Gratitude for "My Marching Orders"

Many years ago, my parents would try to encourage me whenever I was down or facing tough times by giving me a card containing a few words of wisdom and encouragement. They tended not to give me any direct advice or face-to-face lectures (I, being stubborn, wouldn't have listened to them anyway), but somehow the written or printed word always seemed to do the trick. My parents knew exactly what they were doing.

Recently, while cleaning out some boxes in the basement to prepare for our family's move to a new home, I came across a box of decades-old letters and cards — mostly unimportant junk that was long overdue for the rubbish bin. But among the debris, I found two identical cards. Gems, really: One was from Mom, and one was from Dad. Each was given to me on separate occasions.

On the front of each the card is a print of what I now lovingly call "my marching orders." My parents, while not lecturing me in person, where telling me exactly what I needed to do:

Believe in Yourself:
Dream freely
Envision excellence
Cherish your creations
Exude enthusiasm
Be inspired
Inspire others
Take pride in you
Recognize inner beauty
Draw on inner strength
Look inside your soul
Create peace
Seek truth
Spread joy
Embark on adventure
Launch new ideas
Think big
Invoke positives
Live fully
Reach out
Aim high
Find happiness
Expect the best
Be the best

Inside the card from Dad was a note hastily scrawled in his messy hand: "I hope this helps a little. Love, Dad". The note from Mom was also terse: "Hang 'tuff." You can do it. Love, Mom".

But between the words and lines, I realize, was the real and unwritten message that my parents wanted to convey: "We love you, We support you. We're here for you. Keep your chin up. You're bigger than the problem you're facing. So, trust, us — you'll get your ass through this."

Thanks Mom and Dad. I love you, too.

I was listening. Really. I have my marching orders. And I try to carry them out every day. And I'll be sure to tell my kids the same thing — in a way that will get through to them when it seems that I can not.

On Holiday Gifts, Gratitude, and Goals

Folks, I've been offline and out of the loop for several weeks, as I've just endured a really rough December!

Back on December 12, during what I thought was going to be a routine pediatrician visit, we learned that my daughter Ava has Type I Diabetes! There's a whole lot more drama to tell than I'm going to share here in this blog entry, but last month my wife and I unexpectedly spent 8 days living at Children's Hospital here in Boston taking care of our daughter, and learning about diabetes. The irony of meeting Andy Mandell, Mr. Diabetes, in the past year is not lost on me… Andy – you're the best. Thanks for being a part of my life, and part of this UBBT!

Our time in the hospital was terrifying, stressful, and sleepless, but after crash courses in how to check blood sugar, measure foods, count carbohydrates, draw and inject insulin — and after surviving illnesses, complications, and three major snowstorms in a week's time — we finally left the hospital exhausted and overwhelmed on December 20. Just in time for the holidays, but totally lacking the holiday spirit, to be sure.

Family, friends, and my UBBT teammates have been a HUGE help during our little crisis. Everyone really stepped up with their gifts, offers to help, errands, kind words of support, ears to listen, shoulders to cry on, and prayers. My students really stepped up in my absence to make sure classes continued to run at the dojo, too. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. My family and I are truly blessed!

I've easily spent more time on my knees in the past 3 weeks to ask for strength than I have in the past 30 years. And to spend time in Children's Hospital, seeing so many other children who are REALLY sick, REALLY injured, and REALLY challenged — well that was a real eye opener for me. I guess I could complain about my daughter's illness, but not after seeing so many other children and parents who are dealing with far greater challenges display such courage, resolve, and bravery. Now THAT was a gift. And at just 17 months old, Ava has been a real trooper through all of the drama. She is truly one of my living heroes!

We're all still extremely stressed, scared, and unsure of the way forward, but our little family is getting back to the "new" normal now. Life can and must go on!

So I'm 3 weeks behind on all of my UBBT training, and I'm getting sore all over again doing my pushups, crunches, and bag work. But this is my Black Belt Test. I've spent some time drawing up new, exciting, and challenging goals for 2008, including reducing my meat consumption, enforcing personal sleep discipline, laughing and playing more, and following my dreams.

I will serve as an example of the ultimate student. I will not quit and I will not fail. Nothing, and I mean nothing will keep me from becoming my best: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Watch me. Encourage me. Train with me.

Wishing you all peace, health, happiness, success, and abundance in the new year — with gratitude,

Jason Gould
Emerald Necklace Martial Arts
http://www.karateinboston.com/
(617) 230-1973

It's Not About the Turkey!

I'm thankful for so many things this year, it would take far too long to list them all. Beyond family, health, home, friends, creature comforts, and all the "usual suspect" things we esteem with our gratitude around the holidays (holy days), this year I am especially grateful for my increased awareness, the superb assistance and advice I've received from both friends and perfect strangers, and the opportunity and ability to make a real difference in people's lives. I'm thankful for being inspired by the things, ideas, and people this UBBT process has exposed me to — this journey has been a real eye opener...

I believe that Thanksgiving should be about THANKS and GIVING. On this holiday, I strongly feel — and wish to express — the gratitude for all of the blessings in my life. And I'm looking to contribute more, too: Gotta give back to keep all the energy moving!

I've started to set higher goals and make some positive changes in both my attitude and my actions. There can be no return to "normal" now!

Conscious Eating, Spiritual Activation, and Saving the Planet

I recently read an article by Thich Nhat Hanh about the impact our diet can have on our environment. The article describes how producing livestock contributes to land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. The message is clear: our eating habits are threatening our future.

My wife and I talked about the subject, and while we don't think we're heading toward strict vegetarianism, we both agreed that reducing our meat consumption is a good and positive action to take. We also agreed to replace more of the regular light bulbs in our house with energy-efficient ones.

I just purchased a Kleen Kanteen — a reusable, lightweight, stainless steel water bottle — to cut down on the amount of plastic I use and recycle, and to help reduce my exposure to the potentially hazardous chemicals that can leach into my drinking water from plastic containers.

This past weekend, I broke out my old Juiceman Juicer out of storage, and enjoyed some fresh, homemade juice made from organic fruit. The juicer is a real pain in the butt to clean (and it takes a LOT of fruit to make a few glasses), but the juice sure is tasty!

And I've recently discovered Peace Cereal – a nutritious, delicious, and organic cereal promoting a worthy cause. I don't want to sound like a commercial, but what a concept! And since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I thought, why not create some good karma while I'm fueling up my body?

For years now, I've been a big fan of what has been called "Mobile University," and I frequently listen to CD audio programs in my car during my commute to and from work. My most recent acquisition: a program called "Spiritual Activation" by Julia Butterfly Hill, an environmental and social activist best known for living in a redwood tree for two years to keep it from being cut down. On the CD, Ms. Hill speaks about connection, gratitude, sacred space, and developing and increasing our social awareness. I'm only 20 minutes in, and I'm hooked.

Am I becoming a granola crunching, tofu-eating, tree-hugging hippie? Just maybe... I even updated our dojo website homepage this week.

Want to know what all this has to do with karate, martial arts, and "self-defense?"

Contact me!

On Acts of Kindness

Okay, I admit it: I haven't "exactly" been tracking my acts of kindness. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been doing them, I just haven't been writing them down every day (like I'm supposed to be doing). But I'm pretty sure I get at least three AOKs in during the course of each day.

There's one AOK that I do every day: Each and every time I go into the park across the street from my house — and I'm usually in there two times a day — I pick up some trash. Sometimes I pick up a lot (like the other day, when I cleaned up a full barrell of garbage that someone knocked over on purpose); sometimes I pick up an empty soday can, or a plastic bag, or some broken glass.

It's a never-ending battle, and sometimes it seems uphill. Every day I pick something up, and every day there's something new that wasn't there the day before. It's frustrating, but I know my efforts are worth something. It reminds me of a passage I read recently in the Tao Te Ching:

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?

What is a bad man but a good man's job?

If the teacher is not respected

and the student not cared for,

confusion will arise, however clever one is.

This is the great secret.

In the end, I simply try to leave the park a little bit better than it was when I walked in. My daughter sees me doing this, and I know I'm setting a positive example.

Sometimes I pick up newspapers off one of the park benches, even though I know they served as a blanket for some homeless person who spent the night sleeping there. Even in my cleaning I feel a pinch of compassion.

This week, I picked up a small notebook for writing down my daily AOKs. And in the back, I've started a list of things to be grateful for. "A bed to sleep in every night" made the list today.