Pencil Me In

At this writing I am in Saskatchewan again. Mom is back home and happy to be back with her friends, her familiarity and basically, back to normal. As she put it "Great vacation, but home is home." So for me, it will be back to normal again, right? Well, not so fast.

Before our UBBT meeting I was pondering on the concept that I had my yearly goals, but not really anything further. Yes I do have my daily training goals, but.... At our meeting Sifu Brinker said a word that had me go "A-ha, ring-a-ding, Eureka!" and a cascade of realizations arose that got me really thinking.

Yes I have my yearly goals and there they are, on the wall, I look at them fleetingly, throw darts at them once in a while, and that's where it's at. I'm not using my goals as the tools they are meant to be. I have not divided my goals down to the weekly and monthly bite-sized chunks that make life more exciting. (A note is that I'm also talking about ALL of my goals, not just training.) I am working towards my goals, but with the energy of a cork bobbing in the ocean versus a set course. Sure a cork bobbing in the ocean will still reach its destination plus or minus a few miles and however long in time, but a set course carries much different energy.

So what was the word Sifu Brinker said that gave me the Eureka!? The word was "structure." When I had a job/career the structure was preset for me. Now that I am my own career, I am responsible for providing my own structure, something I wasn't doing mainly because I didn't know firmly what I wanted. I still don't have all the answers, but the one answer I do know is to just start.

Tomorrow during my 8 1/2 hour meditation, I will be reflecting as to how to incorporate the structure into my day. When is the best time for torching, for training, for study, for journaling, and for me? What do I want to accomplish by the end of the day, the week, the month? Keep things simple to avoid overwhelm but still have direction and focus. Draft up a schedule that will work for me and still be flexible. And as always have a backup plan.

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Ku, Stony Plain, Alberta