Taming An Urban Jungle

There's a narrow strip of public green space alongside the road next door to our dojo. It's a sharply sloping piece of land along an overpass, maybe 30 or 40 yards long by 10 yards deep at its widest point. Not a huge swath of land by any means, but pretty big by city standards. The space is unkempt, overgrown, filled with weeds, and it tends to collect the trash that gets discarded by careless drivers and passers-by. But oh, it's got potential!

The green space I'm describing will essentially be our dojo's backyard when we move into our new space this fall. Because we embrace "environmental self-defense" as a philosophy, I've contacted our local Community Development Corporation and it's network of Green Space Advocates to learn more about how to get my dojo involved in helping to enhance, protect, and maintain the area. It will make an excellent "classroom" for us, and a place where we can readily connect with nature in the city.

It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Big Fresh, one of my favorite healthy eating spots, sells "Green Guides" from Chelsea Green Publishing to their customers. These little books cover a range of environmentally friendly subjects: biking to work, composting, conserving water, recycling, saving energy, and greening the workplace. As I sat there eating my bean salad, it occurred to me that I should have these guides sitting in the dojo, as part of the dojo library. I already require my students to complete acts of "environmental self-defense" as part of their training, so these Green Guides should fit right in as a "training resource" for my students — right next to the books on punches and kicks.

(As an aside, we also have a growing list of peace education, nonviolent communication, and anger management-related books and materials on the shelves. Yep, that's right: Ghandi and Funakoshi right alongside one another, and somehow it all makes sense!)

Two of my students will be wrapping up their community service project early next week: As part of their Purple Belt test, they've collected over $1,400 and more than 1,000 books for Boston area schools. (Read the full details here.) I'm truly impressed by the leadership, organization, and communications skills my students demonstrate when they put their projects together. And ahhh! Martial artists serving as a force for good in the world! It just doesn't get any better than this!

Moving into summer now. Must make time to rest and relax, even as I gear up mentally (and financially, and strategically…) for our dojo's big move to a new location in the fall! I keep telling myself that I need to dream BIGGER and BOLDER: It was Helen Keller who said, "Life is a great adventure, or nothing at all." Let the games begin!

The Kind of Stuff That Stretches Me

Lots happening this week. One of my students is helping me to develop and coordinate a training/presentation on increasing our interpersonal conflict resolution skills. (Actually, I should really say that I'm helping HER — she's taken the ball and she's really running with it!) When it's ready, I hope to offer this training for all of my students, and then eventually, to also sponsor the training — or something like it — at the dojo for anyone in the community. I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two from the presentation. More tools for the toolkit of life!

I received a request from the Carroll Center for the Blind to provide self-defense and self-empowerment training to a group of teens during their summer camp program. All of the teens in the program will be blind or have some significant vision loss; a few participants may have other developmental disabilities as well. I ran a similar training session for the center last year, and really enjoyed it: the kids were an enthusiastic bunch, and I learned more from them than I could ever have anticipated. This kind of stuff stretches me — it's an honor to be asked to teach — and I'm looking forward to revising and expanding the program for this year's group.

Some badly needed family vacation time coming up at the end of the month!

Some Thoughts on Falling Short

The UBBT asks a lot of us: diet, nutrition, acts of kindness, community service, weekly journaling, daily exercise and meditation, and more. I do the best I can; so do most of my teammates. I'm not overly disappointed when I fall short. I'm not too hard on myself because the falling itself reveals my own imperfections, my own humanity.

Sometimes I'm too lazy. Sometimes I'm too tired, or sick, or injured. Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood. But, I fail forward. My failings bring awareness and they reveal to me the next steps that I need to take in my personal evolution.

There's something magical about failing publicly, too: Even when I fail, I've usually gone beyond the point that most would dare to attempt. I've failed or fallen short while attempting something amazing (or "insane"). Even when I don't hit the mark, I hope that I inspire others just by making the effort.

Besides, wouldn't it be terribly boring if I did every part of the test exactly as it is prescribed?

:)