Week Six

I wish I had more time to write, but I don't. This week I helped organize a two day volleyball tournament. At the moment, I am in the midst of it. Tommorrow, I suspect I will be far too tired to think.

This week I made up some ground on my pushups, squat thrusts and situps. Though I am still behind, it is encouraging to see the gap diminishing. I was unable to attend class on Friday, because I was setting up the gyms and concessions, etc for the the volleyball tournament. No time for open training on Saturday either, as I was busy selling 50/50 draws, and concession items, and trying to get a peak at my daughter's games. Too crowded for pushups today, but I managed to sneak out and get 3 half hour walks in - so my self -propelled travel requirement received attention (and my dog loved it). As well, the 3 2-hour round trip commutes to the site, have provided me with time to work on my knitting donation requirements.

I am reading my third of six required readings on 'Kindness'. This one, "The Art of Being Kind', by Stefan Einhorn provides a few interesting comments on what the author calls the 'counterforces' to being kind. He discusses lack of empathy, lack of reflection, not wanting to get involved, not practicing what we preach, our innate aggression, the victim mentality, the 'someone else' principle, and 'whatever we do, it'll turn out wrong'. Though I don't feel the author offered much advice on what we should do about these counterforces, it is a good idea to keep these things in mind when trying to improve our daily actions, as well as the actions of those around us, and trying to understand why some very unkind acts occur around us.

Claire Finnamore
Silent River Kung Fu - Student Member
The Ultimate Black Belt Test
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