Engaged or Complacent?

Lately I have had my patience challenged severely.  I admit there are times that it would be easier to be complacent and stop being engaged.  Every day, and sometimes every minute I have to ask myself if I am doing what is right and being patient OR have I just accepted mediocrity and ignored what is happening around me.

This can also occur in our training because every day it is a fight to make sure I am engaged and giving my best.  It easy to just go through the motions instead of really looking at what you are doing and why.  I thought it would get easier as I advanced in the ranks but that has proven just the opposite.  It is easy to fall back on the things we know and have done. 

To me, this is mastery.  It’s not  “picking your battles” but mindfully trying to do your best. Accepting when you have slipped and trying to understand what caused it.  Its knowing that you will be challenged and you will not always succeed but you learn more from those times if you let yourself.  It's being able to become more proactive than reactive, and "let the experience be like the planting of seed within you - with nourishment, it will grow into your own individual mastery".

See you on the mats!

Jackie Kohut

Open Doors

I admire the young people that take Kung fu. They have such an advantage in the world. When embraced and used properly, the tools that Kung fu give us, transfer over to tremendous opportunities in the world. I speak from my own experience.

I had a job interview with Kicking Horse coffee last week. I was very relaxed and felt confident. I had a pretty good idea it was going to be easy to answer their questions. I had a lot of experience in a variety of areas. Plus, I had done a lot of interviews myself, so I knew the main idea of what they would want to know.

First question. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”  As soon as I mentioned Kung fu, there were all kinds of questions. What is the difference between Kung fu and other martial arts?  How long have you been doing Kung fu?  What belt level are you?  This leads to more questions and a simple non interview discussion. It’s a great conversation piece to ease everyone in the room and make them more comfortable in the presence of each other.  What do you do on a daily basis to stay physically healthy and look after yourself?  Easy peasy.  What do you do on a daily basis to improve yourself?  I almost laughed out loud at this one. After they finished explaining what having an eye for detail meant, thinking I had no idea....What experience do you have with having an eye for detail?  Any experience with leadership skills?  With working as a team?  Really!?  🤔😄. The interview was so easy.  Following it was a tour of the production area. Two days later, a phone call. Hay!  We at Kicking Horse think you are awesome, and would like it if you would accept an offer to join our team. I start next week.

It was great news. I have been working at the bakery for just over a month, but not getting full time hours. I had been talking to KH since the summer, and had hoped to join their team. My position is called “Packaging ninja!”  For real.  They have crazy names for all their positions. Part of the reason I like the company. They are a funny and friendly bunch. Then today, a talk from the couple that owns the bakery where I work. First from the wife, then from the husband. They are so thrilled with my work ethic and are sad to see me leave.  They commented on my skills with interacting with others, taking it upon myself to coach the new girl and make her feel comfortable there.  They love my people skills with the customers, and my confidence.   There have had some issues with other staff members being rude and making the work place uncomfortable. To me, it has been border line bullying. I spoke up, and was told that I was the bravest one there for doing so.  Changes are being made. Which is why today they offered me a position as assistant manager, with a $3 per hour raise, should I change my mind and stay, plus full time hours. That was a really tough decision, as I enjoy my work at the bakery and the new owners are so wonderful. The wife told me today that she enjoys being able to be herself and talk to me about anything, and that she trusts me. At the bakery, I get to meet all kinds of people. I talk to and interact with toddlers, young kids, teens, parents and grandparents. It’s a popular bakery so I meet lots of locals but also people from all over the world; Germany, the States, Australia, Switzerland and TONS of Albertans.  It is a friendly small town atmosphere.

I made the decision today to keep with my momentum towards KH. It’s a great company to work for, and with 100% benefits, bonuses, and extra perks, it seems to be the right place for me to be. The hours, 2 to 10 pm don’t impress me, but there’s always opportunities to move around in the company. Plus it’s monday to Friday, with all holidays off.  They were rated the number one company to work for in Canada in 2018.  Can’t be that bad of a place.  Plus they have 100% organic products, the company started here in a garage in Invermere, they belong to the free trade, and they promote outdoor activities. That impresses me and shows me what kind of people are running the company. They shut down on snow days so the employees can go skiing, and they provide $500 per year for buying outdoor gear, gym memberships, etc.  I told the bakery owners tonight what my decision was. They were very supported, and said their door will remain open, should KH not work out.

My point in all of this is that my Kung fu has opened up so many doors for me. It has given me numerous opportunities in a variety of areas. It gave me the confidence.  It gave me the tools and opportunities to hone in on my leadership skills, my people skills, my desire to improve myself, and to be the best healthiest person I could be. It taught me how to rise to my potential.  “Didn’t some of your best TEACHERS, coaches, parents, expect more from you?”  Kung fu expected more from me, and that has been extremely beneficial.  I started Kung fu when I was 35. I often wonder what it would have been like to start when I was in my teens, or my 20’s. No matter. I’ve gained so much in the last 20 years that have gotten me to where I am today. I’ve said it before. Kung fu has given me a way of life. A healthy, wholesome, positive, and rewarding way to live. Thank you to all my instructors and the instructors before them.

Brenda Stoddart

Intent

Last week we were asked to focus on intent while doing our Kung Fu. I needed to work on this area more than what I was expecting once I started to be mindful of it.

At work I have been concentrating on "where am I and what am I doing" but the last few days I have added "what is my intent for this 15 minutes?" and this has been improving my focus.  I use the "where am I and what am I doing" as a tool to catch myself when distracted and bring my attention back but by adding the "what is my intent for this 15 minutes?" it gives me direction and purpose.  If I use more than 15 minutes, it is too easy to let something else become the priority.  Any less time and I cannot complete a task.

Let’s talk about distractions..... I do not multitask well.  I am easily distracted so I need to focus on one thing and do it well and then move onto the next.  I am an auditory learner.  So this means when my thoughts are racing around in my head, I will try to talk them out to get them organized and bring them into some kind of logical plan.  So it should come as no surprise that my team has given me squirrel posters, they know how to distract me when I start bugging them about vacation hours, and they have bets on how long I can keep our team meetings on track.  Now that being said, I have an awesome team that works well together and really does support each other.

Using Kung Fu techniques at work has helped me tremendously this last year and I know that I will be pulling on these more as the year proceeds.  We always talk about how we can bring Kung Fu into our everyday lives but I want to talk about how we can bring our everyday things into Kung Fu.  I know that I am easily distracted so during class I have been trying very hard to make sure my attention is dedicated to my Sifu and my lesson.  I am trying to be aware of events or actions that may trigger a response (mental, emotional, etc) and ask myself "why is this happening, does this happen outside of the kwoon, and what can I do to change it".  We all have things that we bring into the kwoon but it is how we deal with these that makes the difference.  I am using opportunities in the kwoon to improve self-awareness and work on things I need to change and this becomes easier when I think of intent.

Jackie Kohut

Week 44

A Fly landed at the edge of a puddle to drink and wash his face and hands.  He could feel the cold coming off the water, and when he touched it, it did not give way.  It moved beneath his touch and rippled but he could not press through the surface.  The Fly thought this was strange, so he tried again to touch the water, pushing harder.  Again the water recoiled and shimmered, not giving way, but this time he heard a protest as faint as the spring breeze.  "Please don't do that, it hurts me."

Confused, the Fly looked deep into the puddle to see who has spoken.  There were no others, only his reflection.  "Who are you?" asked the Fly. "I'm a Snowman" was the response.  The Fly looked all around.  He had never heard of a Snowman before.  He strained and strained to see this new creature, but all he found was the water.  "Where are you?" asked the Fly.  "I'm right here in front of you, you keep pushing on me trying to take some of me away."

Shocked and shamed that he had caused harm he tried again to locate the Snowman.  "Are you in the puddle? Do you live in the water?" asked the Fly.  "I am the water" said the Snowman.  The Fly tilted his head to the side, "I don't understand. If you are water, then you are not a Snowman."  The puddle shimmered and waved.  "I am a Snowman, the Sun has changed me."  The Fly thought he understood, having gone through many changes himself.  "Were you always a Snowman before the Sun changed you?" asked the Fly.  "I have had many changes in my life.  I started as an egg, then became a larva, and when I was old enough I became a Fly.  The sun gave me warmth, the world gave me food an water and time gave me growth."

The Fly was very proud that he understood.  The Snowman was less impressed. "You are only a Fly, a small thing.  I was the Ocean. The Sun warmed me and I flew up to him.  I found others like me and became a Cloud.  When the Sun turned away we got cold and became Snow.  We floated back to the Earth and became her blanket.  Then the children came along and bound us together into a Snowman.  I am a grand thing, you are not."

The Fly was hurt by this Snowman's words.  "Perhaps I am small, but I help the world.  Through out my life I clean the world.  I consume that which cannot be consumed and return it to the Earth. When I fly, my wings clean the air and my fur helps pollinate the grass, flowers and trees when I move among them. I have value, just as you do."

"Hardly," rippled the Snowman, "you do not bring joy.  You do not provide a home. When I was the Ocean, I was a home for the creatures.  When I was a Cloud I would change my shape and the people would admire me and guess what I was.  When I was Snow, I was pristine and beautiful.  And when I was a Snowman, they laughed and played with me.  They gave me a name and I was valued.  You are just a Fly.  You are ugly and you annoy people.  You do not bring them joy."

The Fly was silent a moment.  The Snowman, having established his importance spread out in the sunlight, pleased with himself.  When the fly spoke again, his voice was quiet and strong. "I am a Fly, and I have value regardless if you see it or not.  I may not have beauty, but I also do not have cruelty.  I help others and do my work without malice or vanity.  I do not speak to others to make them feel as though they are less than what they are, that they have no value.  And when you told me you were hurt, I tried to understand you so that it would not happen again.  Perhaps you were all of those things once.  Ocean, Cloud, Snowman.  Perhaps you did bring joy to others.  But now you are a puddle, one that is without joy or kindness.  You are a jaded puddle who judges others worth by their similarity to you and not for their own abilities.  You are a dark puddle and one I do not wish to be near." 

The Fly took to the sky and did not look back.  The Snowman stared after him, furious that such a lowly creature would speak to him that way.  He turned his face back to the Sun, waiting for the warm rays to bring him back up to the sky and begin again the cycle.  But something was wrong.  He felt heavy.  Slowly he realized he was sinking into the dirt beneath the grass.  He called out, but there was no one to hear.  Bit by bit he was absorbed into the ground with no one there to be joyed by his existence. The Snowman realized too late the value of the companionship and compassion offered by the Fly. 

The Fly flew around the meadow.  He landed beside a puddle clear and cold, far away from the other one.  The Suns rays dancing on it's surface, sparkling and bright.  The fly looked deep into the water. "Are you a Snowman?" asked the Fly.

Lisa Freitag