Tough Week

Well, I was hoping to report that I handled my week with dignity and grace but I am not so sure that happened. I attended some training that I don't enjoy, facilitated by a person that is very difficult to be around and I am not too terribly proud of how I reacted to the situation. I know that no matter what I do, it will not change the opinion of the person running the training, so I guess my focus should be in acting in a manner in which I can respect myself. I'll need to keep working on that!
Katie finished Grade 9 this week and will begin her High School journey on Monday, when she begins summer school. I hope that we are ready for this! I want to protect her from all the negative aspects of being around teenagers all day long, but I know that she needs to experience life if she is going to grow. I hope that I can help her deal with her obstacles with dignity and respect.
I lost my dear Kiddog on Friday, he had a heart attack and died. I will miss him a great deal, he has a been a strong silent presence in my life for nearly ten years. I imagine that he is running through grassy fields with his brother, no longer inhibited by arthritis or old age :)

Patients

I'm using all my patients and skills to manage my way through this week gracefully!

I'm honoured!

Yesterday two of the students from one of my classes graded for their next belt. When I saw how well they performed, I was ridiculously giddy.
I work very hard with my students, trying to think of different ways to present the material so they learn it and want to practice to get better. It is completely awesome and cool when you see the results of someone who has caught the 'Oh Wow! Do I love this!' bug. It doesn't always happen when there is a promotion, sometimes I watch them in class and can see that they have been trying hard to get better. It is quite an awesome feeling! It is so exciting when you see that they have made the choice to improve themselves, it's like a little glimpse into their personal journey, what an honor! I hope that I have the privilege of teaching for a long, long time.

Me Again!

I'm in a pretty good place right now.....I'm healing, I'm resting and I'm beginning to feel like me again. These are all really good things. I'm not sure how Kung Fu fits in just yet because I'm still at the stage if I do too much I'm exhausted and I struggle when attempting to do small amounts. I am staying engaged with my Kung Fu by reading blogs, practicing meditation and Tai Chi and striving towards mastery in everything that I do.
It's a good place to be :)

Focus

I have been trying to apply all that I know about treating others with dignity and respect in my work place. It is more challenging than when you deal with your neighbours, strangers in the community and people you gather with to share a common interest. It seems like the people that I work with are more comfortable being negative, criticizing others and focusing on what everyone is doing wrong. This doesn't fit with what we do for a living, help others! I find it really easy to fall into this behaviour pattern when I am there. As soon as the words are out of mouth I regret them, I need to create a filter to kick in before I talk.
I have been pondering the problem and I think that I was approaching it from the wrong angle. I was complaining to myself about the negativity and not thinking about what I was doing to contribute to it  or thinking about how to change the atmosphere. I don't like when others make negative assumptions about my intentions but don't say anything and don't say anything when it is done to others which is contributing to the problem and not changing anything.
So my new focus is on what I am contributing, am I having a positive impact on my environment? Do I leave dignity in my wake? Do people I talk to feel respected?
I have been working on this for a while now and have seen some positive results, I will continue to be mindful of my words and thoughts at work :)