Winds of Change

Being that today was the last official day of Summer, I heard people wish throughout the day that summer can go on forever. In some ways I can agree with them. Summer is the peak of a typically short motorcycling season, autumn is the early indication that the bike will soon have to be parked for a while. This of course is not my main concern, but this just helps me understand why people would be griping the end of summer.

Actually I really enjoy autumn, it is my favorite season of the year. It's more of a transitional season than anything. It reminds us that life is constantly changing and never stagnant. In life there is always hot and cold, up and down, forward and back. These terms are all relative to your current situation. The key is to go with the flow and take it as it is. This time of year refreshes that idea in people's minds.  There is a lot more to enjoy about autumn than one might think; the brilliant colours that the trees become, smell of decaying leaves on the ground and the crisp, cool air on your face in the morning.

Autumn is great, I don't think enough people appreciate it as much as they should. Get out there and enjoy the above freezing temperature days while they last, there are still plenty to be had.

Take care everyone.

Breathing Room

Quite a few items have been completed in my agenda for the year lately. This being said, I feel like I have a bit of breathing room for the time being. Really the next thing for me to worry about is my upcoming trip. With most of the preparation work mainly done already I have some time to catch my breath and enjoy life a little at a bit of a slower pace. I'll still be training like a demon, in fact, this will make it easier to do so. At the same time I'm looking at what I'm going to be missing these next couple months. It helps me appreciate what I'm involved with now, the lion dance, the dragon dance, various other I Ho Chuan events and how much positive change I have undergone because of my involvement. I just wanted to remind you all of how fortunate I feel to be part of this team and of this school. You are all awesome!

Comfort Zone

The comfort zone is just that, comfortable. It is familiar surroundings and circumstances that you are confident being around and dealing with. I definitely pushed outside my comfort zone last week. As you know, last week was the annual Kwoon maintenance. It is a very important time of the year, if not the most important, as we take the week cleaning and improving the whole place, making it as fresh and clean as possible for the coming year. Not only that, but it is to take ownership and feel connected to the place we go to learn Kung Fu. Our second home. I find this very meaningful so for this reason, I volunteered to organise and supervise the day to day activities involving the renovations.

This was WAY outside my comfort zone. I'm usually more than happy to just have someone give me something to do and I will do it, delegating tasks to people is certainly not something I'm used to or comfortable with. However, I had a great time. This was a fantastic way to push beyond my limits and improve upon myself while I helped improve the Kwoon.

I found a lot of the mental part of Kung Fu training helped greatly, I definitely benefited from it. Constantly reminding myself of where I was and what I was doing, keeping perspective. Instead of focusing on what I couldn't do or didn't know, I focused on what I could bring to the table and what I could learn.

I would again like to thank Sifu Brinker for allowing me to take on this endeavour. It's been educational for sure. I really appreciate the opportunity to see what I can do. As well, I would like to thank everyone who came out to help, you all were eager to get the Kwoon into tip top shape, I'm glad to be involved with such an incredible bunch of people.

A special thanks to the Bjorkquist family. You guys helped immensely through the entire week. Being there everyday with me sure was a moral boost, especially on the slower days. You kept me on my toes, on task and helped me keep things rolling. I couldn't have done it without your over-the-top support.

At the end, after all was done and it was just me there, I took a good look around me. The alter, the tiles, the mats, mirrors and benches. These are all bits and pieces of a bigger picture that students and teachers alike came together to build over the years. I now had a part of that picture to call my own, I felt in harmony at that moment. It was one of those memory anchors, a moment saved in my mind for the rest of my life.

The comfort zone got a little bigger this week, I think. As well, I have a plethora of ideas on how I'm going to handle next year's renovations, whether or not I am overseeing it again.

Take care everyone!