Quality vs Quantity

I find all too often, our western society is all too focused on how much we have.  "He who dies with the most toys wins!". My blog this week was going to focus on this topic, but as I was second to the family computer tonight, I noticed that someone else...in this house...I won't mention names...blogged on the same topic.  It makes sense as we have been preoccupied as of late, with researching ways to simply things in an increasingly complicated world.  I am going to steer away from the quantity conversation and focus more on the quality aspect of this discussion.
By simplifying things, many of the couples and families we have been following have increased their quality of life.  Focusing on the important things, like spending more time with their kids and sharing adventure and awesome experiences. One father recalled his inspiration to travel fulltime with his family, someone said to him, "at best, you probably only have 18 summers with your kids, you need to make them count!".  To build on what I mentioned in last week's blog, time is fleeting, opportunities will not always present themselves and sometimes you have to make them. 
Now, I don't think you have to sell everything and live on the road to gain a quality of life.  There is a balance, the key is finding your balance of quality vs quantity.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Impermanence

I had the opportunity this past week to visit my old stomping grounds.  Just a couple of hours to drive around my childhood neighbourhoods where I spent a great deal of my "formidable" years.  This area isn't far away, but I haven't really had the opportunity to go back and visit and reminisce for quite a few years. 
My earliest memories, vague as they are, were from when I was about 3 or 4 and my family moved to Edmonton.  We were one of the first families to move into a mobile home park on the south side.  I remember stacking my toys up against the back fence so I could peer over and watch the tractors directly behind our yard working the farm land, which incidentally is all you could see. One day, I heard the tractors working, so I set to building my perch so I could watch again.  I recall being surprised as this time the tractors were very different from what I had expected. The farm machinery this day were replaced by heavy road construction machines.  The road they were building?  34th Avenue.
I have fond memories of this and many other places in the neighbourhood, but as I toured around being somewhat nostalgic, things were not how I left them. It's funny how a certain part of your brain, thinks things should be EXACTLY the same some 20, 30, or 40 years later.  As I saw many pivotal personal landmarks gone or in major disrepair, I was surprised how much it affected me.
Probably not a good week for this sense of impermanence to be re-enforced given everything else that is going on, but what this did do was serve as a strong reminder that life is short and that we need to live in the moment and (not to sound too cliché) seize the day.
It is important to remember the past (good and bad) but not live in it.  It is important to live in the present while building memories and preparing for the future.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

All work and no play

Well, it is Sunday evening and once again I find myself struggling for a blog topic.  At yesterday's meeting we discussed the common "I don't have anything to blog about" or the struggle with positive versus non positive posts.  It's not that I don't have anything to blog about, it just feels like its the same as the past few weeks, because that is still where my head is at.  And it doesn't feel too positive, not really negative, but not positive.  As I sat here staring at a blank screen, I started laughing.  All I could think of was the scene from the shining when Jack spent weeks staring at his typewriter then started writing his novel, which in the end turned out to be creepy ravings of a mad man. "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy" over a couple thousand times.  Oops, I suppose that is a spoiler alert, but I guess if you haven't seen that movie by now, it's fair game. Anyhoo, not that I want to compare myself to Jack Torrence.

At the end of another week, most of my focus is still with my family, but I'm still trying to figure things out.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Cerebral Space

All week I have been thinking about blogging, trying to be mindful of it, hoping to come up with something prolific.  As I am sitting here in front of the computer trying to figure out what to write for this week's blog, I've got nothing.  It is not for a lack of things happening right now, probably just the opposite.  The past few weeks I have blogged about being organized and trying to get stuff done. Thing is, nothing really has change this week.  I have been trying to think of something else to write about, but that is all that's been on my mind.  Unfortunately, between an over flowing plate at work, a busy household, spending a good portion of my weekends lately taking foster parent courses and finding myself trying to coordinate a team of siblings to care for an unexpected ailing parent, Kung Fu seems to be taking a back seat.  Although, time is very valuable, it seems to be more about cerebral space than anything. Trying to be mindful of everything going on is where I feel that I am struggling these past few weeks. Unfortunately, I have also missed some classes recently, which is what I rely on to keep myself grounded with respect to Kung Fu.  Although, I was mentally spent by the time Thursday's I Ho Chuan class came, I felt somewhat rejuvenated by time I went home.
So, beyond all of this, how am I doing?  Well, I have been doing push ups, sit ups and getting more kilometers in.  I have been working at making these a part of my routines.  I have been getting reps of my forms in and have been doing AOK. Doing them when I have the chance through out the day. I feel good about that.  The downside, I am not sure I have been mindful regarding these.  With having problems with cerebral space, I haven't been tracking these like I should.  I have been doing these mindlessly, not sure if that is a word or even the right word, but you know what I mean.

My apologies for the rambling and being over all over the place.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Organization, lists and the wiring of a brain.

On the heals of last weeks post, I found my routines in an absolute upheaval for a few days this week. For several days, I wasn't at work nor was I at home, the two places where my routines are based. I was very cognisant of this fact, which added to the stress of being away, however, it also helped me get back into routine sooner.
Further to establishing solid routines and ensuring I stay mindful about maintaining them, I have also found myself really needing to get organized in all aspects of my life.  I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am a list person.  I find if I don't have a reference or reminder for what I need to do, I loose track or get distracted.  My Kung Fu is no different.  Last week Sifu Brinker mentioned training yourself to hardwire your brain to do certain things (I am paraphrasing a bit).  I am very interested in this, but it will take some time to learn. I know I have done it before with my education and training, but it has been a long time.   I will try to develop this again, but until then, I will make some lists.  I think I will start by making a list of the different lists I need.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Routines and what not

My decision to join this year's I Ho Chuan team wasn't a simple one.  I have struggled in the past with some of the commitments.  Whether Blogging or my numbers, I start off strong, but fall off the wagon or loose momentum. I (like most people I'd suspect) find it difficult to keep all my plates  spinning all the time. Multitasking between work, home, my Kung Fu, the kids Kung Fu and all the other extra curricular activities proves to be a challenge at times.  With recent changes to our family(acquiring two more fabulous teenage boys), we have committed to keeping a few more plates spinning.  Taking on the I Ho Chuan requirements and team commitments seemed even more daunting than before.  Something that works for me is developing and maintaining daily, weekly and monthly routines.  The downside to being reliant on routines is when something changes or a routine is disrupted, I am usually dead in the water.  Good habits are lost or forgotten and I usually go into survival mode.  The key, which I havent been good at in the past, is re-establishing routines as soon as possible.  This will be something I'll need to focus on this year.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Looking Ahead

My second year on the I Ho Chuan has come and gone. My year of the Monkey witnessed several successes and failures. It is difficult not to let the failures over shadow the successes. As I embark on this year's journey with the rooster, I need to focus on where I am today and where I want to be tomorrow. It is hard not to dwell on where I wanted to be today, but if I can't move past this, my failure will never become a success.  I am going to move forward with renewed focus and optimism for this year. Again, making improvements along the way, learning from my mistakes and not letting them hinder my progress.  

Although I have several goals for this year's I Ho Chuan, my focus is going to be on tackling the finesse side of Kung Fu. Ironically, from navigating delicate situations to maintaining good relationships with many stakeholders, my job is about 90% finesse. However, it definitely feels that when I enter the Kwoon, I go into brute force mode.  This will be a challenge, but I am looking forward to the journey and the end result. 

I am excited to be working with old and new team mates this year and can't wait to see what is in store. 

Thanks for reading. 

Mike