Awarness

It is very interesting how the same concept might work differently along the years and in different environments.

Starting at Kung Fu I was growing my attention to details on the mechanics of how to do each technique. Spending time trying to understand how I'm supposed to be positioned and how to execute.

At work, I used to be detailed oriented and to be able to complete  my tasks while paying attention to all details.

Now things have changed.

At work I've been focusing more and more about the big picture. The little details are still important but what is most important is the overall project not the individual task.

At Kung Fu, I've been paying attention to how I feel while executing each technique. If it feels right it means I'm doing the mechanics right.

So there is much changed along the years but at the same time it is still paying attention to details. Just from a different perspective. A much broader perspective.

Keystone Species

A keystone species is a species that has a large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. It means that it have positive affect on other species and the surrounding environment when it exists in that environment compared to environment it does not exist in.

As a group we support the Northern Lights Wolf Sanctuary. The wolfs are keystone species and that was proven in Yellowstone US National Park. 

There are more keystone species out there and it is important to recognize them as we do have the ability to affect their survival and by that the success of the eco-system.

Challenge - name 1 more keystone species you know of and why it is a keystone specie. 

The Route to Sundre (Mastery)

Last few days I enjoyed being away at a farm near Sundre. As a continuation of my last blog and as this topic has been a hot one, I was thinking about it while being at the farm.

Searching for the travel route from Stony Plain to Sundre and you get 3 different option all within few minutes. There are of course many more options that make it longer, but still will get you there in a decent time. There are also few options (i.e. going to Jasper and then to Rocky Mountain House) that will almost double the travel time be nonetheless it will take you to your destination (and in this case the route will be more scenic).

I see it being the same as our journey to black belt or our journey to mastery. There are more than one route that I can take that will get me there in reasonable time. Each route has its advantages and disadvantages. There is no need to choose the fastest route. I need to choose the route that is right for me.

As long as I know where I'm going, I will get there even if I take few detours. If approached with the right perspective, these "detours" need to be seen as learning experiences. Each one of us will have its' own route to black belt and mastery. You should never follow someones route just because it worked for them. You should find the route that works for you!

Alt-Ctrl-Del?

There are many times were we get to a point in our training and we wish we could start over... After getting my black belt, I had thoughts to re-join SRKF as a white belt :-). Training from ground zero and re-learning everything I already know.

At this time of the year, as summer vacations approach us and we are going to have harder time to attend all IHC functions due to "summer events", I hear more and more people talking about being lost, taking steps back, etc.

I was there. I am always there. Taking a step forward, 2 steps back, not knowing where I'm going, what I should focus my training on, etc.

Now I'm taking a step back and asking my self - why am I doing all of this? Is my goal to do 50,000 push-ups? No. What are my goals? Why am I engaged with a mastery program?

For me it is to enhance my life in few aspects - Family, Health, Happiness, Success, Friendship. These are my core values. This is why I do it all. So as long as these 5 values are being addressed. As long as I am going towards getting better at one of these - I'm good. It doesn't matter where it takes me as long as my core values are in front of me.

Now, did I need all these years in the IHC to figure it out??? I had it all written down for my black belt ceremony. I just need to re-read it once in a while.

Color the world!

Empathy, acts of kindness, pay it forward. These are not just words or theory. The more we do it, the better our life and the life of everyone around us will be!

Color my world. I will color yours!

Thankfulness - Canada Day

I saw a post recently about thankfulness and in this post the author (who is Canadian) challenged everyone to say Thank You instead of Sorry. Simple but might not be so easy for Canadians, eh?

Yesterday we celebrated Canada Day. 150 years. The number is actually irrelevant in a way as in my opinion the celebration is about being Canadian and having the privileges (and responsibilities) as a Canadian. It doesn't really matter to me what and how it happened 150 years ago. Everything was different back then and life for everyone was not easy as it is for us in Canada today.

These are the best demos. The ones we perform for random crowds of people. I love seeing the excitement from kids seeing the dragon or lion coming their way, I love seeing the people who get stuck in the middle and slowly making their way out of the performance area as they don't want the dragon to see them. But what I like the most about the demos during Canada Day  is the fact that we have multiple demos and that we socialize in between the demos.

Thanks for everyone who share the day we me yesterday. It was lots of FUN.