Another Week...Another Lesson

I don’t typically journal on my number, but just as a quick recap; my sit-ups slipped a bit, because of the banging that occurs in my hips when I attempt them, which is no excuse. The thing with the sit-ups is I’ve grown to dislike them for what they put my hips through. The no excuse part is that there are alternatives to the sit-ups, which I’m on full force.

My lesson this week has to do with the same line of thoughts which I usually journal on, which is more my mental being. One of my previous entries, I was quite proud of where I was going with my personal growth....then this week was humbled and put down a notch or two. I had a very good conversation with a friend and won’t get into the details of the conversation, but part of the discussion was about me being quite pushed away from a certain individual’s narrow mindedness in regards to something that I feel very passionate about. As was pointed out through our conversation, I was no more open minded than the person I was upset with, which I failed to see. Another under sight of mine was the potential through my situation to grow personally and to assist this individual with the tools to open his mind to what I saw as his short coming. Rather, I was ready to bolt, because of how I originally saw the situation.

I learnt another important lesson today, which falls in with judgement and empathy. I feel I need to be more insightful and open minded to absolutely everything around me, no matter what the issue or situation. Viewing all angles before forming an opinion....

Correction in many cases could be a matter of inspiration. To inspire may allow for change, plus self gratification and constructive personal growth. The art of inspiration, hmmmm.....

Darcy Regier, Silent River Kung Fu

My Auntie

My Aunt is back from Mexico, her and my Uncle normally go every year for 3 months but this year is different. She had to come back for cancer treatments.
Around November she was diagnosed with lung cancer and it  had spread to other areas of her body. She never smoked in her life but developed a cough last fall.
Her cancer is terminal but you would never know it.
She does not work anymore but spends every day with grandchildren, family and friends. She never dwells on her situation but will share her experience freely if you ask. She is quick to tell you not to waste your time sweating the small stuff.
She has two more treatments left and the doctors will cut her loose. In their words, there is no more point after that , go and enjoy the rest of your life.
To me she has the strenght of 1000 men, she does not despair but has chosen to do just what they said, enjoy her family which she as cared for all her life.
To me , she is a women who must have true inner peace and she has led a life that would deserve such inner peace.
She is truly a role model to me.
I know I have a sense of panic when I imagine being in her shoes. I am not the person I need to be yet, I have not done all that I can do for the people in my life.
I watch her and I hang on every word she says these days.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

School

Hey everybody, time for another update. Right now I feel overwhelmed with school, with Eng 30-1, Bio 30 Prep, And Phys 30 Prep. It just gets to me some times, knowing I have kung fu as well, and sometimes I can't make it to kung fu because of school, because i have a test on Tues or Thur, and i have to use the day before to study for it, which makes me miss kung fu. it is so frustrating. So now I take a deep breath in and exhale and continue on my journey, because this will all be worth it someday. Before in my younger days i would look at all this working against me, making me jump hurdles, but now i know this is all to help me, i may not always get to go to Kung fu, but i still do some kung fu at home. So frustration is just letting you know your trying, or someone is being annoying. :)

Sihing Langner

goals

One of the ironic things I'm noticing about this year, is that a few of my previous years goals have come back to me. One of my goals last year was to complete a kayaking course--looking towards getting a certification or coaching course in kayaking. I never got it done last year but guess what is being offered this year! I'm hoping to go on tuesday evening and see if I qualify to take the course. And then last year, Ms Donahue and I went off wheat for awhile, made a few changes to diet, but didnt end up staying off of it. Now, lo and behold, my body seems to be deciding for me that no bread is the way to go. Funny how these things seem to have a will or momentum of their own.

Slow and steady

These weeks fly by so quick, had another good week, a little behind in my pushups/situps but am catching up. Have been working with my nunchuks and still taking time to get the flow going. I have been pushing too hard on the form and decided this weekend to start back to a few segments of the form to get down before moving on. Definitely trying to slow it down and get the proper angles and sequences down right which is challenging. Now that I am working on this form more often, I find it feels sloppy and choppy, sometimes I'm just forcing it too much I think. Sometimes I just need to walk away for a minute to let it soak in. Progress, slow inch by inch. Sifu Bryant

Update

My knee seems to be getting better. Walking and moving around normally only causes mild discomfort now. Although It still hurts pretty good moving it around sideways or twisting. At least it seems to be healing and I have an MRI on the 29th if it is still giving me trouble by then.

Earlier in the week I watched a video about bill C-10 and how the conservative government is trying to push it through. That's the big "hard on crime", create mandatory minimum sentences, invest 15 billion dollars into convicts bill. I did some research on the matter, decided its idiotic and in a moment of inspiration sent a mass email to all the Canadian senators. I wasn't expecting anyone to read it but to my surprise I've had seven or eight of them write back to me.

The ones who responded all agreed with my perspective of course. I don't think they would write back otherwise. I thought it was rather neat to be getting emails from senators.

it's been a long week

A bit late on this post but it has been a really long week. Starting on Tuesday Night I waited in the hospital with Chelsey as her grandma passed away. The Funeral was on Saturday so there was lots of stuff that needed to be done, Me and Chels spent the week scanning hundreds of photos and putting together a slideshow which was really cool seeing how appreciated it was by the family. It's inspiring to see how much a family pulls together in times of need and how many little acts of kindness they do for each other without thinking about it. Even being aware of what I was doing for people I still probably missed a whole bunch of that I could count. Anyways now that it is Sunday the cold I had been fighting off all week has hit me like a ton of bricks so it is time to rest.

Craig Janzen
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Silent River Kung Fu