What a weekend. Randy, Lacey and I went away this weekend. One of Randy's work crews were doing a job down on Windimere lake which is just outside of Radium Hot Springs. He was checking out the new rig they were using, Lacey and I were just enjoying the mountains. It was one of those moments I always try to force into my memory, to really stay in the moment.
Panorama ski resort is also only a half hour drive from the job site so we went up there for lunch on Saturday. Well , they were making snow and it felt like a winter wonderland. It was 9 above so we only had light jackets on although the visual picture dictated we should be wearing parkas.We sat in a green house cafe and were surrounded with all the snow crystals floating in the air around us. It was truly magical. One of the grooming crew had a dog who was very smart and entertaining to watch. The only thing missing was a ..... dare I say it, Christmas tree. It,s beginning to look a lot like .... Any way it was very refreshing. I really tried to stay in the moment like Sifu Brinker is always trying to reinforce in us.
Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain Alberta, Canada
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Assertive or Obnoxious
A few weeks ago my middle daughter came home with a stray cat. Now my first reaction was" yes we'll foster it but we already have three cats and one more just seems extreme. Of course after spending time with "Rosie" there was no question who was not going anywhere. I did put my foot down and insisted that she spay the cat. I was totally shocked to find out it is over $250.00 to do this. My temper went up at this price. No wonder there are so many strays out there, so many unwanted kittens that have to be destroyed. Society frowns on pet owners who do not properly look after this aspect of things. But the flip side of this is that $250.00 can buy a lot of groceries. I can't imagine our home without pets , this has made me aware of what a privilege it is to be able to afford this luxury .
The other thing I struggled with this week is knowing when I am being assertive and when I have crossed the line into being obnoxious. My best friend thinks that my" asserting "myself always comes across as rudeness. The argument then was when are you letting someone walk all over you and when is walking away without saying anything the better thing to do. Anyway, we ended up both coming away with bad feelings over the subject so I guess I should have let the whole thing slide.
A great experience this week was watching a white belt student receive his yellow belt. The look on his face made all the volunteer hours put in to teaching more than worth while. Congratulations Mr. Funk!
Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
The other thing I struggled with this week is knowing when I am being assertive and when I have crossed the line into being obnoxious. My best friend thinks that my" asserting "myself always comes across as rudeness. The argument then was when are you letting someone walk all over you and when is walking away without saying anything the better thing to do. Anyway, we ended up both coming away with bad feelings over the subject so I guess I should have let the whole thing slide.
A great experience this week was watching a white belt student receive his yellow belt. The look on his face made all the volunteer hours put in to teaching more than worth while. Congratulations Mr. Funk!
Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I have had a great week for inspiration . The black belt class this week was based on a simple technique that was delivered with intensity. It was one of these classes that you come away with bruises that you didn't feel while you were getting them. I am always amazed to find new direction just by working with a different partner.
The other inspiration came from running our annual fund raiser "The Pandemonium" in our beginner teen/adult classes last night. As a group they gave it their all. You know that they didn't have much more to give when there is vomiting and students feeling like they might pass out because they can't catch their breath. If this is a refection of the funds they raised it should be one of the best results we have seen yet. Any one of the charities we support would be proud to accept such dedication to their causes.
UBBT 's end is in sight. My numbers are not where I hoped they would be a year ago. But on the other hand I never would have thought I could come this far. By opening myself up to such a great opportunity I have grown as a person one hundred percent. I will push towards the end with hopes of closing some of the number gaps.
Anyone up for UBBT 7?
Linda Shipalesky
Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Silent River Kung Fu
The other inspiration came from running our annual fund raiser "The Pandemonium" in our beginner teen/adult classes last night. As a group they gave it their all. You know that they didn't have much more to give when there is vomiting and students feeling like they might pass out because they can't catch their breath. If this is a refection of the funds they raised it should be one of the best results we have seen yet. Any one of the charities we support would be proud to accept such dedication to their causes.
UBBT 's end is in sight. My numbers are not where I hoped they would be a year ago. But on the other hand I never would have thought I could come this far. By opening myself up to such a great opportunity I have grown as a person one hundred percent. I will push towards the end with hopes of closing some of the number gaps.
Anyone up for UBBT 7?
Linda Shipalesky
Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Silent River Kung Fu
Monday, October 26, 2009
Difficult decisions
This last few weeks has been filled with the flu (H1N1) . Do we get the shot or not. I find the media very confusing and contradictory on the subject. As adults we make our decisions based on our feelings and intellect. But when we have to make a decision for our children it changes the stakes. My thinking gets clouded with emotion and that tends to make it a lot harder to decide what is best. The decision has to be made soon and my husband and I are divided on the subject. He feels that there is not enough positive information on the subject and my fear is that one of us will contact it before we are sure which way to go. The medical profession seem to think it is a good thing while the media and other sources put enough doubt in my mind to make me hesitate.
I guess I will keep watching and see if the answer becomes clear. I hope I don't regret the pause in my decision. Being a parent is never easy.
Linda Shipalesky, Silent River Kung Fu. Stony Plain Alberta
I guess I will keep watching and see if the answer becomes clear. I hope I don't regret the pause in my decision. Being a parent is never easy.
Linda Shipalesky, Silent River Kung Fu. Stony Plain Alberta
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The First rule of self defense...
At my families Thanksgiving get together this weekend I had a chance to find out how well I react in a emergency situation.
We have a small group of under six year olds in our newest generation. As when all kids get together they tend to run wild. There is usually one adult in the given room where all the commotion is happening as was the case on this Sunday. All the other adult's (including myself) are in the kitchen preparing the coming feast or visiting with family we have not seen is the last six months or so.
A loud bang, a pause in the pandemonium and then a blood curdling scream stopped everyone in their tracks. Like every mother you are attuned to your children's cry or in this cause my grand daughters cry. Before I could get to the room that the kids were in my eighteen year old daughter came out of said room carrying my Granddaughter and yelling that we needed to get her to the hospital.My first glimpse of her was blood and lots of it pouring from her face. Amanda had a cloth covering her, trying to catch as much for the blood as she could. In that first few seconds my brain shut down and fear, then ... panic took over. Randy (my husband) stepped in and had things under control in minutes. I fought down the panic, tried to breath deep and get control of myself. This takes almost impossible will power and of cause lots of positive self talk.
We got her to the Stony Plain hospital were she ended up with fifteen stitches on the middle of her forehead. With any luck there won't be a scar by the time she's old enough to care about those things and the memory will be dim.
As for me I have something new to feel guilty about. The supermom syndrome kicks in. I should have been able to prevent any of this from happening... etc, etc.etc. The eye opener was how hard it is to control myself and to keep the panic at bay. Is it just my nature to react this way or can I train myself to react differently. Just something new to add to my list of things to fix about "me."
Linda Shipalesky, Stony Plain Alberta Canada
We have a small group of under six year olds in our newest generation. As when all kids get together they tend to run wild. There is usually one adult in the given room where all the commotion is happening as was the case on this Sunday. All the other adult's (including myself) are in the kitchen preparing the coming feast or visiting with family we have not seen is the last six months or so.
A loud bang, a pause in the pandemonium and then a blood curdling scream stopped everyone in their tracks. Like every mother you are attuned to your children's cry or in this cause my grand daughters cry. Before I could get to the room that the kids were in my eighteen year old daughter came out of said room carrying my Granddaughter and yelling that we needed to get her to the hospital.My first glimpse of her was blood and lots of it pouring from her face. Amanda had a cloth covering her, trying to catch as much for the blood as she could. In that first few seconds my brain shut down and fear, then ... panic took over. Randy (my husband) stepped in and had things under control in minutes. I fought down the panic, tried to breath deep and get control of myself. This takes almost impossible will power and of cause lots of positive self talk.
We got her to the Stony Plain hospital were she ended up with fifteen stitches on the middle of her forehead. With any luck there won't be a scar by the time she's old enough to care about those things and the memory will be dim.
As for me I have something new to feel guilty about. The supermom syndrome kicks in. I should have been able to prevent any of this from happening... etc, etc.etc. The eye opener was how hard it is to control myself and to keep the panic at bay. Is it just my nature to react this way or can I train myself to react differently. Just something new to add to my list of things to fix about "me."
Linda Shipalesky, Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Monday, October 5, 2009
Mental Awareness week
So this is mental awareness week and over the last year I have been trying to figure out my own mental awareness. In some ways trying to remake myself and in other ways trying to rise above my self imposed restrictions on who I am. One of the biggest struggles I have is negative self talk. Realizing if I believe in something strongly enough I will project it and make it a reality weather it is positive or negative.
Awhile back I came across this paragraph in a book I was reading that made me stop and reread it over and over again "It was a strange feeling, but not surprising. I'd never been best at anything . I'm O.K. at dealing with people, but probably lots of people could do better. I am a good student , but never the top of the class. I have always just been average at athletics. I am not overly artistic or musical, no particular talent to brag of. Nobody ever gave away a trophy for reading books. So after Fifty years of mediocrity, I am pretty used to being average. I realized that I'd long ago given up any aspirations of shining at anything. I just do the best with what I have. "
This doesn't make me sad or even feel sorry for myself. I know I have hit upon my exact self talk. I feel now I can except this about myself and set about proving that the only way to change this is through hard work. I plan on picking a project and working my way through it. I actually feel set free and look forward to new challenges and goals.
The truth will set me free ...
Until next time,
Linda Shipalesky, Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain Alberta
Awhile back I came across this paragraph in a book I was reading that made me stop and reread it over and over again "It was a strange feeling, but not surprising. I'd never been best at anything . I'm O.K. at dealing with people, but probably lots of people could do better. I am a good student , but never the top of the class. I have always just been average at athletics. I am not overly artistic or musical, no particular talent to brag of. Nobody ever gave away a trophy for reading books. So after Fifty years of mediocrity, I am pretty used to being average. I realized that I'd long ago given up any aspirations of shining at anything. I just do the best with what I have. "
This doesn't make me sad or even feel sorry for myself. I know I have hit upon my exact self talk. I feel now I can except this about myself and set about proving that the only way to change this is through hard work. I plan on picking a project and working my way through it. I actually feel set free and look forward to new challenges and goals.
The truth will set me free ...
Until next time,
Linda Shipalesky, Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain Alberta
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