Day 16 in our series talks about the 3 ways we show assertiveness. This whole series is found on Bully Prevention Partners. We would like for those interested in creating a culture of peace in our schools and community to join us there as we spread the awareness of bully prevention.
What are we thankful for? Out of everyone’s mouth come the ‘standard’ answers of health, family and friends. Sometimes we think even deeper and we will talk about those who have done something for us, we may talk about a teacher or mentor, or we may have an extraordinary experience that has fundamentally changed who we are. Have you had one of those experiences, where you see or have an experience that makes you think differently? Maybe you or someone you love came close to death, or your touched by a story you hear or see that calls you to a different action than your normal activity.
This morning I received an email from an individual whom I have studied his work for a short time, Gary Ryan Blair. He suggest that we practice gratitude. Now that by itself is not a new thought, as I have mentioned previously, starting each day off with the question, What am I grateful for? is a great way to start your day on a positive note. But Mr. Blair suggest these ways of practicing gratitude and giving thanks for being alive is:
Accept 100% responsibility for your life Behave like a gentleman and lady, Commit your life to excellence, Deliver exceptional results, Exceed expectations, Focus on solutions, Gracefully age, Honor your commitments, Inspire through your actions, Joyfully embrace each day, Keep your promises, Leave a lasting legacy, Model best practices, Necessitate high, uniform, ethical standards, Open your mind to new ideas, Passionately pursue your dreams, Quickly solve problems, Reciprocate and pay it forward, Showcase your talents, Talk lovingly, Undertake challenging tasks, Vote and defend democracy, Welcome and embrace change, Zealously do what is right, good and noble.
As you look at these suggestions think of gratitude as an action item and not a passive statement. If you are not sure, check out those that have less than, and who seem to find a way to make a difference and to use what they have to benefit others. Then Practice Gratefulness.
Yesterday one of the parents in our school sent me this link with a story about how one mom broke the news to their young daughter who needed to know if Santa really existed. This may be one of the best descriptions I have ever seen.
Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday season.
After only 28 weeks (and many cups of coffee) since joining BLS, all of you have become such an important part of my life! That might seem silly to say, seeing as most of you come in only once or twice a week and see me for a few minutes before taking a seat.
However, my eight hours a day largely involves you! Whether it’s planning the next event, staring at attendance sheets and enrollment spreadsheets, overflowing your inbox with emails, or trying to fix a mistake on your account (just kidding, Mr. Joe!), I spend the majority of my day with you – or at least thinking about you!
And that’s made you important to me. It means a lot to me when I learn about your weekend, or get presented with your child’s hand drawn pictures and cards. The laughs are contagious and high-fives are endless! I am surrounded by smiles, stories, and ideas that shape my outlook each day, which are always positive and inspiring. I can’t even begin to count how many of you have influenced speeches for my communications class, or unknowingly given me great advice which I apply to my own family.
Thank you is all I really want to say. Thank you for making my work days so enjoyable and not feel like work. Thank you for making Balanced Life Skills such a pleasant place to be each day. And Thank you for being a part of my life! I hope I can be all of that for you in return, every time I see you, if only for a few minutes once or twice a week.
Have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Who could you thank right now for helping you? It may not be giving you a gift of ‘treasure’, it may be the gift of ‘time’, of listening to you about your day. It may be the gift of food at dinner prepared with loving care. Sometimes when an act of kindness is repeated everyday over and over again, we can get used to and even begin to expect that it will be their for us everyday. 
I often think about what it would be like to get home from a day of teaching at 8:30 or 9 PM as I often do, and not have a meal ready for me to eat. What about you? Do you have some act that is done for you every day or every week that you have grown to expect? If so, take the time to think about how grateful you are that someone in your life is so kind and thoughtful and then say “thank you”. Let’s be generous with our thanks to all those who touch our lives. Make others feel special and valuable for all they do for us. Share your generosity of treasures, time and talent with thankfulness.
As I mentioned in my 5th International Wudang Taichi Tournament post, traditional martial arts are undergoing a period of change. Well, more accurately, they are constantly changing, not only from generation to generation or year to year, but from moment to moment. I will not try to define traditional martial arts, because to do so would be to limit and diminish them. But I can talk about the faces the art presents, the way it adapts to narrow niches in order to survive in the material world. Survival means that the narrow but popular and materially viable niche thrives and sustains the art so that a new generation can be trained in the deeper traditions.
From the stories our Master has told us, kungfu schools here in Wudang a few decades ago resembled nothing so much as street gangs. I speculate, but it seems the art was still reeling from a loss of relevance. Individuals were still trying to exist as they had when fighting was the daily test of the art. But in truth modern combat, in warfare and elsewhere, had no place for them. Still speculating, but I think the turf fighting between kungfu schools that our Master has spoken of was evidence of Wudang kungfu’s displacement. While a few individuals kept the spirit of the art, its true face was lost behind an outdated mask. Kungfu schools attracted few students and slowly dwindled away. After all, why send your child to a school if the only future it offers is violence and eventual imprisonment?
More recently, traditional kungfu has adapted by taking on new appearances. It caters to entertainment, tourism, sports, and health. Each of these outlets are, as I said of the Taichi tournament, narrow but necessary expressions of kungfu. Movies and TV keep the art alive in the popular imagination, though they twist the image so as to be more attractive. Performing for tourists and teaching them for a few days at a time brings in a little much-needed money, and wins the support of political and economic leaders who also profit from the tourists. Making a sport out of the art provides an publicly acceptable competitive outlet, the same thing the old street gang kungfu schools failed to do. Kungfu also appeals to those who search for a well-rounded health practice, though this too is only a small facet of the larger practice.
But if the art only exists in these outlets, it is lost. No one of them (or even all of them together) encompasses the breadth and depth of the traditional teachings. Nonetheless, we who want to preserve the old ways must accept both the necessity of these outlets and the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of our practice. And hope that someday the world will once again value this hidden treasure.
