health crisis of some sort.
He also talked about how plugged in our society is - making each of us available 24/7/365. We don't even realize how dependent we are on our devices until they are pried from our fingers - whether it is being available constantly or having information readily available at our fingertips.
He discussed the difference between rest and entertainment. Entertainment in and of itself is not bad but it really is no substitute for true rest. He used a trip to Disneyland as an example. Entertainment at it's maximum but after a day there, you need rest. Often the forms of entertainment that people choose are really just mind numbing or an escape. They do not provide rest.
He addressed some of the reasons why we may be so busy. The first one really spoke to me - being a slave to the opinion of others. I struggle with people pleasing. The remedy was to work more and more on being your authentic self and not who you think you should be. Another reason is that we define ourselves by what we have accomplished. We believe that if we don't get absolutely every single thing done, then we are lesser people. The final one that really jumped out at me was the fear of missing out. This often plays itself out with our lovely little hand held devices and really in particular Facebook. We are constantly checking in. We don't want to miss a single thing. There is also the desire to look interesting to others.
Another area that I really struggle with that he poked at was the little time wasters. In and of themselves, they are small things, really they seem insignificant. Yet it is so easy to string an entire day of these types of activities together. This is when the little things really start to add up. I know we have talked about this in the sense of mastery but this is the other side of the coin where we are allowing mediocrity to slide into our lives.
So what are we to do....
Most of his advice really was nothing shocking. Try to really pay attention, yes there is that mindfulness thing again. Try to really slow down and really look around you. Take in life with grateful eyes and a grateful heart - the life that is right in front of us that we are currently living now. Leave the future to itself and stay in the right now. Then finally probably the best remedy, truly practice thankfulness - not just in when it comes to mind but really seeking out places to praise. There was a discussion about how rest is opposed in our culture and that we must be ruthless in our pursuit of it. It will not happen automatically. There must be intentionality.
For me the final chapter was the reminder that I really needed to hear the most. It was the reminder that we must have margin in our lives so that we have space for others. I do not want to live my life being completely selfish. I want to be open and ready to help others. When we are chronically stressed out then the people who are around us with needs just fade into the background of life. We are unable to see their needs, let alone actually do anything to help. I can't even begin to imagine the missed opportunities to bless others simply because I was a stressed out mess myself.
At the very end of the book he warned that once we decide to carve out rest in our lives, we need to be very intentional about what we do with that rest. We need to look at our lives and ask what makes us feel the most alive. He encouraged simplicity.
So what am I going to do with all of this great advice.... Tomorrow I am heading off with my family to spend a few days camping and fishing. I am going to unplug as much as I can possibly get away with. I am going to focus on the people right in front of me. Spending quality time with my peeps is one of the things that makes me feel most alive and I can't wait to get on the road!
Monday 27 July 2015
Thursday 23 July 2015
Week 22 - Not Just One, But Two
When I sat down last fall to set my personal goals, there was one priority that hit the top of the list without any hesitation - my family. I knew that taking on this challenge would mean change for everyone. It was important to me that they knew that they still more important than kung fu. To help with that, the goal I set was to have 12 one-on-one dates with each of my favourite people.
Keeping track of these outings has really shone a bright light on the season of life that we are in as a family. With Chad working out of town but having set days at home, we have managed to fit in many lunch dates. They often happen just as he is heading out for another shift away. Also with the kids getting a little older, we are able to slip out easier. I had thought dates with him would be the hardest to fill - that has not proven to be the case.
Next we have my sweet girl... It feels like we are together constantly - often one-on-one. I have had to make an effort to make meaningful dates with her - doing what she wants and really focusing on her instead of just doing life dragging her along with me.
The one that seems to always be on the losing end of this is my Waylon. With one child able to stay home alone or even babysit but the other child not being old enough quite yet to stay home alone - this adds a challenge. When Chad is home we seem to be either doing things as a whole family or he is sneaking off with Waylon to scout out hunting grounds or to shoot guns at targets in the bush. I love watching their relationship change as he grows older. But... I have struggled to be able to get my own time in with him.
This week little one had a birthday party sleep over at a friends house. Chad was out of town. It was just me and my boy for almost 24 hours! On Friday night after kung fu, we watched the Fast and the Furious. He is now on a one boy mission to see each and every one of them. Then on Saturday we headed into the city and did some geocaching in Terwillegar Park then lunch at MyFries. We had such a good time. It really helped our relationship too. There were no distractions, no little sister, a whole lot less attitude.... Definitely a highlight this week!
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 22:
Push ups 18,734
Sit ups 21,345
Kempo 184
Staff 274
Sparring 470
KM 414.2
AoK 423
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 440
Piano 35.5 hours
Books finished 11
Daily fruit - 124 days
365 photo challenge - 103 days
Daily journal - 144 days
Keeping track of these outings has really shone a bright light on the season of life that we are in as a family. With Chad working out of town but having set days at home, we have managed to fit in many lunch dates. They often happen just as he is heading out for another shift away. Also with the kids getting a little older, we are able to slip out easier. I had thought dates with him would be the hardest to fill - that has not proven to be the case.
Next we have my sweet girl... It feels like we are together constantly - often one-on-one. I have had to make an effort to make meaningful dates with her - doing what she wants and really focusing on her instead of just doing life dragging her along with me.
The one that seems to always be on the losing end of this is my Waylon. With one child able to stay home alone or even babysit but the other child not being old enough quite yet to stay home alone - this adds a challenge. When Chad is home we seem to be either doing things as a whole family or he is sneaking off with Waylon to scout out hunting grounds or to shoot guns at targets in the bush. I love watching their relationship change as he grows older. But... I have struggled to be able to get my own time in with him.
This week little one had a birthday party sleep over at a friends house. Chad was out of town. It was just me and my boy for almost 24 hours! On Friday night after kung fu, we watched the Fast and the Furious. He is now on a one boy mission to see each and every one of them. Then on Saturday we headed into the city and did some geocaching in Terwillegar Park then lunch at MyFries. We had such a good time. It really helped our relationship too. There were no distractions, no little sister, a whole lot less attitude.... Definitely a highlight this week!
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 22:
Push ups 18,734
Sit ups 21,345
Kempo 184
Staff 274
Sparring 470
KM 414.2
AoK 423
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 440
Piano 35.5 hours
Books finished 11
Daily fruit - 124 days
365 photo challenge - 103 days
Daily journal - 144 days
Friday 17 July 2015
Week 21 - Injury Update
This week I had a few appointments for my knee.
The first one was with the sports medicine specialist. We have made the decision to not pursue surgery to repair my ACL. My knee is currently extremely stable. She feels that I could potentially end up with less range of motion and a stiffer knee with the surgery - not to mention the downtime afterwards. The clincher for me was that right now, I am doing almost everything I want to do in kung fu (still not ready to fly yet). If I were to pursue the surgery, I would be off the mats for almost a year. She was pleased with the range of motion I have gained back. It is almost at the same place as my good knee. The swelling is also almost gone. I have also noticed a huge improvement in the bone bruising (that was until we did kneel walking in class the other day, that was not so fun). She has also recommended that I try to get a specific sleeve for my knee to help with stability (and my fear), perhaps with time we will look into a sports brace if needed. I get to keep working on my strength for the summer and go back to see her in the fall.
The second appointment was with my friend of torture - the physiotherapist. She is also thrilled to pieces with how things are looking. I was given some more exercises to work on. We have now started incorporating some jumping... Did I mention some fear above... Little itty, bitty jumps with lots of control. I get to go back and see her in 6 weeks.
All in all, the update is all good news. I am to keep on working hard. The only area of my life at this point that the injury is still impacting is kung fu and as I build strength and courage, I am finding that is even less and less.
In the rest of life, it was also a pretty good week. We stuck close to home with most of our outings being to the kwoon. This was very helpful on the numbers front.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 21:
Push ups 17,744
Sit ups 20,715
Kempo 174
Staff 262
Sparring 390
KM 405.7
AoK 405
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 422
Piano 33.75 hours
Books finished 11
Daily fruit - 120 days
365 photo challenge - 99 days
Daily journal - 138 days
The first one was with the sports medicine specialist. We have made the decision to not pursue surgery to repair my ACL. My knee is currently extremely stable. She feels that I could potentially end up with less range of motion and a stiffer knee with the surgery - not to mention the downtime afterwards. The clincher for me was that right now, I am doing almost everything I want to do in kung fu (still not ready to fly yet). If I were to pursue the surgery, I would be off the mats for almost a year. She was pleased with the range of motion I have gained back. It is almost at the same place as my good knee. The swelling is also almost gone. I have also noticed a huge improvement in the bone bruising (that was until we did kneel walking in class the other day, that was not so fun). She has also recommended that I try to get a specific sleeve for my knee to help with stability (and my fear), perhaps with time we will look into a sports brace if needed. I get to keep working on my strength for the summer and go back to see her in the fall.
The second appointment was with my friend of torture - the physiotherapist. She is also thrilled to pieces with how things are looking. I was given some more exercises to work on. We have now started incorporating some jumping... Did I mention some fear above... Little itty, bitty jumps with lots of control. I get to go back and see her in 6 weeks.
All in all, the update is all good news. I am to keep on working hard. The only area of my life at this point that the injury is still impacting is kung fu and as I build strength and courage, I am finding that is even less and less.
In the rest of life, it was also a pretty good week. We stuck close to home with most of our outings being to the kwoon. This was very helpful on the numbers front.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 21:
Push ups 17,744
Sit ups 20,715
Kempo 174
Staff 262
Sparring 390
KM 405.7
AoK 405
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 422
Piano 33.75 hours
Books finished 11
Daily fruit - 120 days
365 photo challenge - 99 days
Daily journal - 138 days
Saturday 11 July 2015
Week 20 - Summer is Here!
This past week has been fantastic in many ways. My wonderful hubbie was home for much of it. That is always a great thing. We snuck out on the kids a few times for supper and late night Jack's ice cream. Then add to that two full days out at the lake. What a great way to start summer off! 
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 20:
Push ups 16,609
Sit ups 19,655
Kempo 155
Staff 252
Sparring 330
KM 401.8
AoK 385
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 402
Piano 31.9 hours
Books finished 11
Daily fruit - 118 days
365 photo challenge - 94 days
Daily journal - 132 days
Monday 6 July 2015
Addicted to Busy
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
-Mahatma Gandhi
There has been a lot of talk on the team this year about being busy and trying to fit everything in. This seems to be a universal struggle. Our culture is addicted to busy. Our culture puts a very high premium on being busy. We are all busy. We were all busy before we started our year of mastery. Then we added a bunch of requirements onto the list of things to get done. So... If we were already crazy busy and then we add more to our lists of things to do, how on earth would we expect to get it all done... That really is a million dollar question.
I am about to start reading a book called Addicted to Busy: Recovery for the Rushed Soul by Brady Boyd. This quote by Gandhi was included at the start of the very first chapter. It really spoke volumes to me. Quite honestly I am tired of being busy. My rushed soul needs a breather. The book warns that it, like any other book, is not capable of changing lives. They provide tools to point people in a direction. It is up to each of us to make the necessary changes in our own individual lives. The past few months have been filled with change for me as I walk this journey to mastery. I am ready to entertain more changes if they will help me live a better quality of life that isn't always focused on quantity.
Saturday 4 July 2015
Week 19 - Its Snot Fun....
I had mentioned in last week's post that I was really feeling the wear and tear on my mind and body. Well, this week it totally gave out for a couple of days. Heading towards Saturday, I was really wanting to go to bootcamp even though it was not in the cards this year. When I woke up Saturday morning, I was so grateful that I was not going. A summer cold knocked me flat on my face. I tried desperately to get in some numbers but I just did not have the strength. I am now feeling much better which is good because like the kind and caring girl that I am - I shared it with my family.
This week my numbers were a little lower than the previous week's but really all in all, they are comparable to many of the prior weeks. There are areas that need more focus but for the most part, considering this week's obstacles, I am choosing to be happy.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 19:
Push ups 15,884
Sit ups 18,845
Kempo 145
Staff 252
Sparring 290
KM 380.2
AoK 368
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 381
Piano 30.9 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 113 days
365 photo challenge - 89 days
Daily journal - 126 days
This post is a couple days late and I am already part way into the next week. My numbers are not fantastic. We have been busy doing family stuff and outside work. I only have my hubbie home for a couple more days before he rides off into the sunset for another 20 day shift. I will need to ramp it up the rest of this week....
This week my numbers were a little lower than the previous week's but really all in all, they are comparable to many of the prior weeks. There are areas that need more focus but for the most part, considering this week's obstacles, I am choosing to be happy.
Here are my YTD totals as of the end of week 19:
Push ups 15,884
Sit ups 18,845
Kempo 145
Staff 252
Sparring 290
KM 380.2
AoK 368
Personal Goals:
Gratitude Journal 381
Piano 30.9 hours
Books finished 10
Daily fruit - 113 days
365 photo challenge - 89 days
Daily journal - 126 days
This post is a couple days late and I am already part way into the next week. My numbers are not fantastic. We have been busy doing family stuff and outside work. I only have my hubbie home for a couple more days before he rides off into the sunset for another 20 day shift. I will need to ramp it up the rest of this week....
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