Facing Danger

Master Tom recently posted this great quote on Facebook.

One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! - Winston Churchill

It reminded me of something that happened to a friend of mine in college.

This particular friend was about 5 feet and 6 or 7 inches tall, and at the time probably weighed about 110 to 120 pounds. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy and never did anyone any harm. In fact at the time of this event he professed himself to be a pacifist.

One night, while he was walking on campus some guys jumped out of a truck, made accusations about his preferred company, and proceeded to beat him up while he shouted, "Stop! I'm a pacifist! I'm a pacifist!"

He told me that he realized that perhaps there was room within pacifism for self defense.

A few weeks later while walking across campus, (apparently he was perceived as an easy target for this sort of activity), a truck pulled up near him and some guys jumped out of the truck, making accusations about his preferred company. This time my friend grabbed a broken bottle he saw next to the curb and turned to face them with determination in his eyes. He told me later that he figured he was going to get beaten up again, but this time he was going to make them think twice about going after anyone else. The guys took a look at him and jumped back in the truck.

There are never any guarantees, but part of self defense is making yourself less of a target. This can be accomplished in lots of different ways, don't walk alone at night, walk with awareness of your surroundings, walk with confidence. If you take are successful with self defense ahead of time, you may never find yourself in a face to face self defense situation.

www.franklinkungfu.com

What "Self Defense" Means to Me.

I recently asked via Facebook what "self defense" means, and got back a great variety of answers.

Click here for the thread.

Now, for what self defense means to me.

I believe that self defense happens in stages or steps.

1. Awareness/assessment of possible threats in general.
2. Awareness of the likelihood of facing a threat in a specific situation.
3. Using the knowledge gained in the previous steps to reduce the chance of encountering a threat, and to increase your ability to face the threat if needed.
4. If, despite previous efforts, a threat arises, fight or flight (or some combination of both) will be necessary.
5. Follow up. Knowing how to respond after the threat has been avoided or eliminated.

Now for a couple of hypothetical real world examples of the five steps I've listed.

1. Each year during busy shopping days of the Holiday season parking lot robberies rise and we see all the reports on the news of how to keep yourself from being a victim.
2. Suppose on the local news it is revealed that on three different occasions in one week someone was violently robbed in the parking lot of a particular store at a particular time of day.
3. Sally decides to avoid that store at that part of the day, buys herself some pepper spray to carry in her purse, and practices how to carry and use her new personal protection device.
4. Unfortunately, Sally is approached in the parking lot where she was shopping. She had practiced staying aware and saw the person coming. She raises the pepper spray she was holding in her hands and starts backing away towards the door of the store and escapes unharmed.
5. After she is safe, she calls 911 and reports the event.

Hypothetical situation number two.

1. John looks up the top causes of death in the USA and finds this. Seeing that number one on the list is heart disease with 631,636 deaths he decides to learn more. (He also notices that assault is not even on the list.)
2. John suddenly realizes that all of his grandparents died of heart disease and decides to go to the doctor and see what his health situation is like. It turns out that his diet which is high in saturated fat and his family history put him at high risk for heart attack.
3. John changes his diet and starts an exercise program to try to decrease his chances of heart attack.
4. Despite his lifestyle changes John's blood pressure remains high, so he goes to the doctor to get a prescription to help lower it.
5. John makes regular trips to the doctor to assess his condition and educates his children about what he has experienced.

So, as you can see, I believe that self defense encompasses more than what to do if someone grabs your purse, arm, or neck, but how to prevent that from happening in the first place. I also believe that self defense involves protecting your heart, lungs, and brain from disease.

Are we, as martial artists focused on the assault side of self defense? Of course we are, and we should be. We should, however, also be focusing on the other aspects of self defense, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

One of the great things about martial arts is that, if approached properly it can address all these issues. As for the top causes of death, fitness acheived in martial arts classes can reduce the chance of heart disease, some cancers, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and diabetes which are all in the top ten causes of death in the USA.

Types of Aggression

I was recently reading some articles dealing with two types of aggression/attackers. The author divided the two categories of attackers into the "Alpha Male" and the "Predator".

I encourage anyone studying or interested in martial arts to read the article, and read the discussion posted below it.

Giving Thanks

In the past few years, there have been sacrifices my family has had to make to try to get East West Kung Fu off the ground. Operating in a small town, and opening up at the beginning of a recession has meant we had to cut back on non-essentials, work part time jobs, and struggle financially.

I thought that considering the recent holiday I would take a little time to give thanks for all the help we have received from people who apparently believe very strongly in what we do.

In the past few years, people have bought my family countless dinners, I was given a brand new bicycle, and so was my stepdaughter, my car repairs were paid for, people donated housekeeping supplies for the kung fu school, I was given transformers toys, I was given dvd's, people have given me loans to keep the kwoon in business, people have given me money outright to keep the kwoon in business, and the list goes on and on.

It is easy to forget how good we have it sometimes. It is easy to get distracted by all the struggle. So I wanted to take a moment to be greatful to all who have helped us through the struggle.

I hope that you will take a moment to do the same.

Sometimes When Shopping, I Lose Perspective

When shopping at the store, and trying to balance nutrition value of foods with the dollar value of foods is when I most forget that I have more than I need.

I'm sitting at a ten year old computer connected to the internet by dial up, but that is more than I need.

I have a 19 year old television set, receiving broadcast TV through a DTV converter box. It is more than I need.

I have a Playstation 2, one of the controllers has the outer covering of the cord worn away and recovered with duct tape. It is more than I need.

We have 2 cars. More than we need.

We have a 3 bedroom house. More than we need.

Plenty of people in the world live in one room mud and straw huts, no TV, no plumbing, no electricity. Some people go get water from the same source the local cattle bathe in. When we think we need things like sattelite TV, smart phones, new cars . . . it is because we have forgotten that we have more than we need.

Greatness

When I was in elementary school, I was not challenged to greatness. School work was not a challenge to me, it came easy. In fact, with almost no effort, year after year, I would get all A's and one B on my report card.

From time to time my father would talk to me about "buckling down" and getting serious about my school work, but I did not see the point in working hard because getting good grades was so easy for me. My theory as a child was, "If I can get grades like this with minimal effort, why would I want to work a lot harder to get slightly better grades?"

I was coasting.

I was also developing bad study and work habits that still come back and bite me to this day.

A year ago I put together the Ten Tigers program for me and any students who wanted to join me. The purpose, for me, was to stop coasting. The program requires lots of exercise, lots of hard work, reading, acts of kindness, exercises in sympathy, writing, and lots more.

The Ten Tigers program is very challenging, it is also very rewarding. It has changed the way I live every day. I'm in the best shape of my life, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The whole premise is to work hard, to strive for greatness. Why settle for what comes easy when you can reach towards your full potential?

Why coast downhill, when you can pedal and build up momentum for when you have to go uphill?

Why settle for mediocrity, when you can strive for greatness?

“There are countless ways of attaining greatness, but any road to reaching one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity.”

Buck Rodgers quotes (Former American Baseball Player. b.1938)

Mastery: In Someone Else's Words.

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-Mastery-And-Why-It-Makes-All-The-Difference-In-The-World&id=16455

Why Compete: Finale

I spent a few months with no desire to go to anymore tournaments. Then as Master Tom's tournament was coming around again I decided that I would go ahead and participate in that one again. I started looking at my motives, trying to encourage myself to get fired up for it. Then I realized I wanted the tournament to be a means not an end. Instead of training for the tournament I decided to use the tournament to train. I decided to be open to any experience, any learning I could get from the process.

I realized that a lot can be accomplished through a tournament. I realized that the reward is not the hunk of plastic, or admiration of others, or setting an example for others. The reward was the training leading up to the tournament. So by the time I got on the competition floor, I had already won a bigger prize than anyone could give me.

I was no longer competing to win, or competing to set an example, or competing to put on a show.

I was simply competing to compete.

My purpose for competing now is to experience the competition, and be open to any insights or lessons that come from it. I am no longer imposing my will on what I want to get from the competition.

AND I'm having fun.

Why Compete? Part Two

When I first saw how important winning was to many people in tournaments, and what lengths some would go to to make sure that they won, I went on a mission.

My mission was to win without all the rule bending and breaking that I was seeing. To win forms and weapons competition without acrobatics added to my martial arts, to win sparring competition with traditional technique instead of point sparring techniques that would fail miserably in self defense. I wanted to show people that tournaments could be won without all that, and at different tournaments I had varying degrees of success.

Every body else, though, kept on doing the same things they had been doing. I had failed myself because my motivation was in the wrong place. I was trying to change other people.

After I realized my motivation was in the wrong spot I started competing for my self, not for others. My mission became to win with honor. I wanted to honor the traditional forms and techniques of the martial arts I study, and win tournaments in the process.

I learned a lot from this period in my life, but it still was not fulfilling. The idea of winning just wasn't doing it for me. When I won it was nice, but not what I envisioned it to be. When I didn't win, there were feelings of disappointment. So I needed a new answer to the question, "Why Compete?"

Coming soon: Part three of "Why Compete?"

Why Compete? Part One

Recently having participated in a martial arts tournament, I've been thinking about the variety of reasons that people compete in them. I'll be posting my thoughts on some of the reasons that lead people into tournaments.

Reason number one for competition: To Win.


Some see this as the main, number one, most obvious reason to compete. Some believe that if you are not playing to win, there is no reason to play.

To some, winning is so important that all other considerations are secondary. If you have to bend the rules to win, you learn how far you can bend them before they break, and you learn to break them without getting caught. Learning how to break the rules becomes part of the competition. I have seen people at martial arts tournaments wear their sparring gear loosely on their hands so they can slide it nearly off their hands, giving themselves 6 to 8 inches more reach. I have seen people using a tactic called "taking your warning", in which at the start of a sparring match you kick someone as hard as you can in the stomach to wind them, you take the warning for excessive contact, and the advantage of a winded opponent.

These and other tactics are the result of a desire to win no matter what. Another result is feelings of disappointment, frustration, and anger when one doesn't win.

You can probably guess, that to me, winning is not a very good motivation for competition.

Next I will be discussing reason number two, which could be a subset of "Competing to Win". It is "Winning With Honor"

Who Got You This Far?

I recently had a student say to me, "Thank you for bringing me this far." I reminded this student that although I may have walked in front of him/her, it wasn't me that brought them this far.

Always give credit and gratitude to your teachers, role models, coaches, etc., but also remember, that they can not take you anywhere. You must decide to go there, you must do the work to get there, and you must continue on past the point you have reached.

If you give someone else too much credit for your achievements, what will you do once they are gone? Smokey The Bear always said, "Only you can prevent forest fires." The same applies to your positive achievements, "Only you can take you there."

Fast Food

We live in a fast food society. We thrive on instant gratification.

Have you ever gone over to the microwave, frustrated that the baked potatoes aren't done yet? Do you have any idea how long they take in a conventional oven?

We put a meal in the microwave, then anxiously tap our feet for the grueling two minutes we have to wait.

We growl and curse as we sit at the fast food window for three minutes and thirty seconds. "What is TAKING so long!?!?"

Take a moment today to slow down. Stop and smell the roses, literally if you want. Today I saw something I had never seen before. I had never stopped long enough to notice that the Eastern Red Cedar bursts forth in little blue berries. So I stopped. I looked.

So today,

stop.

Look.

Another Challenge

One of the things I would like to teach at East West is the joy of rising to new challenges.  It is hard to meet new challenges without new experiences, so my challenge today is to find an appreciation for something new.  

I'm learning how to grow bonsai trees now.  While learning about it, I'm also developing a whole new appreciation for the art form.  When I took my trip to China in 2002, one of the places we visited had several bonsai on display.  At the time I did not have an appreciation for the art.  I walked past them without a second glance.  If I had the appreciation then that I do now, I'd have studied them and taken dozens of pictures.  

So the challenge is to find something that you don't understand why some people love it, be it a sport, an art form, a restaurant, and try to find out what all the buzz is about.  You don't have to start liking whatever it is, just try to find an appreciation for what it is.

Limitations

We all have limitations, an upper limit on what we can do and accomplish. We are human and therefore have limited potential.

Did that sound negative? Keep reading.

Sometimes we have a very clear picture of our limitations. I have flat feet, and if I train barefoot my plantar fasciitis flares up.

Sometimes the picture is much hazier. I was never very good at pushups (I despised pushups, so I didn't train them, so I stayed not very good at them). I always just said, "I'm lousy at pushups."

Then, I started this Ten Tigers Program, and now I'm averaging over 100 pushups per day. Now I'm pretty good at them. I can do 46 in 30 seconds, and 63 in one minute. My limitation has changed.

We all have upper limits, but we often don't really know what that upper limit is because we never test them.

I don't really know the top speed on my Toyota Camry because I've never tested it (and never will).

I have decided that I will keep gradually pushing myself to bigger and better things, to test my upper limits.

I will become stronger and fitter, I will become smarter and more emotionally healthy, I will become a better teacher of martial arts and a better leader of people.

And, I will drag as many of you as are willing along for the ride.

Thank You

To all those who have been helping with our move.  To all who have supported us through this move.  To all who have been willing, but unable to help.  

Thank you.

We are in a smaller school now, but it's big enough.

I happen to believe that bigger is not necessarily better.  I believe that too many of us have been fixated on bigger/richer/faster is better.  I believe there is a time to downsize, a time to give away wealth, and a time to slow down.  Money for money's sake is a waste of time.  Having a bigger truck/house/yard for the sake of status is a waste of resources.  Getting everything the moment we want it is detrimental to our ability to work towards a goal.

Can you make do with less?  Can you be wait for the things you want?  It's harder than it sounds.

Again, to all who have given so much in moving and remodeling and preparing for this change I cannot thank you enough.  I cannot pay all the favors back.  My plan, instead, is to pay it forward.

Self-Defense Training for The Master of the Martial Arts

Self-Defense Training for The Master of the Martial Arts

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Something New

So I have been working on close range sparring lately.  Specifically staying off the ground, while successfully sparring in extreme close range.  It's something new for me.  It is still uncomfortable for me, and I get hit more often when I do it, than when I stay in my comfort zone.

That is what happens when you step outside your comfort zone.  Things are uncomfortable, challenging, exciting, and difficult.  If they weren't, we wouldn't call it a comfort zone.

Also, when you step outside your comfort zone, you learns.

There is only so much that can be accomplished by doing the same thing today that was done yesterday, and doing the same thing tomorrow that was done today.

So my challenge for today is for you to do something outside your comfort zone, try something a little different, break your routine.  It can be a simple little thing or a whole new project, as long as it is something new and different.

What is Self Defense?

I tell the kids in my classes that self defense is "how you keep you safe".  When most people think of self defense they think of either martial arts, or a concealed carry license, or pepper spray, or some other technique or device designed to disable an attacker.  The words "self defense" conjure up thoughts of the best way to release oneself from a headlock, or a bearhug, or a choke hold.  Yes, these things are self defense.  

These things are self defense in the same sense that open heart surgery is self defense in case of a heart attack.

If I were to have a heart attack, I am glad that there is a such thing as open heart surgery, just as if I am attacked I am glad that I've spent most of my life involved with martial arts.

However,

When it comes to heart attacks, I hope to never have to resort to open heart surgery.  To that end, I am practicing self defense.  I have cut down on red meat, nearly completely replaced the grains in my diet with 100% whole grains, increased the vegetable and fruit intake in my diet, I exercise daily.  All these things are intelligent self defense against a heart attack.

So why don't more martial arts schools consider the same approach to self defense against physical assault?  Sure there are some (very rare) unavoidable situations in which one must defend oneself, but true self defense training should encompass much much more than punches and kicks.

How do you keep you safe from physical attack?  Hopefully not by waiting until the attack happens.  Be kind to people, more kindness in the world will help.  Practice anger management.  Don't react without thinking first.  Avoid situations that are likely to put you in a physical confrontation.  Defend yourself with your mind first, (don't get in a fight and I guarantee you won't get hurt in a fight), your legs second (run, run, run), and your fists absolutely last.

Goals

There are a variety of goal setting methods that have been published to maximize one's ability to meet those goals.  The basics of goal setting seem to be fairly universal.

Be positive in how the goals are phrased.  Rather than "Try to stop being so lazy" phrase it, "I will improve my proactivity."

Be precise.  Rather than saying, "I want to lose some of this extra weight." say, "I will lose 15 pounds by walking 30 minutes a day 5 days a week and not eating any more fast foods."

Record your goals and your progress.  Keep yourself honest.

Make your goals realistic and acheivable.  "I will become a better martial artist by training 30 minutes every day," is more acheivable than, "I will learn to walk through brick walls."

Set your goals, then reach for them.

Who Do You Love?

Think about the person you love most in the world.  Even if it is you, think of this person.  Now put this person in the form of a 12 month old child.  A child who has needs, but can't really meet those needs for themselves.  They need food and water.  They need loving companionship.  They need education/learning.  They need nearly total physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental support, and they need if from you.

What would you be willing to do to support this child.  Would you work two full time jobs?  Would you do whatever you could to insure they had the best education possible?  Would you do what it took to make sure they had healthcare?  What if they were starving, how far would you go to make sure they had food?  What if they were alone in the cold with no shelter?  In the middle of a war zone?  

Wouldn't it be nice, if everyone on the planet treated everyone else on the planet that way?  

Why don't we start treating everyone that way today?

Hurdles

While working on the requirements of my Ten Tigers Program, I am making all sorts of discoveries.  I have discovered that with a little practice, it is easy to do 100 pushups and situps in a day.  It is easy to do an act of kindness in a day.  It is even easy to find time to do 20 to 30 minutes of forms training in a day.  It is easy to make a blog entry once a week.  There are, however, hurdles to meeting these goals.

There are hurdles, such as, caring for a toddler, doing the necessary marketing to grow my business, going to work each day, yardwork, family schedules, insomnia, and the list could go on and on and on.  There are lots of hurdles, on some days more than others.  With all of these real hurdles to overcome it becomes very important to avoid the fake ones.

There are fake hurdles that get in the way too.  "I'm tired", "I don't feel like it today", "I'd rather play a video game, watch a movie, watch TV", the list could go on and on and on.  Imagine an athlete about to compete in the 400 meter hurdles.  In that race, the first hurdle is 45 meters from the starting line, then each hurdle is 35 meters apart.  Now imagine that this athlete has for some reason decided that there is another hurdle halfway between each of the actual hurdles.  For every hurdle his competitors jump, he will be jumping two.  What are his odds of winning, what are his odds of even placing when he adds these imaginary hurdles into his race?  

Why do we insist on adding these artificial hurdles?  Why are there days when "Good Morning America" takes precedence over my workout?  Why are there days that I put off the things that are good for my martial arts skill, my health, my mind, and my spirit until there is barely time left and energy left to do them?  Why do I insist on adding hurdles that aren't really there.  

Let's all make a commitment to start recognizing the artificial hurdles.  When you have a task to do, that you want to skip becuase you "don't have time", do it with a stop watch running.  Figure out how long it actually takes you, then remind yourself the next time you hear yourself say you don't have time.  When you tell yourself you are too tired, do one more pushup, or situp, or front kick, or wash one more dish or whatever it is that you need to do.  Then do one more.  Take note of how much time you spend aimlessly wandering the internet or watching TV shows that you could skip.  Let's make commitments to ourselves to use our time and energy more wisely.

We have enough hurdles in our lives.  Don't add any imagined ones.

Value

Try this out.  Find a martial artist who has been training for at least three years.  Ask them how many years of experience they have in the martial arts.  Then ask them if they would take $100,000 in exchange for all the knowledge, experience, skill, and fitness they gained from the martial arts.  If they say, "no", up the offer.  Offer $500,000, then $1,000,000.  When you find a price high enough that they take you up on your offer divide that total by the number of years of experience, then divide by 12.  You now have a dollar amount that shows what their martial arts training was worth to them.  

Personally I wouldn't take $10,000,000 for mine.

At that rate, classes would cost $33,333.33 per month.

You guys are getting a great deal!

The Car of My Dreams

East West Motor Company has released details on the new fully automatic Soma. The Soma is the most intelligently designed vehicle ever created. The most impressive feature of the Soma is it's Self Adjusting Somatic Technology. The SAST enables the Soma to improve its performance based on the demands made by the driver. If you drive this vehicle regularly at a high performance level without redlining the engine. The engine becomes faster, more powerful, and more efficient.

The more it is driven the "smarter" it becomes. It has the ability to "learn" from its experiences. The more varied driving conditions you expose it to the more it adapts to those conditions. Even more amazing is that as it adapts to different driving conditions, its ability to adapt to conditions it has never seen is improved.

There are two major drawbacks to the Soma. If you do not drive it, it's SAST adapts to not being driven and loses power and efficiency. Also, although it can run on the fuel found at any gas station, the more convenient fueling stations don't carry the fuel that is best for the Soma. If you choose to run it on the more convenient fuels often, you risk clogging the fuel lines and decreasing the performance and lifespan of your Soma.

A video worth watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&eurl=http://timrosanelli.blogspot.com/

It's Hard

Being a stay at home dad, and running a small business at the same time is hard.  It seems as though I'm either caring for my 15 month old, or caring for my business.  As for time for myself on weekdays, at about 8:00 or 9:00 I get home, fix supper, or eat supper, then go to bed.  It is a challenge and right now I am feeling very much overwhelmed by it.  In an odd stroke of luck, the baby and the dog are both asleep, so I'm taking a moment to communicate with the outside world.  

What I'm doing is hard, but there are those who have it much harder.  I am struggling to pay bills, but there are others who don't even have the means to struggle.  My business is growing slowly, but other businesses are failing.  I have to remind myself that the key is to keep trying, keep struggling, keep pushing to find a way to accomplish the things I feel called to accomplish.  One day at a time, one obstacle at a time, one challenge at a time.

It is the same as my ten tigers program.  It is hard, but getting through it will be rewarding.  I keep pushing through my program, one pushup at a time, one situp at a time, one act of kindness at a time.  The struggle is half the fun.

And besides, my business did better than GM last year!

Melody Hill Cave

Melody Hill Cave

One of the things I enjoy doing in my free time is cave survey. Lots of people go into caves and look around, but what I like to do is map them as I go. One cave I helped survey was Melody Hill Cave in Breckenridge County, Kentucky. We were continuing a survey that had been started by another team, so our first job was to travel to the other team’s last survey station and start mapping from there. When we got to our station, I understood why they had wrapped up that day of survey where they did. The passage at this point shrank from a generous four feet to a scant eight inches. So we started our survey.

Due to the confining nature of this passage, rather than go to each station drawing in the details I saw, I had to rough in the measurement points, then squirm through the passage making mental notes of what the passage looked like so that I could sketch it in when I got into the roomier three foot tall chamber. The cave had some more wide open spaces as big as ten feet tall, and some more constrictions as well. When we got to the final constriction my chest would not fit through, so the skinniest of our group continued on to wrap up the survey while I turned back to get to drier clothes outside the cave.

On the way out, I came to one of the constrictions and started to wriggle through on my belly with my pack strapped to my ankle behind me. My nostrils were filled with the scent of long packed mud, my ears were filled with the sound of my cave suit simultaneously scraping the floor and ceiling of the cave. I pushed with my toes and pulled with my fingertips. I moved about one inch. The passage was getting tight. I exhaled every molecule in my lungs and pushed forward again. I gained another inch. I tried again with no luck. I retreated a bit and took what seemed to be a completely different path through the constriction. Again, no luck. I tried this several times and then realized. . .

I was stuck. 

Just the other day, I woke up in a pretty foul mood. A foul mood for me usually does not mean I am crabby or angry, it usually means I want to do nothing. It usually means I want to quit. It means I want to give up, surrender, stop struggling to make my business work, stop pursuing my dreams, stop doing anything. I tried to force myself to do my ten tigers daily workout. I got some of it in, but not much. I started thinking that the whole project was a joke. I started regretting making the commitment.

My foul mood persisted through the day. I hid it in a corner while I taught classes. I kept it to myself at kung fu. I came home feeling even worse. The next day I woke up in a foul mood. Another day of forcing myself through my workout. I got it done this time though. It did not, however, make me feel any better. Another day of hiding my mood in a corner while I did the afterschool program and what felt like class after class after class of kung fu. I kept trying to push forward, kept trying to take another path with no luck. I tried this several times and then realized. . .

I was stuck.

With the scent of long packed mud in my nostrils, and the sound of my breathing filling my ears, I thought of stories of cavers getting stuck in caves. Stories in which their attempts at self rescue resulted in cracked ribs, stories in which cave rock had to be chiseled from around the caver, stories in which clothing was cut off the unfortunate caver who was then smothered in butter or some other food product that another caver was carrying through the cave. None of these sounded very appealing to me just then, especially emerging from a cave in January wearing only butter.

I stopped thinking about all those things. I closed my eyes, exhaled and squirmed backwards to a more comfortable spot (by more comfortable I mean about 12 inches tall). I rested there and calmly thought about my options. I knew that I had gotten through this spot on the way in, so I could get back through. The real obstacle was the fact that fatigue and cold had worked into my body so my thought processes were diminished somewhat. I thought about my options, I could retrieve the garden shovel from my pack to attempt digging a ditch to crawl through, I could wait for the cavers behind me to catch up so one of them could possibly find that sweet spot through the passage for me, or I could panic, scream for help, scratch at the cave walls around me, and exhaust myself, necessitating a cave rescue call out.

None of those options sounded great, but I made up my mind to wait for my caving partners to catch up with me. I turned off my lights, lay my head sideways so that my helmet rested on the ground and cushioned my head and listened to the cave. I listened to the dripping water in the distance and the empty silence between them. When it is that quiet, your ears seem to reach out, feeling, searching for a sound. Eventually, they found one. The sound of cavers talking and laughing at the end of a survey trip echoing through the dark distance, then the sound of cave suits scraping along the floor and ceiling of the cave. As they neared I greeted them, and let one pass me. He was six foot one and 130 pounds, I was five foot seven and 175. He can go places in caves that I cannot. I told them I was having trouble finding the line through this passage. He went ahead of me to the left and up a slope where the extra inch made all the difference. I followed suit and was soon talking and laughing and heading out into the sunshine.

I had no control over the size of the passage, I had no control of the fatigue in my mind and body once it had arrived, I had no control of the effects of the adrenalin that poured through my body when I first realized I was stuck, but I did have the choice on how to react to all that I was going through.

I had no control the other day of the mood I was in, no control of whatever cocktail of hormones was pouring through my body. I did, however, have a choice on how to react to all that I was going through. So I got up and did as much as of my workout as I could make myself do. I went in and taught my classes with as much energy and passion as I could muster. I went home and shared my feelings with my wife who was very patient with me. I let her go ahead of me and find that sweet spot to crawl through, and started following behind. Soon we were talking and laughing and heading back out into the sunshine.

I believe. . .

I believe you should read this:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99478226

I Too, Have A Dream

On the morning after the day celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., I just wanted to let it be known that I too have a dream.

There are things in our lives that we hold sacred.  Different things for different people.  Some view the building that is their church as sacred.  Others see the church that gathers in that building as sacred.  For some a bible or a rosary is sacred.  For some the flag of their country.  For others, their car or their house is treated as sacred.  Whatever it is that someone sees as sacred, they treat it with reverence, care, love, and respect.  

When something is held sacred, their is often great offense taken when others do not treat the sacred as such.  If someone were to come to a church service cursing and swearing there would be offense taken.  If someone were to mistreat the family bible, there would be offense.  We have seen the offense taken when someone disrespects the flag.  For some of us, finding out someone had ran their key along the side of our car would bring on great anger.

So, anyway, back to my dream.

I have a dream that as time goes by, more and more people will start recognizing the sacred gifts we have been given, and start treating these gifts as sacred.

I have a dream that we will treat our bodies as the sacred gifts they are.  We will fill them with good, nutritious food and avoiding junk food.   We will avoid tobacco and other drugs that are detrimental to our bodies.  We will exercise and give our bodies the strength, flexibility, and endurance it needs.  We will drink more water and fewer soft drinks.  We will endeavour to get enough sleep each night.

I have a dream that one day, we will recognize the sacred gift that is our mind.  We will educate ourselves to the best of our ability.  We will not fill our minds with hate, envy, malice, and greed.  We will instead fill our minds with thoughts of love, generosity, helpfulness, and charity.  We will use our minds to improve the world around us.

I have a dream that we will see the earth we live on as a sacred gift to be cherished.  We will stop overbuying, overusing, and overpolluting.  We will recycle.  We will not dump motor oil and other fluids from our cars on the ground.  We will conserve electricity, oil, and other fossil fuels.  We will strive to use energy from renewable resources.

I have a dream that we will see each person around us as the sacred gift that they are.  Whether they be old or young, whether they be Ivy league educated, or barely literate, whether they be too skinny or too fat, we will see them as the sacred gift that they are.  When we look at the wonder that is each living thing, we will treat them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.  We will see that it matters less what group they fit in with, or what group we fit in with than the fact that we all share this life as one.  We will stop putting importance on whether someone is clergy or criminal, jock or nerd, upper management or packer or picker.  When we learn to see those around us as sacred the color of their skin will be less important than the color of their shirt. 

Like King, I might not live to see my dream, but I am sure going to take as many steps in that direction as I can.

Superhero Society

One look at movies over the last few years and anyone can see that superheroes are very popular. X-men, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk and The Punisher have all had movies lately, and Wolverine, Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers are coming soon. It makes sense. What's not to like about someone using supernatural powers or advanced technology to soundly thrash the evildoers of the world? There are problems when these superhero sensations start working their way into our thinking, however.

There are three things needed for a good superhero story: A superhero to save the day, a supervillain who would have ruined the day if it weren't for that pesky superhero and, of course, some person to be saved along with the day.

So if I were to let myself have a superhero story in my daily thoughts, in my daily life, which of those people would I be? Most would consciously choose the  superhero, right? There are those of us, though, that find ourselves playing the victim role.  I think there are very few if any that see themselves as the bad guy.   If I am the superhero, then whoever is causing me difficulty is one of those bad guys and everyone else gets to be the people of Earth whose very existence I will save. What would they do without me?

Some of us take great pleasure in being the superhero, while others feel pressure to play the role. Superheroes are the ones who always feel like they have to save the ones around them. They sacrifice their own health and happiness to pull everyone else out of their problems. Self sacrifice can be admirable, but what good is it to destroy one's own mental, emotional, or physical health to try to save someone else? If we neglect self care, we will soon lose the ability, as well as the motivation, to help others. Something I heard recently, I'm not sure where, "If there were children that you loved, wouldn't they be best served by keeping their mother healthy?" We are not invincible superheroes. We have to keep our own strength up, realize when we need to recharge, and help others from a safe position.

Now let's talk about that nasty old supervillain. If we allow ourselves to see "the other" as a bad guy, evildoer, or even just a rival who should be defeated, we are viewing things in an adversarial way. Yes, there are times to compete against others, but most of the time we would all be better off by working with those who disagree with us rather than against them. Working together with non-like minded individuals can produce surprising results. Imagine playing a game of Scrabble® in which, rather than trying to block points, the players were working together to see how high each could score. How would the game change? Working with adversaries is how our government is supposed to function. The idea is that people on the two sides of the aisle will come together and create better ideas than either would have alone. Too many times we view others as obstacles or adversaries instead of fellow travelers in this existence.

Finally, some people identify most with the victim role in the superhero story. They could be happy/rich/successful if only the circumstances around them were to change. A victim sees their problems as caused or fixed by others: coworkers, relatives, the economy, the government. . . or their problems are due to lacking the right coworker, the right love interest, etc. They believe that none of their problems are their fault, there is nothing they can do about them, so all they do is wait for Superman to swoop in and save them. These folks need to wake up right now. Although circumstances have a lot to do with successes, waiting around to be saved is wasted time. We must stand up and work hard if we want to achieve anything. Yes, it is easier if we are given a trust fund, yes, it is easier with a supportive family, but if those things are not available, it is all the more important to stand up and fight. Being “saved” by someone else won't change the habit of seeing life from a victim's point of view.

Watch all the superhero movies you want, enjoy them, but remember that life is different. Our adversaries aren't always adversaries when we can change our point of view. When we are victims, there is no need to sit around and wait for a hero to save us; we can work to save ourselves. When we feel the pull to be a superhero, we can make sure to keep ourselves healthy first. Remember that just about every superhero has some sort of psychological malfunction. Iron Man -- Egomaniacal thrillseeker, Batman -- absolutely obsessed with avenging the crime against his parents, The Hulk -- don't get me started on the Hulk. We are not superhuman, and we don't have superpowers, but we can do nearly as much good in the world by keeping our own lives balanced.