Patient and Tolerance

I had a fantastic week!
Here is how it went......I expressed confidence and planning on Monday and received many positives in return.
I spent some time with my mom and I had a good time and she had a great time. She had company and someone to drive her around to get some things done and I got to look at the world through her eyes for a day and I learned that we each have our challenges and obstacles, it's what we do with them that makes the difference. Hmmmmm
I went back to work on Tuesday and hung on to my attitude and perspective, we are all a little different but mostly the same..... we have stuff that gets in our way, etc...
And so my week continued as I looked through the eyes of my team mates, acquaintances, friends and family I learned tolerance and patience at a whole new level.
I feel like a whole new world has opened up to me, I am not saying that I wasn't patient or tolerant before I am saying that I have evolved to the next level. I get people at a place that I didn't before, I used to wonder what other people's issue were, now I'm thinking....we are mostly the same.....it's how we navigate that is the difference!
This allowed me to relax a little and it felt like I was being myself more and I seemed to understand the people that I encountered easier. Hmmmm
I had a great workout week as well, and I wrote it all down!!! I feel stronger each day that I work out and I look forward to continuing on this journey.

Sheep Year

I am looking forward to the Year of the Sheep. I have set some goals and I hope to use all that I have learned being on the I Ho Chuan teams to stay focused, keep myself accountable and not allow myself to quit.
I am going to log my accomplishments everyday
I am going to continue to blog each week
I am going to go to my  classes when I am not working
I am going to to continue to train for and complete my first triathalon
I am going to continue to grow in my Tai Chi daily
I am going to pick up my chucks again ( I missed them) and learn a new form or create a new one
I am going to work on all my hands forms in a rotational bases with the intention/goal of improving my 6 harmonies
I would like to have more lessons in the lion because I really enjoyed the time I spent in it.

So that is mostly it, I have some personal goals that I will keep to myself.

I know that I don't stand alone, even though I am not on the team. I know that I will have the support of my whole kung fu family as I strive to improve myself and my kung fu.

I really enjoyed the banquet last night, I love when we all get together and share some laughs and a few stories! I am inspired by all the hard work that went into making last night a success, not just the demonstrations but all the organizing and getting things gathered that it took. I love seeing the kids perform, the lion dancing and all my friends enjoying themselves with their friends and family.

obstacles and misconceptions

This year was definitely a year of obstacles, I spent more time than I would like to admit thinking about quitting. Not because I don't like being there, not because I don't enjoy all the people that have become a part of my life but because it was hard! It is as simple and as complicated as that. Sometimes it is hard to get to class because of other commitments and sometimes it is hard to go to class because I haven't been there. Sometimes it is hard to get my requirements done because of my life, sometimes it is hard to get them done because I haven't been doing them.
So this year was hard! I think that it was supposed to be.
I have spent a lot of time trying to figure things out, what do I want, how do I get it, stuff like that. I have come to only one conclusion - it is best to keep quiet and see what happens sometimes than to act or speak too soon. I have only recently come to this and sometimes I still forget to keep my mouth shut.

So some of the misconceptions of the year look like this:
I thought it would be cool to blog every day - wrong! I ended up blogging a whole bunch of googley-goop, instead of the real important stuff.
I thought I would do my hand form one thousand times and have this great enlightening - wrong! I got super frustrated, not really sure that I like the form anymore and discovered that I have a tonne to work on.
I thought that I would get tired of doing tai chi everyday, totally didn't happen, in fact, if I miss a day, I may get a little cranky!!
Life pulled me away from the kwoon for a bit, I figured it would be okay - wrong! I missed everyone and everything and when I went back I cried cause so much had happened without me!
I thought that achieving something was more important that improving - wrong again! I seem to keep re-learning this lesson or it doesn't stick or something, I know that I need to feel like I am getting better for anything to matter. I seem to keep getting caught up on the goal and forgetting the most important part, the journey!!!!
So that is it horse team, I have learned that I must follow only one schedule - my own. I have learned that I don't always have to share my opinion, I can be quiet. I have learned that I will get there, when I am supposed to be there and not a moment sooner :)

Wait......I'm not ready!

Some of you may have noticed that when training with me, I will often say, oops! I wasn't ready :), or wait for me. I always kinda feel like I'm not quite at the same starting line as the rest of the group (any group). This is not a bad thing, I just dance to the beat of my own drummer - not always the best thing when lion dancing by the way! I think that I get ready for things in my own good time ( I think that is what my mom always says, "Robyn will do it in her own good time").
When I was a colored belt, this was a bit of an obstacle for me,(you know that stage when you are always looking at your neighbor to see what they are doing?) I felt like I took longer, needed more time, and wasn't ready. Now that I am a black belt, I can take my time, learn the skills that I need to when I am ready to and not compare myself to the rest of the group.
 I have been working hard at mastery for many years and I will continue to do so. This will look like me coming in early to get a bit of extra practice in, meeting with my wonderful friends when there are no classes to give each other feedback and share a story or two and going to the tri-leisure centre and pounding out some reps in order to figure out how to move my body with intent and purpose.
So I may not be ready right now but I will get there in my own time....just ask my mom :)
One of the most importance lessons that I have learned at kung fu is that it is my journey and mine alone, just as it is your journey and yours alone. When you are ready the next thing will be there waiting for you, this year or next year or the one after....you'll see.

It's where I belong.....

I have spent more time at the kwoon this week than has been my norm and I liked it. I have had the privilege of being around the people that I revere so much and guess what? They are just like the rest of us, doing the best they can with the tools they have, putting one foot in front of the other, etc. They have goals and they work hard to achieve them, they mess up and wish they would have done things differently and they have successes that they are proud of....just like the rest of us.....well, me actually. I spend a great deal of my time wishing I was just like them and then I have a little wake up call (thank you my friend) like I did this week, and I realize that I am exactly like them. That is why we get along so well and hang out so much, 'cause we all love that push to do better, that feeling that you get when you finally figure something out after so much trying and being together when it happens!
Thank you team, for helping keep my glasses clean, allowing the opportunity to run with the lions and accepting me. I appreciate that no matter what you are there :)
I know that I sometimes forget some of these things when I am away from the kwoon, thanks for the reminder.