Mother Earth

I spent a good portion of my afternoon digging in my yard, getting rid of weeds, and planting a few vegetables. I loved it! It looks nice and fresh and there is something about it that brings peace to my soul.

Leadership

What is a good leader? How do you get to be a better leader? Why do people follow one person's example and not another person's?

I don't know the answer to these questions, I just more questions. I know what I am passionate about and I know that when I share that passion, I can inspire others to try harder, be more creative and not give up. I know that I can convince people to try new things and have hope, when I share my passion. Most of my experience in leadership has been face to face, allowing me to use my facial expressions, body language and tone of voice to enhance my words. I like being able to see the reaction that I am having, looking for that frowning face that tells me that I need to explain more or that ah-ha look that tells me that I can move on. What I am not experienced in is trying to inspire and lead people using electronic devices. I can't tell if my message is being heard, understood or accepted, I have to move forward as if I have the full attention of my intended audience. Perhaps if I make a video and share it electronically, I can reach more of my audience?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!
 I have had a very good kung fu week. I am enjoying the morning classes and was happy that I got to attend black belt class and I Ho Chuan. I was not able to attend for a couple of weeks and that really helped appreciate how much I enjoy and learn from those classes. I think that if I could attend every week, then I may get complacent and not stay in the moment. When it is not always available, opportunities are easier to appreciate. In fact, I think everything is easier to appreciate if you consider not having it. I recently lost a friend to cancer and that loss has helped me appreciate everyone and everything in my life. Suddenly, the little things that were bugging me no longer mattered, the big things were what mattered. I have a family that I love, I have friends that I can share with and I have my kung fu (and my kung fu family), what more does a girl really need.
I am glad that I had an opportunity to count my blessings. I will miss my friend and do everything in my power to honor the path that he helped me see. :)

It couldn't get any better than this!

Saturday is my favorite day of the week because I spend most of the day at the kwoon. I begin my day with a hearty breakfast and some lovely tea and then it is off to the kid's class. They have so much energy and willingness to try just about anything, that it is hard not to laugh out loud from the shear joy of it. There is a thirty minute break where I usually tell myself that it is a good time to do forms but I usually end up visiting with my friends, talking over the class or just catching up. The next class is tai chi, which I joined to improve my flow. I am not sure if that happened but I do know that I am calmer, and I am able to settle myself down much quicker in stressful situations. Tai chi also helps me feel centered and focused in all that I do. After that, it is time for a quick apple for energy that I will definitely need in the fitness class. I joined this class to improve my over all fitness and discovered that it is so fun to exercise with others who are willing to push themselves just as hard or harder than you do and do it with a sense of comradery that is second to none. It is definitely a high point of the day. If I am lucky, my partner and I will share a little lunch after this, talk about our week and plan what we want to focus on in open training. I love open training because you never really know what it is going to be like or who else you are going to get to train with. Sometimes, it is quiet so it is a very focused time, lots of forms and time for improving my eye for detail. Sometimes it is jammed packed with people, talking, laughing, teasing, sparring, teaching and just enjoying being there. And sometimes, it is a combination of it all. I just love being there.
So all this brings me to yesterday, WOW! What a fantastic day!!! It was like we took all my favorite things to do and amped it up big time. I arrived two hours early so that I could do some pre-planned nun chuck work with one of my friends, the time just flew. Suddenly it was time for the kids to arrive and it was time to run and play and have a good time. I think that the kids had a good time, too. I loved that we had lots of older kids helping the kids, that truly made the event cool for me. I loved seeing all the families wandering around, visiting and getting to know one another. Tai chi was super cool too! We did the whole form (it takes about 20 minutes if you do it right) three times all together, I think there was about 8 or 10 of us. I usually practice tai chi by myself and the energy generated by having the whole group together was phenomenal, it made the hairs on my arm stand up. On to the fitness class, I am not sure what I expected but it wasn't a packed room willing to give this class a try. Now that was some serious energy!!! I loved that so many people came out and gave it their all. We worked our butts off (as usual) and it was too fun having new and old training partners in the group. Of course, Sifu Stoddard is absolutely amazing when it comes to getting a group moving and having a good time. I have no idea how she puts together such a fun filled, work your butt off with a smile on your face class but it totally works. It's like you don't even know how hard your are working because you are having so much fun ( until you "take it to the floor" and that is a story for a different day). I topped off that part of my day with the dragon dance. I wasn't sure that I had any energy left in me (5 hours of sleep followed by 5 hours of non-stop kung fu) but I do like the dragon. It was challenging at first, remembering how to move together and not trip anyone else on the team, but we seemed to find our rhythm and no one got hurt. When it was over, I found myself eagerly discussing more practices so we could get ready for Canada day. It should prove to be an excellent way to get ready for summer.
I go off to work after the dragon dance, it was hard driving away when I really just wanted to go play the dragon game again and have some more popcorn. I decided that if I had any gas left in my tank that I would return after my shift to help close off the day. My daughter helped me with this as she wanted to go back in the evening to do more forms, that was all the energy boost that I needed. I arrived shortly after 11 pm, to find a very high energy group, doing forms, running suicides (?) and generally pushing themselves a little bit more. I jumped in, completely addicted to the energy and started doing nun chucks with a few people that turned into a group that just kept growing. We decided when there was about thirty minutes left that we should do all of our forms in the order that we learned them. We had a really good time, the energy was high,(there was lot's of sweat) and we finished the night with unity and vigor as the clock struck twelve and we did Hsing Chien.What a great way to end a great day :)

The Journey

 Feb/12 - i wrote this shortly after getting my black belt and was afraid that i was talking about it too much so i didn't publish it. today, it seems like the right time to do it.
A funny thing happened on my way to getting my black belt, I was so busy with the journey, I nearly forgot what I was going for. It may sound a little hard to believe but it is indeed true. Someone really smart always used to tell me that it is about the journey and once I completely understood that, then I would be ready. Of course, at the time I nodded my head and thought, no I WANT my black belt! I continued to train and believe in my really smart mentor and I began to notice that I really enjoyed training and I could see all kinds of changes happening. My thoughts were changing, my approach was changing and my skill level was improving. Once I immersed myself in that process, the end goal seemed less and less important.
So a couple of things have happened this week that brought me to this reflection. I opened my bag to ensure that I had everything that I needed for class and was surprised to see my black belt laying there, it was only a second but it was noticeable to me. Then I was thinking about extra training at the kwoon and my thought process was, first of all we will need a black belt, followed quickly by Oh Yeah, that's me. Then I was with a group of people about to embark on a training session, when I suddenly realized that I was the black belt in charge. All of these little instants have led me to the realization that I continue to be focused on my journey and I am no where near the end goal.
I think that I major part of my change in focus has been being a student member of the UBBT for the last couple of years and now the I Ho Chuan team. I just continued on with my training, I tallied my numbers on Dec.31 and began again on Jan.01. I think that I am now hard wired to set goals and work towards them every day. When I run into obstacles, I just figure away around them and keep going. Years ago, I remember all of the ' I can't ' statements that used to run through my head each day and now I look for solutions first.

Mar/12 - then i wrote this and again questioned whether or not i should share my thoughts and feelings, today i want to remind myself that i am on the right track
I often wondered what it would feel like to be a black belt and I had a difficult time imagining it. Now that I am here, I know that it feels exactly as it should, Fantastic! I feel like I am in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, all the time, every day. Whether I am at the school, the track or at work, I am doing what I am meant to do and it feels pretty good.
I could describe all the incredible things that have been happening but that doesn't quite feel right. So I will leave it at this, if you work really hard to accomplish something, you will reap the rewards! It is totally worth it; the hard work, the self doubt, the struggles it takes to complete requirements everyday, all of it! And it makes you want to continue to work hard so that you continue to reap the rewards from it. It is pretty cool!

I often write my thoughts and feelings down on my blog shortly after they happen so that I can keep track of what was happening for me. Today I went back and reviewed all the drafts that I had and relived one of the best parts of my journey so far. On Jan.31/12, I made a list of all the cool things about the weekend (on the top of the list was the irresistible urge to smile non-stop) I didn't publish it and I probably won't but having it and re-reading it brought back all those wonderful feelings and thoughts. I was a non-believer when I started blogging, but now I can't imagine not thinking out loud (on my blog).
ps
I still can't stop smiling!!!!
:)