Author: Shawn

I am a practitioner of the martial arts and student of the Buddhist faith. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 4 years old and have been fighting the uphill battle it includes ever since. I enjoy fitness and health and looking for new ways to improve both, as well as examining the many questions of life. Although I have no formal medical training, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding health, Diabetes, martial arts as well as Buddhism and philosophy. My goal is to share this information with the world, and perhaps provide some sarcastic humour along the way. Welcome!

Kids Say The Darndest Things…

As the title says, kids say the darnedest things…. I may have heard that a time or two, especially from my parents when I was a child. Considering some of the things that have come out of my children’s mouths over the years, I can believe that they come by it honestly.

What’s important to remember when raising children is that even when you think they AREN’T listening, they’re absorbing every damn word you utter…. And they use it in their own special, unique way. Kind of like the time that Nathan was playing with some action figures while we were taking a drive and he says, “Take that, juice-bag…”. It dawned on me that he meant “douche bag” but heard it as something else. It makes for some unique comedy…

Nathan taking full advantage of the play area

It gets all the more entertaining if you find yourself in an environment where you can observe and listen to many children at once. It’s almost as thought they feed off each other and come up with the funniest shit. On Saturday morning, I decided to bring Nathan to a public park. It was a pretty large one, with multiple play structures and climbing surfaces. Several dozen children and their parents had the same idea as we did.

And since I was able to just sit there and watch Nathan playing, I was able to focus my attention on some of the funnier things I heard and document them. These are all from our outing last Saturday, and some are also from the parents. Without further ado, here are the top 10 funniest things I overheard at the park:

1. “It’s important to love yourself as you are, but you’re a little TOO big, mom…”. This one gave me a kick because the young girl in question seemed to be balancing body positivity with the reality that obesity is a serious issue. Or maybe she was just being subtle about the fact her mom wouldn’t make a good partner on the see-saw…. I don’t know, I was listening but not looking;
2. “Why are you always telling me to take a drink, but always telling mommy to STOP drinking?” I’ll admit that this one made me laugh out loud, despite the potential context. I don’t know what the guy’s backstory is, but I can’t help but feel this little girl has overheard things the dad likely didn’t want her to;
3. “I had one of those things…. You know, a fart you can grab onto!” I groaned inwardly at this one, despite the laugh I had. Considering Nathan has “gifted” me with a number of fecal-based little surprises at the worst times over the years, I can certainly relate to the emotions the parent was no doubt holding in;
4. “Yes, I hurt myself. But I’m still awake and I remember my name so I’ll just keep on playing…”. Honestly, this one impressed me. This kid knows where it’s at and recognizes the signs of serious injury. Hopefully, the parent will explain that these aren’t the only symptoms of serious injury, but this seems like a smart kid, nonetheless;
5. “This is like a really bad night club, except with less drugs and alcohol…”. This was actually one parent talking to another, while trying to find her child. HER comment elicited a laugh, but the other parent’s comment made me take pause. The other parent said, “Speak for yourself!”
6. “If you’d pull your own weight around here, this park would be way more fun…” I think this kid was talking to another kid. Maybe the second one wasn’t playing as enthusiastically as the first one wanted. At least I HOPE it was another kid. Light help Nathan, if he ever hit me up with a comment like this;
7. “Try it and I’ll drop you…”. This one actually involved Nathan, so I had to step in. Nathan was playing on a strange sort of spinning structure, where you push it and it spins. Nathan was pushing it for another boy who was sprawled on the spinning part and Nathan teased that he would “smack his butt.” Setting aside the fact my 6-year old son seems inclined to touch another kid’s posterior for a moment, I was somewhat taken aback at the ferocity behind the other kid’s response. Luckily, I was able to explain to Nathan WHY it isn’t a good idea to offer to “smack” someone else’s butt;
8. “We’ve been playing for a while and it’s quite warm out. The last thing I need is your butt in my face…”. Another one that made me laugh out loud. Truthfully, kids always seem to think butts are funny. That’s nothing new. But this seemed to be two girls who were climbing a play structure and the one at the rear (pun fully intended) seemed to know the score as it relates to her friend who was ahead of her;
9. “Why are we leaving? I don’t remember saying I was hungry…”. This came out of Nathan when I mentioned it was time to go. Little bastard. It was almost 1 p.m. and I was starving. He had eaten a bear claw about an hour prior and he had access to water and a public washroom, so his world was good; and
10. “I hates this place! Peoples are bullshit!!!” This kid was melting down and crying loud, being carried out of the park as we left. And no, those aren’t typos; he was pronouncing those words exactly as I wrote them. It was a combination of hilarious and cute. This one was definitely my favourite, which is why I saved it for last. Peoples are bullshit. Classic.

There you have it; the top 10 funniest things I overheard at the park. Not exactly the educational or philosophical post I would usually put out. But once in a while, you need to just stop and smell the roses and acknowledge that life is funny. Especially if you stop and take time to listen. Kids can be a handful, but in the right context, those little drunken midgets are also hilarious. ☯️

Look Before You Leap…

I’ve often written about how it’s become the societal norm to be the equivalent of an electronic zombie…. By this, I mean you can rarely walk through a public space without seeing the majority of people looking down at the screen of their smart device as opposed to watching where they walk or even speaking to the people they’re with. Although I can admit to the allure of having the world’s information at one’s fingertips at a moment’s notice, sometimes it can be extremely important to pay attention to one’s environment and the little details you might miss.

We’re currently having our basement renovated as a result of water damage we suffered during a rain storm last year. Once the damage was done, we had all the furnishings demolished and hired some contractors to come brace the basement. For those of you who don’t live in Regina, Saskatchewan where the soil seems to shift and move as to fuck with one’s peaceful home existence, bracing involves the placing of steel beams against the concrete walls to prevent heaving and shifting of one’s foundations. Most homes in Regina and the surrounding area get this done, but as our home was built in the 1960’s, it was never done. Yay, us!

Long story short, we’ve finally decided to move forward and get the basement renovated so that it’s a liveable space again. It’s increased the level of chaos in our household in recent days, directly competing for the title with our children. Between framing, levelling the floors and spray foam insulation, we’ve tried to arrange outings to get the kids out of the house as much as possible to get them away from the inevitable noise and smells associated with this renovation, especially the foam insulation. This means that I’ve inadvertently turned myself into one of the electronic zombies I described in the first paragraph, with my days being split between texts from my wife, messages from contractors as well as emails and phone calls.

As a result, I’ve had my face buried in my phone far more than I usually would. Last Friday, it nearly bit me in the ass. Almost literally. Almost. I was dressed for work and as I knew my wife would want to take the kids out of the house while they installed the foam insulation, I left the car in the driveway and took the public bus, instead. Taking the city bus during the early hours of the morning is an interesting experience. It’s usually pretty empty, given the hour, but you’ll often find a mixed array fo people like myself who are heading off to work and a few ragged individuals who may be making their way home after spending the night somewhere “else.” Wink, wink, as I digress…

Anyway, I was walking towards the rear of the bus (as my instinct is to always have my back to a wall) and was about to take my preferred seat on the “passenger” side of the bus when I took a moment to glance up from my phone to look at the seat. The dark blue vinyl appeared to have some black flecks on it, which didn’t match the other seats. I gingerly touched a finger to one of the flecks and noted that my fingertip came up black and stained.

I wear a suit to the office and today’s “ensemble” featured a light, charcoal or grey suit, which would have looked a bit on the ridiculous side, had I sat my rump down on whatever the hell this shit was. If I had to assume and based on experience, I would say these were black shoe polish flakes. Being as I was on a bus, I had no access to anything to wash my hands and had to wait until I got to the office to do so. If I hadn’t taken my eyes off of my bloody phone before sitting down, I might have stained and/or damaged my suit. I’m just glad I used my left hand to touch the polish.

That’s why it’s so important to look before you leap. I know everyone absolutely loves their smart device and the digital world is used for almost everything these days. In fact, I’ve started doing virtual distance challenges. But while indulging in the digital frontier, it’s important to remember that the physical world not only still exists, it merits having close attention paid to it. You never know what you might miss while your eyes are down. Food for thought…☯️

Try To Stay Awake As You Read This…

I’m actually pretty dozed as I write this, so it’s an appropriate post for today, I think. Sleep. It serves quite a number fo handy and necessary functions for the proper health of one’s body. Sleep is thought to contribute to overall brain health and allows a better focus and concentration when awake, among other things like letting your body rest and recharge after a long day.

There are quite a number of benefits and functions that take place while we sleep for the night, which I’ve covered in previous posts so I won’t delve into those too deeply here. Although a lot of what I‘ve read and researched tells me that science can’t confirm without a doubt why sleep is necessary for the functions it provides, I CAN say that I like it. A lot. Sleep rocks. I only wish that I had recognized this at a younger age when I could have gotten more of it. this is a lesson I struggle to impart on my 6-year old son. But I digress…

If you have Type-1 Diabetes, you may find yourself having difficulty sleeping at the best of times. In fact, depending on how well your blood sugars are controlled, sleep may be as elusive as trying to grab that stray hair down the back of your shirt that has you squirming and drives you batty. Of course, I don’t have that problem, being bald and all…. Did I mention I was a bit tired, this morning?

On average, sleep helps with energy conservation, elimination of bodily toxins and waste and helps with the body’s immune responses. Not to mention that lack of sleep will lead to lack of concentration and alertness, and will likely leave you moody and cranky. Ever try to deal with someone who hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep? They usually aren’t all rainbows and sunshine. Add some chaotic Diabetic symptoms into that mix, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Here are my top 5 ways that Diabetes usually disturbs my sleep:

1. Diabetic Neuropathy: If you or someone close to you has Diabetes, you’ve likely heard this term before. For Diabetics, neuropathy is nerve damage that can develop over time. Although there are a number of things that can cause it, such as damaged blood vessels due to high cholesterol, the cause for Diabetics is usually attributed to high blood sugar levels over a long period of time, which can damage nerves and cause something known as “restless leg syndrome.” This is usually the bad boy that keeps me up at night. Basically, your limbs feel unsettled and one gets the urge to move and adjust them in order to gain relief. That relief is usually short-lived as the unsettled feeling returns within moments. It can be an excruciating pain in the ass, especially in the middle of the night when you’re trying to sleep.
2. High Blood Sugar Levels: The thing about Diabetes is that multiple sources will site certain symptoms for high blood sugar (like my favourites, WebMD and HealthLine.ca), but symptoms are subjective to the person. For example, most sources will cite aggression as being a symptom of low blood sugar. But I’ve always experienced the bad moods and crankiness when my levels were high. Anyway, if you hit a high in the middle of the night, you can potentially experience cramping, nausea, dry mouth, thirst, urge to urinate frequently and a partridge in a pear tree! Not to mention that annoying “hot but not” feeling where you kind of sweat but aren’t really warm. SO annoying…
3. Low Blood Sugar Levels: If you thought highs were bad, lows can be much worse. At least in my opinion. At least highs will sometimes make you sleepy, which can be handy if it’s the middle of the night. So long as you don’t mind little issues like ketoacidosis or the various damage you’re doing to your eyes and other organs. But you may sleep through the night and wake to correct and bring your blood sugars down. But when you’re low, it requires immediate action. If you’re lucky enough to have a “tell” (a symptom that will wake you due to a low), then you get the pleasure of crawling out of bed to grab some fast-acting carbs to get you back to normal. For me, my body will feel numb and I’ll feel off in general. It’s usually enough to wake me from a deep sleep. the hardest part is the lethargy that accompanies a low, as it urges you to just close your eyes and keep sleeping. But even once you treat the low, it’ll usually take some time for your body to start feeling normal so you can drift back to sleep.
4. Dehydration: Here’s the thing; dehydration isn’t JUST a Diabetes thing, but we’re prone to it. And dehydration will cause a lot of the nasty symptoms that fluctuating blood sugars will: thirst (obviously), pains and cramping, discomfort, nausea, dizziness and confusion…. And of course, dehydration will affect one’s blood sugars. Oh, and blood sugars will affect your level of hydration. Fun, right? That’s why it’s so important to keep your fluid intake steady and drink plenty of water.
5. The Insulin Pump: Last, but certainly not least is the insulin pump. this one is obviously subjective to whether or not you use one in your therapy. But never in my life has an electronic device been such a light-send while simultaneously being a pain in my ass. Blood sugars are steady and normal for more than 2.5 hours? Better beep incessantly and request a BG check, JUST in case! Been micro-bolusing for more than an hour? Better set off an alarm, even if blood sugars are sitting at 9.5 mmo/L! Although I have the best A1C’s I’ve ever had in my life, the pump has disadvantages as there are some alarms that can’t be silenced. And the pump doesn’t discriminate against what time of day (or night) that it may be, so I get woken often even if things are smooth and normal. In fact, often BECAUSE things are smooth and normal. And people wonder why I get testy against technology; even when it helps, it also hinders.

There you have it; my top 5 reasons that Diabetes wakes me up at night. Let’s not forget, as negative as my sleep-deprived perspective may be this morning, that outside factors such as stress, illness and weather will affect blood sugars and cause most if not all of the above-mentioned scenarios. Therefore, this is the part of our day where I remind everyone to eat a proper diet, get regular exercise, stay hydrated and test your blood sugars often. You’ll sleep better at night. Pun fully intended. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap…☯️

My Rights…. A Matter Of Principle…

“It’s a matter of principle…” Have you ever heard someone utter that phrase? It usually comes right after the part where the person in question may have been proven wrong or shown why their perspective or opinion is incorrect and their trying to find a reason why something should still be pursued. People in general have a tendency to misinterpret what principles are, and how they should be applied.

Principles, as they relate to this specific context, are defined as a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning. Basically, trying to do the right thing can be construed as acting on principle. But for a lot of people, they’ll seek to make others suffer or seek punitive action against someone “as a matter of principle.” That’s where the waters get muddied, a bit…

Something important to remember is that even if one’s guiding principles tell them something may be the right thing, this doesn’t make it accurate. One’s principles can be heavily influenced by many of the same factors as one’s perspective or set of beliefs, where environment, family values and even religion can determine how your principles apply. When considering one’s principles, one also needs to contemplate the difference between “legal” and “moral,” as many people seem to think that those two concepts are one and the same. Even though they can sometimes apply to one another, they’re entirely separate and may not relate to the principle of a particular matter.

Where am I going with this? Well, consider the following scenario…. You come to an agreement with someone about something specific. Doesn’t really matter what; a transaction or a service, whatever. At some point, you find that this agreement is not in your favour and you try and negotiate with the other party in order to reach a resolution that suits you. They don’t agree and as a result, you seek outside help in the form of some legal entity… either the police or whatever agency may deal with your specific scenario/incident.

You come to find out that it doesn’t fall under the umbrella of whatever help you were seeking, but you still push the issue despite being shown that it doesn’t qualify as something wrong or dishonest on the other party’s behalf. And then, you utter the words that anyone unwilling to admit defeat have uttered… “It’s a matter of principle…” Sure it is, cupcake. Sure it is.

It’s important to develop the ability to pick your battles, in life. In fact, once you do you’ll discover that a great deal of daily stress will be eliminated by simply letting go of certain things, especially once it’s been made clear that there may be no turning back or changing someone’s mind. It’s kind of like the Serenity Prayer, which if you weren’t raised in a religious home you may not recognize. But the short version goes like this:

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage, to change these things I can; and
Wisdom to know the difference.

If that isn’t an old school religious way of saying “pick your battles,” I don’t know what is! And that’s what’s important. Being able to recognize the things you won’t be able to to change and move on. Although there’s a great deal to be said about being able to fight through anything and never giving up, one DOES need to acknowledge that some things just aren’t worth it. It kind of ties in to that whole “eliminate suffering in yourself and others” thing I have going on.

Lastly, there are many people who prefer to be unhappy but be right, and may seek to find some way of taking punitive action against someone else by virtue of wanting to be right, Don’t be that person. That isn’t a matter of principle. That’s a little thing called “vengeance.” And no good can come of it. Sometimes, you just gotta let shit go. Food for thought. ☯️

Hay, Don’t Be A Maker…

There’s nothing like a good, solid workout on a punching bag. Some motivational music on the Bluetooth speaker (I like instrumentals, personally. Audio Machine or Two Steps From Hell are pretty good), a thin pair of bag gloves or bare knuckles and the sweat dripping off my nose as I hammer combination after combination on the bag. I usually use a workout timer app called Seconds Pro, which I’ve written about in previous posts. But if you’re on the iOS platform, you can check it out on the App Store. I don’t know what the Android translation for that would be. But I digress…

I’m a big fan of using striking surfaces of varying types, as it allows you to build and develop your strikes against an actual surface/target as opposed to simple shadow boxing, which can only provide so much. I’ve seen people train for long years and become extremely fast and efficient in their strikes, only to falter, sprain a wrist or have no impact strength when it came to striking an actual object/opponent.

I’ve described different methods of striking such as using the punching bag, which carries the weight and yields somewhat like a live opponent would (and moves, so it challenges you to adjust since opponents don’t sit still). There’s also wall-mounted pads, which still allow for some solid striking power while providing a specific target, which one does not typically worry about on the punching bag. The last is the makiwara. Really, any hard, static striking surface. This would apply for specific targeting, certainly. But mostly, I use the makiwara to develop proper striking posture and knuckle development. As you may have heard, we Okinawan karate types are pretty nuts about our knuckles.

Although I favour the punching bag above all these options (having someone hold a pad for me in the dojo, notwithstanding), I’ll sometimes find myself using a technique that isn’t really favoured in my style and that I consider to be something of a risky proposition in an actual fight situation: the haymaker. Ahh, haymaker…. The go-to for drunks looking to end a fight quickly…

For those of you who may not be familiar with the fighting arts or who don’t watch boxing, a “haymaker” is basically a wide, whipping punch that’s thrown from the shoulder, coming from the outside in towards an opponent. There’s very little bend to the elbow and it has the potential to be a very strong, devastating blow. If you can land it. And under the right circumstances. Enter: my opinion…

Many of you may never have experienced a situation where you’ve gotten into a real fight. Consider yourselves lucky. As Dalton said in the movie Roadhouse, no one ever wins a fight. There have been many times when I’ve been stuck in a situation, both professionally and personally, where despite my best efforts to talk my way out, a fight was coming. And although I haven’t really made much use of the haymaker, I’ve seen others foolishly try to put it in action. Although it has the potential to provide some power, here are the disadvantages:

1. It Causes You To Telegraph Your Movements: There’s nothing worse in a fight than giving your opponent information about what you’re going to do next. That’s what telegraphing is, as it relates to a fight. The problem with a strike like the haymaker, is that you need to blade your stance in order to do it. Try executing a haymaker from a normal, standing position. Go ahead, I’ll wait…. You’ll notice that you’re able to swing your arm in the arc that constitutes a haymaker, but it will cause your entire body to twist and there’ll be no power behind the punch. This means that if you’ve reached the point of no return and it becomes either them or you, you’ll need to back a foot up in order to blade your stance to throw this bad boy out. And nothing quite lets your opponent know that something’s coming like blading your stance…
2. It Leaves You Exposed: It’s no secret that Uechi-Ryu Okinawan karate favours strikes kept within the boundaries of the practitioner’s body, so maybe I’m a bit biased in this regard. But it’s for good reason. If you ever see someone execute a haymaker (I was unable to find a stock photo of one) you’ll notice that their entire rib cage and the side of their face is open and exposed. An opponent who knows it’s coming will definitely take advantage of that and deliver a strike themselves, before your haymaker has the opportunity to land. One of the concepts behind striking while staying within the outer boundaries of one’s body, is to prevent opening up in such ways
3. It Takes An Eternity: Fights are something akin to a horse race; the ending is calculated in seconds or less. One of the biggest problems with a haymaker, besides the telegraphing and exposure, is that it takes far longer than other strikes. It should come as no surprise that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. A haymaker is pretty much the antithesis of that. It’s wide, far-reaching arc combined with the additional distance it must travel before making contact, makes it less-than-ideal if you’re facing an opponent who may be on the ball and has any level of fight training as well.

I absolutely believe that there’s no such thing as a bad technique; simply how one uses it. So, I think the important detail about this technique is that it shouldn’t be used at the beginning, or even during an actual fight. Perhaps as a Hail Mary move or a finishing move when the fight is over. But then one needs to ask oneself: should I be striking an opponent with that much ferocity if the fight is all but over? The totality of your circumstances may dictate that. But this is a good time to point out that fighting should always be considered ONLY as a last resort. Be safe. ☯️

A True Warrior’s Bike Runs On Muscle…

Last year, I managed to log almost 1,100 kilometres, over 850 of which were on the bike. The remainder was walking and some foolish attempts at jogging. I hate jogging. It’s bullshit. Prove me wrong… Seriously though, I absolutely hate running. But I lOVE cycling, and thanks to all the free time I had during the pandemic, I logged quite a lot of time on two wheels. Since the snow has disappeared, I’ve been a little slow on starting up this year, but I’m slowly starting to catch up and I’ve decided on some pretty fun goals.

I had grand ambitions to be out of bed by 6:00 am and hit the road after some brief preparation, but as you can see from the time stamp in the image above, it didn’t quite work out that way. Caffeine was singing its sirens song and I couldn’t resist the pull of my arm chair as I sat and sipped while doing my daily crossword puzzles. By the time 10:00 am struck, I recognized that if I wanted to use this particular day to get some mileage in, I would need to get at it.

I should point out that this was last Monday, which was a statutory holiday in Saskatchewan. This meant that my wife and I both had the day off, facilitating my ability to take off on the bile for a couple of hours to try and get a solid sweat in. I peddled my way down to Wascana Lake, one of my favourite spots for cycling. The reasons are quite simple: there are paved paths that allow for a smooth and measured ride. there’s also a lot of trees and water, lending a small reminder of my home Province of New Brunswick.

However, with the recent lessening of restrictions and conditions in regards to the pandemic, the walking path has become less than ideal. During the pandemic, foot traffic was restricted to one direction AND social distancing was required. Now, not only is there two-way traffic, making it more difficult to navigate, but people are walking and filling the paths with impunity. You wouldn’t believe how easily two people can take up the entire width of a public path and seem oblivious to the words “excuse me.”

As the morning wore on, the temperature began to increase. The day was blessed with a light overcast, a combination of clouds and smoke from recent wild fires in neighbouring Provinces. The result was that I wasn’t TOTALLy exposed to the sun, but the heat was still mounting enough that I was dripping onto my handlebars. Luckily, I brought along a bottle of sugar-free electrolytes and my glucometer, so I was set in terms of hydration and ensuring my blood sugars were level. Insert a PSA here about how extreme heat can affect insulin pumps and CGM…

By the time I got home, my legs and arms were killing me, my shirt was soaked to the point you could almost see through it and I looked like something the cat dragged in. The mileage shown above is what I managed to complete by the time I got there. I took a short period of time, sitting in my garage and sipping the remainder of my electrolytes and some water before hammering a half-dozen jellybeans to regulate my blood sugars.

Remember in the opening paragraph when I mentioned that I was working on some pretty fun goals? I’ve decided to try this app called The Conqueror Challenges. Basically, (and I’m not endorsing this app, I’ve simply installed it for personal use) these are virtual marathons that you can sign up for, pay a fee and it tracks your distance until you’ve reached the goal. You can choose a package where they issue you a completion medal when you’re done or a package where you get the completion medal as well as a t-shirt. They have some pretty cool ones, like climbing Mt. Everest or crossing the English Channel.

Just about anything can be virtual, nowadays. So, why would marathons be any different. I’ve completed a couple of challenges already, so I’ll keep y’all posted when I receive a completion medal. But for someone try to set goals and achieve them without getting involved in something according to someone else’s schedule, this can be it. And that’s pretty much where I find myself; between work and home life, I don’t really have the time to sign up for scheduled marathons or join public events. I’m just waiting on baited knee for karate to open up again. I don’t know, it’s something different and helps to keep me on track. There’s one medal that’s 4,000 kilometres! That’s crazy! I could basically cycle my way home to New Brunswick! That would certainly be a strange and wonderful adventure. ☯️

Let Time Be The Judge…

If you walked into a karate dojo today, it would be pretty fair to say that you wouldn’t be proficient the following week. If you joined ballet or dance today, you wouldn’t be able to stand on point or start competing the following week, either. Important things take time and this is especially important as it relates to one’s health.

People these days are all about the right here, right now. Immediate gratification is often the expectation, and we live in a society where everyone is plugged in and always looking for something that will help them melt fat, slim down or build muscle. But like endeavour, the results won’t appear quickly. And even when do appear, it’s important to keep at it.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting home after a long day and flopping down on the couch with a cold drink and binge-watching something on television. It’s easy, right? Humans as a whole will usually prefer to take the path of least resistance, much like the course of a river. But health and fitness REQUIRES that you step off the path of least resistance and persevere on the harsher path.

Recently, I started to dislike the way I looked. This can be attributed to a number of things, including indulging in a less-than-favourable diet, consuming beer and alcohol and allowing my fitness trends to slide off the rails, where I would go full weeks without working out. It’s okay to take the occasional break, but not when it’s to the detriment of your overall health and fitness. And not least of all, is the constant adjustment to my system from exercising consistently to being more sedentary and vice versa…. It plays hell on the blood sugars!

My point is, I took a few very simple steps to start doing something to slim down a bit. I don’t think I need to explain that as I get older, weight becomes harder to shed and Diabetes control becomes more important. But all I’ve done is chit back on my carbohydrate intake and alcohol consumption, increase my intake of fluids and have started working a few small fitness challenges. It’s taken a while, but I’ve managed to shed almost ten pounds over the past couple of months, the results of which I’m starting to see (in small doses).

A pair of pants I purchased four months ago that fit decently are now loose enough that the waist band folds over when I cinch my belt. A golf shirt that six months ago pretty much drew the eye directly to my gut now fits comfortably and I’m wearing it right now, as I type. It’s small difference that come from persevering and not giving up. There will always be days when the couch is calling, but if you push through and get that workout in to maintain your consistency, you’ll eventually start to see the difference. Slow and steady wins the race on this one…☯️

Shared Responsibility…

I found something while cruising through Facebook, something I do very rarely nowadays as it seems to have become a forum for people to argue about their respective opinions. But one of my long-time friends posted an image that I know has been circulating, and it felt important enough to warrant my sharing it here. Here it is…

It’s a pretty short read, only a few paragraphs, but it illustrates an important point. The past year and a half has created a rift in society. Not that there hasn’t always been rifts, but this is something special because it’s world-wide. I’ve seen people first-hand, who have refused to wear masks when REQUIRED, not requested but required by law to do so. The constant debate from anti-vaxxers is becoming real old, especially when paired with the fact that a certain level of the overall population needs to be vaccinated in order to stem the spread of the virus.

And yes, we can debate the issue of whether it prevents you from catching the virus and how it works in relation to the variants and all that good stuff until we’re blue in the face. But ultimately, it doesn’t change the fact that as responsible, civilized people, we have a duty to not only ensure our own safety and well-being, but doing what we can to ensure the safety and well-being of others, as well. This reminds me of this other image I found, posted by one of my other friends on Facebook…

I’m ashamed to admit that my personal view has led me to unfollow people online that I’ve been friends with for a decade or more. Sometimes, the negativity, conspiracy theories and arguments simply get to be too much. And obviously, the choice to get vaccinated and wear protective equipment, masks or otherwise, is a personal choice. But when the the choice of whether you do or don’t affects the people and world around you, can you ever, truly say that it’s ONLY personal? And can you live with the choice if you know you’re affecting the rest of the world? I don’t have an answer; I’m just one voice among billions. But it’s definitely food for thought…☯️

A Sharp Dressed Man…

We all eventually reach a point in life where life begins taking away more than it gives. While this may seem like a negative view of life, it’s intended to be a realistic one. It’s inevitable. As we walk through life, all the people, things and in some cases, the places we grew up knowing are simply no longer there. What rings true the most for me, and where this applies heavily, is with the influences I had in my youth.

When I take the time to look back, a number of influences were gone before I genuinely had the chance to know them, prior to adulthood. Bruce Lee is a good example. Despite being one of the most prominent influences on me as it relates to my martial arts journey, he actually died five years before I was even born. This didn’t prevent “Enter the Dragon” from being one of my favourite movies and encourage my entry into the martial arts. But the influence I’m mostly referring to in today’s post, is music.

Music holds a special place in my heart. I’m one of those people who are heavily influenced by music. A jaunty, upbeat song can quickly turn my bad mood into having me awkwardly shake my dad bod around the kitchen, much to my wife and children’s amusement. By the same token, certain sad songs that relate to situations in my life can almost move me to tears. I’ve learned to play certain instruments, although I never delved into them heavily, and I even had a brief foray into singing, having provided the vocals for a small band during my college days.

One of my favourite memories from my childhood, is going on road trips with my father. He kept a heavy, D-cell “ghetto blaster” tape player wedged between the two front seats, since our family car (a Chevette, in case you were wondering) didn’t have a tape deck. Despite the fact we were mostly travelling to Montreal to join my brother and mother at the children’s hospital, it was always a fun, 8 to 10-hour drive filled with all the classic rock you can imagine. And as you may have guess from today’s title, one of those bands was ZZ Top…

ZZ Top was formed in 1969 and is an iconic rock band responsible for some of my favourite songs including but not limited to, “Legs,” “Sharp-dressed man” and “Can’t Stop Rockin’.” Although somewhat older, their sound and genre totally stands up, even by today’s standard and their songs have been covered and sampled more times than I can remember. Last Wednesday, I read that ZZ Top’s bassist, Dusty Hill, passed away at the age of 72.

Recent years have taken a number of prominent artists from us. Some of them have left a measurable void, including David Bowery and Eddie Van Halen. EDDIE VAN HALEN!!!! In 2015, when Mitch Malloy released a song he did with Van Halen in 1996, I was thinking we may see some new music come out. But then Van Halen passed away in 2020, punching those hopes. Right in the feels.

Such is the way of life. It gives, then it takes away. With the loss of their bassist, ZZ Top may choose to find a replacement and continue on. For their own sake, I hope they do. But for me, ZZ Top was about more than just the quality of music they provided. It was about the performance itself, which always had a special little something when you consider Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill with their matching beards, glasses and hats and Frank Beard ironically being the only one NOT sporting a beard…. They were even fantastic playing in Back to the Future III. Don’t remember that? ZZ Top was the band that played at the town dance that Marty and Doc attend. True story, go check it out.

You can read a short news article on Dusty Hill’s passing here. With the passing of yet another great musical influence from my youth, I’m sombrely reminded of my own mortality. Such is life. But the memories and the music will continue on. ☯️