Being the Hands and Feet

A century ago life looked very different.  Our communities were smaller.  They were tight-knit.  Communities often looked more like families than anything else.  Ideally in a family, everyone pitches in to support one another, meet each other's needs and love each other well.  Communities lived this out on a larger scale.

Fast forward to today.  Our communities are much larger as people have moved into cities.  The communities that were once so knit together have taken on a new look.  People often do not know the people that share a fence or hallway with.  People do not share their lives in the same way. They are isolated from one another and the effects can be seen in the health of our communities, families and our mental health.

I believe that we were made to be in real community.  I believe we were made to knit together in relationships.  We are made to be kind to one another, do acts of kindness, to help.  It has become harder and harder in our society to live this out.  If you don't know your neighbours, then you don't know their needs.  We have been trained to either avoid eye contact or answer with a perfectly unauthentic "I'm fine." We do not even know the needs of others and they do not know ours.  The isolation continues...

How can we change this?  We have to do our small part in the world to be the hands and feet in our communities helping others and living with authenticity.  I have been blessed to be able belong to and raise my children within sub-communities (families) where we have the opportunity to do this.  We have been able to surround ourselves with living examples of how to be a blessing and how to in turn, receive a blessing.  

Silent River is one of those families that provides these opportunities both within the walls of the kwoon and also out in the larger community.

One of the ongoing projects that is happening right now is the Adopt a Driveway.  This is a perfect example of how our world has changed.  A century ago there likely would not have been a need to have a formal program because people would have just taken it upon themselves to just take care of one another.  In some parts of our communities, this is still the case.  For a variety of reasons, this is not happening on it's own for many in need, so a more formal program was developed.  We have been provided with the blessing of caring for one sweet couple through the simple act of clearing snow for them.  This one simple act may make the difference between whether or not they can stay in their family home and remain independent.  This is a simple gift that we can give to them.  In exchange we get to have some laughs while clearing the snow as a group and that warm feeling of knowing that we are making a real difference in their lives.

I challenge each of you to look around, really look.  We have lived in isolation within our larger communities for far too long.  Each of us alone cannot change the way our society is headed but we have the opportunity to each be a bright light.  That bright light has the ability to have a domino effect which does have the power to make real changes.  Open your eyes and your hearts today, see a need.  Then be the hands and feet and do what you can to meet that need.  It may be a simple as a smile to brighten someone else's day!  

Reflecting on the Year of the Dog

It is the time of year where we are taking stock of what we planned, how it all turned out so that we can learn as we move forward.


For the Year of the Dog, I had a plan. 

My first main kung fu goal was to be promoted to second degree brown belt.  The second goal was to start looking forward to grading in the Year of the Pig.  I did obtain the first goal in June of 2018.  Due to life changes, I feel that I did not get a solid handle on the second goal.  Many of the smaller (if you can call 50 000 push ups or 1000 form reps small) goals were not consistently pursued.  There were many opportunities lost and as a result, I am not where I had planned to be.

Personally, the goals that I had set where always somewhat geared towards preparing for a grading year.  I planned to lose weight and be in better physical condition, get my home in order and running more smoothly all while focusing on personal growth and my key relationships.

If you go solely off the list of personal goals that I set and use it as the only measure of success and failure, this year would appear to be a bust.  Physically I am not even close to where I planned to be (actually further).  Organizationally, my home is in complete chaos as we have started a major basement renovation which seems to impact every single corner of our home.

Some of the goals that I did fully succeed in.  My km were easily reached.  I have already read 32 books with a couple more that should be completed before the end of the year.  My goal was 24 books.  Much of my reading was to learn, grow and stretch as live was shifting and changing.

As life unfolded this year, my key focus turned from where I thought it would be, preparation for grading, to relationships - primarily my relationships with my children.  Relationships take focus and time and I do not regret a single moment that I have spent building the relationships I have with my family.  Homeschooling has placed a significant focus shift and time demands on life and it is the structure of the IHC that has allowed me to be able to have any sense of success in this new endeavor.  I have always struggled with consistency, becoming my child's teacher has forced me to work hard on this area.  I am building tools in the areas of organization, planning and consistently following through that I can use in other areas of my life.  Most importantly, I am building relationships with my people.

As I look forward, the goal is to take the consistency that I have been learning and apply it to the coming year.  I will need this consistency as I continue to care for my family, homeschool, manage our home, survive renovations, keep my business afloat, all while preparing to grade.  When I put it in a nice, neat list like this it still feels more than a little overwhelming.  My mindset is to take small bite size steps each day, to make a plan, continue to work on consistency and then reflect.  I am looking forward to where the Year of the Pig takes me.

Plodding on Along

Plodding - to work slowly and perseveringly at a task

Today's lesson came directly from Language Arts 7.  We have been looking at fables and one of the assignments was to read an Aesop's Fable and rewrite it in your own words.  The fable of The Tortoise and The Hare was the fable chosen.

I can relate my kung fu journey to the journey of the tortoise in many ways.  I started this journey later in life.  I was not in great physical shape and honestly, I still have a great deal of work to do.  I did not join with aspirations of even gaining a black belt.  Honestly, that thought was absurd to me.  Clearly I was not black belt material.

Fast forward many years and here I sit looking forward to a potential grading year.  I wondered how on earth I got here and the only answer that I can come up with is that tortoise.  I plodded on along.  I did not rise through the ranks quickly.  I just kept on showing up ready to learn.  I kept on trusting my instructors to teach me what I needed to learn.  Even through a year of injury, I just kept showing up even if my participation was limited to the bench.  Slow and steady...

Now it is time for me to define how I will proceed this coming year and I have decided to continue down this path of plodding.  Sustaining what is required on the path of mastery is honestly not really exciting on a day to day basis.  The way to sustain is to continue to persevere each and every day putting one foot in front of the other.  The tortoise was not fast but he never lost sight of his end goal.  Each step was deliberate, the process was definitely not quick.  That is the plan for this year.  To start each day with a plan.  To end each day with reflection.  To just keep moving forward...

New Year, New Opportunities

I love fresh starts.  One of my weaknesses is that I seem to need them constantly.  I know intuitively that each moment can be a new start but nothing feels fresher than a new calendar year.  Being part of the IHC, this fresh start is different.  Goals are made based on the Chinese calendar so January 1st does not mean new goals.  I find it does mean a fresh, new energy to carry me through that last month heading into the new IHC year.  Then it is another new start.

Last night we brought in the new year with a family movie night.  We have been on the road visiting family in BC and Alberta and it was good to slow down and just be the four of us.  The first movie we watched was Greater.  This movie is an incredible true story about a young man who aspired to play football first at the high school level, then university level and finally in the NFL.  The young man was killed just shy of signing that his NFL contract but his legacy changed football in the southern states forever.  He was not naturally talented.  He worked hard every single moment with the singular focus to obtain his goals.  He inspired the people in his world with the integrity he showed.  He did not let a single opportunity pass him by.

This story is serving as the perfect send off into this year.  I have one big goal.  I want to earn the right to be on the mats on grading day.  I am not sure what this year will bring but I will be looking for each and every opportunity.