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!

Pitfall! Not Just An Old School Video Game…

I’m probably dating myself a bit, with the above title. Pitfall! was an excellent, 8-bit video game that was released in the early 80’s and that my father used to let me play on his Commodore 64. Yes, you read that right! A Commodore 64! If you have no idea what that is, Google it and prepare to be awed at the current state of technology, when compared to what we had available three decades ago. Games that gave you a finite number of lives and if you died, you started ALL the way at the beginning. None of this “save point” bullshit! But I digress…

Enough reminiscing about how I used to spend my weekends as a child. The pitfalls I’m referring to in the title relate to the use of an insulin pump. Just to be clear, I LOVE my insulin pump. Besides the fact that it makes insulin delivery a breeze at mealtimes, my current pump maintains pretty tight control of my blood sugars when properly used in conjunction with a CGM or Continuous Glucose Monitoring system. But innovations and technology are only as good as the user allows them to be. And user error is always a possibility.

In six months, I will have rounded the corner on seven years of insulin pump therapy. Being as obsessive as I am, I used to be in the habit of testing my blood via finger pokes almost a dozen times a day; something not everyone can afford to do, for various reasons. The use of an insulin pump with CGM has allowed me to have some freedom from the glucometer, at least as it relates to how often I used to test. A couple of months ago, I managed to achieve the best A1C reading that I’ve had in decades, a direct result of tighter control through the micro-bolusing provided through the SmartGuard technology and CGM.

As good and wonderful as all of it has been, and as often as I like to quip that I’ve become a cyborg (since I have both biological and mechanical/electronic parts sustaining me), there are definite pitfalls to the use of an insulin pump. Hence the title. I know that I tend to harp on Diabetes a fair bit. But it’s for good reason, since, well… Diabetes sucks! I often like to speculate about how life would have turned out for me, had I not been diagnosed with type-1 Diabetes. But the reality is that I have it, it’s here and I deal with it. And I think a big part of who I am has come from how I’ve had to fight against Diabetes. I remember reading a quote somewhere that said, “Diabetes is the leading cause of bravery, determination, resilience, maturity, empathy, strength and compassion.”

While it’s true that I’ve learned to be as strong as I am due in part to my condition, the pitfalls are quite measurable and user error can occur unintentionally. I recently wrote a post about how the pump had been waking me every couple of hours throughout the night. There’s nothing quite like being woken up because your levels are “too good” and the pump wants constant blood sugar readings to understand why nothing’s changing. But I worked with the pump manufacturer and managed to stem that issue. But now, I have a different problem keeping me up at night… My gut!

A few nights ago, my wife and I decided to get an early night’s sleep. This tends to happen at least once a week, where we crash very shortly after we put our kids to bed in an attempt to stem the increase of overall fatigue throughout the week. That night was just such an instance, and we ended up in bed prior to the 10 o’clock hour. At roughly 10:30, I was awoken by the sensation of my pump vibrating. It’s annoying as hell but I prefer to be woken by it, than having it escalate to the audible alarm that ends up waking my wife as well. I rolled over and took the pump out, thinking it was going to request a BG reading again.

Instead, the display told me that insulin flow was block and to consider changing my infusion set. I had barely been asleep for an hour and still had well over a hundred units in my reservoir, so there was no way in hell that I was changing out my set. I wiggled the cannula on my gut slightly, then start the arduous process of getting the pump back to functioning order. You see, if the pump thinks that insulin flow is blocked, it’ll do three things:

  1. Sets off a “blocked flow” alarm. This starts as a vibration, followed by an audible alarm that gets louder, the longer you ignore it. This is important, as non-delivery of insulin can lead to high blood sugars and a whole host of problems;
  2. Turns off Auto Mode. This is where I start to get pissed off. There should be some way for Auto Mode to continue working for the few minutes it takes me to correct the “blockage”; and
  3. Turns off SmartGuard. This is linked to Auto Mode and uses CGM sensor data at five-minute intervals in order to control overall blood sugar levels.

It doesn’t look/sound like a lot when you read the words, but getting all that shit started back up, takes between two to five minutes, which is more than enough time to wake me up to a state akin to poking a grizzly bear’s ass with a bar-wire wrapped baseball bat. So just imagine if that happens a few times, throughout the night? See my problem? A few nights ago, I was woken up this way at least three or four times. Bearing in mind that my blood sugar levels remained ideal, the insulin WAS being delivered. It took until the last time for me to realize that it was my gut, pressing against the cannula that was the issue.

It turned out that every time I turned over in my sleep, the pump would encounter resistance in delivery due to laying on my front. Teaching yourself not to move in your sleep is difficult, if not altogether impossible. The placement of the infusion set is critical, as well. I’ll admit that I have a bit of a “Buddha belly,” so the angle the cannula sits at, can mean the difference between a comfortable night’s sleep or having the pump lose its freakin’ mind every few hours.

As you can see, there are definitely pitfalls to the pump, despite the noticeable and measurable benefits that it provides. As smart as the machine is, it can’t recognize and adjust if I’m physically doing something that interferes with its proper function. On a separate note, it may be a helpful reminder that with the summer season I need to work on trimming my “Dad bod!” ☯

Didn’t Your Mother Teach You To Stand Up Straight???

It’s a classic scene. You’re at the kitchen table or in someone else’s home and your mother will quietly but firmly tell you to “Sit up straight,” or “Stand up straight…” Who’d have thought that you should have perhaps listened to that advice as it would serve you well, as it relates to your martial arts journey. I’ve witnessed and trained in a lot of different styles; sometimes for fun and sometimes to add a little something to my self-defence repertoire. And of all things that I’ve learned over the decades, one of the most important ones is to maintain a proper posture and a good centre of balance.

Standing up straight and keeping your weight centred are integral aspects of martial arts and self-defence. When you lean or all your weight is moved forward over a single leg, you put yourself at risk and expose areas that you should probably be thinking about protecting, instead. It often seems that so many arts are willing to allow practitioners to overreach, stand on one leg through extended techniques or have their heads bobbing and weaving every which way… Don’t even get me started on the concept of holding your hands in FRONT of your face.

Have you ever had that ONE friend who, when you were younger would suddenly push you for no good reason other than being a jackass? No? Just me? Alrighty, then… My point is, if you’ve ever experienced this you’ll notice that you can fall over quite easily once your centre of balance is no longer directly below you. And just to be clear, I’m not referring to issues surrounding forms or pre-arranged techniques; I’m referring specifically to issues surrounding a real-world combat scenario where you need to defend yourself.

I’ve always noticed that a strong tendency with some people who fight is to bob and weave their bodies back and forth to avoid strikes. I suppose that if you’re faced with an actual fight, you’ll do whatever is necessary in order to avoid being struck and to ultimately win. But if you bend at the waist in order to avoid a punch, your centre of gravity suddenly finds itself over open air, which will leave you vulnerable in a way that’s much much than what the above-mentioned jackass would cause.

I’m going to be a bit of a bully for a moment and pick on boxers because they’re the best example. They’re definitely not the ONLY ones, but they have a tendency to bend and sway in a variety of directions and what’s worse, they do it with the torso OR the head. I’ll remind all of you that I categorized this post under the “opinion” tab, so there’s no need to lose your cool. The worst is when I’ve seen people who do that frowny, lowered head posture that they believe makes them look so bad-ass. In reality, you’re obscuring your field of vision and exposing sides of your head that will get you smacked!

In traditional Okinawan karate, we’re taught that not only are extremely high kicks dangerous, as they expose the groin and various other areas, they throw off your centre of balance. A quick, prepared opponent can take advantage of this and send you spiralling to the ground. Once you’re down, the game’s pretty much over unless you have increased skill in defending against a standing opponent who’s dropping his boot down on your head. (Cue the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi… “Don’t do it, Anakin! I have the high ground…)

The same applies to hand techniques and you head, as well. If you overreach during a strike, you face the possibility that someone quick who may have training in grappling (or even someone who doesn’t) could grab your hand and drag you forward. Once you’re off balance, you’ll be too busy trying to regain your footing to avoid the plethora of strikes that may come at you, immediately following your stumble. And anyone I’ve ever sparred against who’s taken the chance of lowering their heads to give me a frowny look has usually been rewarded with a hook punch to the visual cortex.

Although getting into a real world fight scenario is a fluid and unpredictable situation, you should bear the following things in mind:

  • Stand up straight and keep your centre of gravity beneath you;
  • Keep your hands in front of you, but don’t block your face. You don’t want to obstruct your view of the opponent;
  • Keep your head up. Avoid burying your head in your fists as you’ll be unable to see and/or block, if your opponent decides to throw a kick or some other technique at you;
  • If you’re going to perform kicks, be reasonable and keep them at waist-height or lower. High kicks may result in a loss of balance; and
  • Don’t overreach! You should be able to know the distance of your reach. If your opponent is outside of your reach, the proper recourse is to step in BEFORE punching, not try to overreach.

You can get into the proper mindset on all of those with one simple method: drills! Drills, drills, drills! Keep practicing and build that muscle memory. If you develop safe habits and techniques in training, you’ll have a much better chance of doing the same in the streets if you find yourself in a fight situation. ☯

“Keto” – It Ain’t All Fad Diets And Workout Plans

Last April marked my entry into my 39th year as a Type-1 Diabetic. I’d love to sound like an old sage; able to say that I’ve seen it all and done it all. But the reality is that Diabetes continues to throw me for a loop and never ceases to surprise me. The latest instance was getting my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and having my blood sugars skyrocket into the low 20’s as a result. Yesterday’s post and YouTube video covers that experience, if you haven’t had a chance to check it out.

Anyway, I was talking about the “incident” with some colleagues and when I mentioned the increased blood sugars, I made a point of commenting that, “At least I didn’t get any symptoms of ketoacidosis…,” which prompted the all-too-often puzzled look, accompanied by the question, “What the fuck is ketoacidosis???” If you don’t have Diabetes and have no one in the family, some of the jargon can get a little confusing. When people here the term “Keto,” they automatically associate it with ketogenix or the Keto diet. Believe me when I say that those are entirely different things and have nothing to do with Diabetes.

I guess I should by defining this bad boy, and will do so using a quote I found from a page on MedlinePlus, as its online medical encyclopedia provides the most accurate definition. It states, “Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening problem that affects people with Diabetes. It occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast. The liver processes the fat into a fuel called ketones, which causes the blood to become acidic.” Nice, eh? Kinda makes you think a type-1 Diabetic will turn into one of those acid-blooded xenomorphs from Aliens. Given the foul mood that strikes when blood gets that high, that’s not too far off the mark…

The problem is not the breaking down of fat into ketones. Ketones can be a good thing and are useful to the body as a source of fuel when its been too long since you last ate. The problem starts when ketones are built up too quickly. This is where you get ketoacidosis, or DKA, as I will refer to it as from here on in. Otherwise, I’ll give myself carpal tunnel trying to type out the full term throughout the post. And we wouldn’t want that, would we? Alright, I’ll quit rambling and get on with the actual material.

When your blood sugars get too high, you don’t have enough insulin in the body to compensate, which is why the body starts to produce ketones too quickly. Heavy buildup of ketones in the blood stream cause your blood to become acidic. Okay, this sounds a little to similar to what was already defined in the previous paragraphs, so maybe I’ll move on to symptoms. For some, DKA can be an early warning sign that they may be developing Diabetes. Contrary to some sources, people with either Type-1 or Type-2 can get DKA.

Some of the more common symptoms will include nausea and vomiting, bodily aches and pains, weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath and confusion. Let’s not forget the two symptoms that lead to what I call the “Diabetic cycle.” First, you’ll have excessive thirst, which is a symptom of DKA. So you’ll consume more water, which is important when you reach the DKA stage anyway. You’ll have frequent urination, which is also a symptom of DKA as the body is trying to spill out the excess ketones. You’ll drink more because you’re thirsty, which will aggravate and increase the frequent urination. Then you’ll drink more water. Wash, rinse and repeat. A lot. It’s annoying.

For the most part, bolusing to adjust your high blood sugars and consuming plenty of fluids, especially electrolytes, is important as at-home methods of treating DKA. You should consult your doctor if an increase of blood sugar fails to bring your blood sugars down for an extended period of time. The Mayo Clinic recommends seeking emergency care if you’re consistently above 16.7 mmol/L and are experience any and/or all of the symptoms mentioned in the previous paragraph.

DKA is some scary shit. Coming from someone who’s experienced it, it can be a surreal feeling, doubled over in pain and puking, blood sugars refusing to come down and literally feeling like you must be dying. But there’s plenty you can do to prevent it. Regular exercise is a big help. I may have mentioned that exercise is good in some of my previous posts. Test your blood sugars frequently and educate yourself properly so that you can make adjustments to your insulin, should you need to. Last but not least, don’t ignore high blood sugar and act on it immediately, should you get a high reading.

Lastly, DKA is one of those Diabetic side effects that can actually kill you, if you ignore it. Take ownership of your health, train through your endocrinologist and insulin pump trainers (if you’re on the pump) and exercise like your life depends on it. because it often will. Taking those steps will go a long way towards preventing DKA so that you don’t have too experience it’s horrific effects. ☯

Vaccination And Type-1 Diabetes

With all the controversy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, and continued issues raised by anti-vaxxers, nay-sayers and all around idiots, it’s no surprise that some folks are a touch frightened to get immunized. I’m not here to advocate for vaccination or not; I believe it’s a choice that each and every person has to make for themselves. Regardless, I received my first dose last week and I wanted to share the experience with all of you.

Bear in mind that I’m not a doctor and what I point out in the video should be taken with grain of salt. But it’s important to recognize that any medication can have serious effects on someone with Type-1 Diabetes, and this vaccine was no exception for me. ☯

Be Happy, Not Rich. But If You’re Happy, You’re Rich…

What would you do tomorrow, if you won the lottery today? That’s the dream, isn’t it? To win big at the lottery so that you can either retire early, travel the world, enjoys the pleasures of life without the encumbrance of work, bills and debt. I’ve always heard that “Money can’t buy happiness…” While this may true, I’ve usually quipped that I’d prefer to find out for myself. And perhaps someday I’ll get that chance, since I partake of the occasional lottery ticket. But that day is not today.

The way of the modern world is as such that money is a necessary evil in order to exist with any modicum of comfort and sustainability. Unlike previous generations, who lived without the benefits of internet, online shopping and grocery stores, they lived off the land, growing their own crops, making their own clothing and taking life one day at a time without necessarily knowing what was happening in the rest of the world. Sometimes, ignorance can be bliss.

The thing is, life was never meant to be easy. Most things in existence will always seek to take the path of least resistance, so it would make sense that we would choose to suddenly come into a large sum of money and live a life of ease as opposed to working hard and punching a clock. But that isn’t the way of things. And as The Notorious B.I.G. once said, “Mo money, mo problems…” The more monetary value your household holds, the more likely that you’ll face other issues, such as increasingly higher bills and debts. Money can lead to an endless spiral of needing more and more…

I remember a story from years ago, when I was young and foolish and decided to join a multi-level marketing company (I’m looking to start a war with y’all, so if you’re part of an MLM, no disrespect). We were asked by one of the big wigs giving the presentation what we hoped to get out of life and joining this company. There were about a dozen of us, and he came to us one-by-one for an answer. Most people answered exactly what you’d expect:

  • “I want to retire early…”
  • “I want to be debt-free…”
  • “I want financial independence…”
  • “I want to own a big house…”

All the answers provided indicated some desire to have a life of ease and comfort, to lessen the burden of everyday life and make things easier. I watched in silence until the presenter came to me and I gave him an answer that threw everyone for a loop. I answered, “I want to be happy.” He looked at me for a moment with a mixture of confusion at my answer and frustration that I wasn’t answering on-par with the rest of the sheep, but continued on with his presentation without missing a beat. Leave it to me to provide an answer that would throw him for a loop.

It didn’t take me long to recognize that MLM’s were not for me and that I wouldn’t find happiness there. And like most people, I had to try it to find out. But one of the other attendees came to me after the presentation when we were enjoying some coffee and socializing, and asked me to explain my answer to the presenter’s question. My answer was this:

“I don’t need to have millions of dollars to have a fulfilling life. I just need to be happy. I can do without a mansion, so long as there’s a clean, comfortable roof over my head, food in my fridge and clothes on my back. What I need in order to be happy is simply having the ability to live. What I mean by that is, if I want to grab a medium cup of Tim Horton’s coffee every morning on my way to work, I want to be able to do so without having to calculate if I have enough money in the bank. That’s only one example, but it demonstrates that I don’t need to be rich; I simply need to do better.”

Money CAN’T buy happiness. It can certainly ease financial burden and allow access to resources one may not have, without the added money. But happiness comes from what you get out of life and how you achieve it. Working and being out in the world is about more than the salary you make; it’s about the self-accomplishment you feel and the impact you have on the world. THAT’s the lesson! THAT’s the message we need to pass on to future generations.

I have a friend who often feels he needs the top quality of everything; half-million dollar home, huge camper, newest vehicles and all the fun little “adult” toys one can obtain (And I mean stuff like a hot tub or motorcycle! Get your minds out of the gutter!) I remember when this fried came to visit our home for the first time, when we moved to Regina. We had purchased a reasonably-sized, reasonably-priced bungalow. I remember seeing the look on his face when he walked through; almost looking down his nose at everything and judging the house based on its appearance. It felt as though he couldn’t get out fast enough.

Sure, the house needed (needs) repairs. Sure, it isn’t a grandiose mansion. But you know what? It has the room we need at a price that doesn’t have us living poor to make payments. Meanwhile, the friend in question may have a shiny marble of a house, but he often complains that he has difficulty with his month-to-month. I may be straying a bit off-topic here, but the point is that our home has warmth. Our home has comfort and we can make do with what we have and be happy. And that’s what’s important.

Life isn’t meant to be easy. As a colleague of mine commented last week, “What if it were all easy? What if?” Where would the challenge of life be, if there were no obstacles to overcome. The struggle is ultimately part of the journey, and each journey is unique. So, stop wishing for what you don’t have and start working towards what you want. The results of your efforts will bring you unbridled happiness and once that happiness is rooted in you, you’ll be richer than you can imagine. ☯

“Do Not Pray For An Easy Life, Pray For The Strength To Endure A Difficult One.”

– Bruce Lee

Don’t Let The Mud Drag You Down…

There’s an unfortunate side-effect that comes with having Type-1 Diabetes that people often ignore or fail to recognize. For the most part, it isn’t their fault. After all, Diabetes involves so many side effects and necessary treatments for various aspects that we often tend to ignore the symptoms that aren’t detrimental. What I mean is a significant and noticeable lack of personal energy. It’s a common side-effect of someone with Diabetes but in reality, it can affect absolutely anybody.

In my teens and through the majority of my twenties, I had significant difficulty finding my “get up and go.” A lot of that had to do with improperly balance blood sugars as a result of poor insulin dosing and a diet that DIDN’T involve the calculation of carbohydrates (my family basically thought that “no sugar” was all the diet I needed). But I would often have to melt out of my bed, stagger to the washroom and physically struggle to eat, get dressed and get out the door. To say that I was thankful to have no responsibilities beyond sitting in class and listening to teachers was an understatement.

I’ve had incidents where I’ve faltered or fallen asleep in class, often because my blood sugars were too high or too low. I would usually be okay by the time classes let out, which was definitely a good thing since Sensei wouldn’t have taken that grogginess with stoic silence. He’d have punched and kicked the grogginess right out of me. But there were nights where even karate class saw me feel as though lifting my limbs was like lifting blocks of concrete and I didn’t feel as though I had the energy to put forth my best effort.

This kind of effect isn’t simply limited to someone with Diabetes, and there’s a lot you can do to reduce/eliminate that “checked out” feeling one often gets on those days where the energy to get shit done just doesn’t seem to be there. One good example I like to use when it comes to this, is how a person starts their day. I usually make a point to wake up roughly two hours before my scheduled work time. If I use a specific morning last week as an example, I awoke about five minutes before my alarm went off. Annoying, but decent.

I started by putting away all the dried dishes I had done the night before, took my prescribed medications and began sucking back some caffeine and made Nathan’s lunch for school. This was followed by preparing a work lunch for myself, getting cleaned up and dressed and getting all the trash receptacles in house emptied as it was trash day. I got dressed, brushed my teeth and stepped out to put the trash bin to the curb. I finished with ten minutes of relaxation, sitting in the living room as my infant son Alex, climbed around my legs to get some much-needed attention before I left.

I walked out the door feeling pretty good. Blood sugars were normal and my day had begun. I know some folks who get up a couple of hours before work, but basically sit like a lump until they almost literally have to step out the door. What’s the point? May as well get some extra sleep, if that’s all you’re gonna do! But my point is how you start your day sets the standard for how the remainder will go. If you start your day on a negative kick with no “get up and go,” it’s almost a certainty that you’ll like feel stagnant throughout the day. If you hit the ground running, well… An object in motion tends to stay in motion.

What people need to understand is that the energy is already there. But it’s how you promote it and use it, that makes the difference. You don’t need to be an all-star athlete in top shape in order to feel energized throughout the day. You just need to be smart about it. Light knows, I have my days where I have to hammer through the sluggishness to make it back to the pillow at night. But it’s important to remember that even the most powerful 4×4 truck will still struggle and spin its wheels, when trying to get out of the mud.

Energy creates life. Life promotes movement. Movement promotes energy. And on, and on, and on… If you get you and get moving, your energy will be better allocated and you’ll feel better. You may have to struggle through that first little bit, but it’ll happen. If you settle in like a rock, you don’t get that promoting of one’s energy that’s so critical to a healthy and energized day. So when the alarm goes off, first thing in the morning, start by getting up immediately. Avoid the temptation to hit the snooze button and stay curled up. Hit the ground running. You always be tired at the end of the day but then again, that’s when you’re SUPPOSED to be tired. And as I always say, balanced blood sugars and regular exercise are always a great help. ☯

A Fistful Of Fun

Training in the martial can involve a number of different bags, pads and striking surfaces. It can be a bit confusing as to which one you should use. Should you have something firm and moveable? Should you have a punching bag, which allows some variety and movement? Maybe your best option is to have someone hold some striking mitts… Watch the video below that posted to my YouTube channel for my thoughts and opinions on what striking surfaces you can use. ☯

Progress, Not Perfection

The title is a quote from a favoured movie of mine, The Equalizer. It stars Denzel Washington who plays the protagonist, a retired secret agent/assassin who seeks vengeance for harm brought against an innocent. At some point in the movie, he’s helping a fellow co-worker get into shape in order to become a security guard, and he states, “Progress, not perfection.” The quote has stuck with me since I watched the movie, and I use it often in my daily life. Wisdom from unlikely sources, right?

A couple of weeks ago, I started using a newly-purchased punching bag in my garage. As an ending to the workout, I also started hammering out a fast, 1-kilometre sprint on the bike. It’s been rough, with most of my sprints ending with me gasping for dear life and being unable to catch my breath for several minutes. It’s a fantastic measure of progress, as opposed to cycling for 10 kilometres or more, where I potentially get exhausted after the third or fourth kilometre.

A few days ago, I hammered out a kilometre in just 3:02. My best time prior to that was a dozen seconds short of 4:00 minutes. Although this doesn’t seem like a big deal, the number of seconds shaved serves to tell me how far I’ve been progressing and how much faster I’m becoming. Hopefully, once summer kicks into high gear, I can reach last year’s failed goal of 200 kilometres in a single run. Last year, I was reaching nearly 80 kilometres in one afternoon, which is still a far cry from 200. but as the title says, progress, not perfection.

As you can see, my pace reads as 3:02/km, which is why I say I completed the kilometre in 3:02 instead of the 3:18 that’s displayed in the previous photo. The previous photo is the total time for the 1.09 kilometres. I’m hoping to shave it down to below the 3:00 minute mark before starting longer journeys throughout the summer.

Persistence and perseverance can serve you well, in all things related to self-development. If you’re willing to push yourself a bit, you can climb, ever so slowly. Progress, not perfection. Its the only way to increase one’s health, skills and well-being. ☯

The Chi Effect

There’s no arguing that positive energy is contagious. Ask yourself how many times you’ve felt in a bit of a foul mood, only to be lifted up and singing along with a great, upbeat song on the radio… Positive energy creates positive results; a fact that more people should be able to recognize. By the same token, you can be in an excellent mood, only to be brought down by someone negative who is in a bad mood or spreading sad information. I was chatting about this very thing a short while ago with a colleague of mine from work.

I’ve never been one of those martial arts practitioners who put a great deal of stock into being able to “project” energy or that my Chi or Hara could be used as a weapon. There’s are plenty of idiots on YouTube professing that kind of thing. But there’s no arguing that we are all and everything is energy. Not only do basic physics say so, it’s probably one of the few points of existence that both science and religion agree on. At my core, I’m made of energy. You’re made of energy. The screen you’re reading this post on is energy. The entire world and all things are composed and made of energy.

If you’re still reading and aren’t convinced that I’m nuts, I bring this up because although I don’t believe in projecting energy to knock down opponents (There are seriously people who believe they can do this! Google it!), I can admit to being able to focus my energies into my strikes, my focus and my concentration. This is an entirely different ball game, and I’ve experienced it firsthand while training in karate. Just imagine those times when you’ve been floored by a workout but somehow dug deep and found the strength to carry on for that last little bit. That’s tapping into your energy!

For the purposes of this post, I refer primarily to Chi, because it’s more widely recognized as the vital energy flow that all people have. In karate, we usually refer to the Hara, which is defined as the focused centre of the body where the person’s true nature and vitality reside. But when I say “Hara,” I usually get confused looks. And I can admit that there are some differences, so since we’re discussing energy I’ll simply stick with Chi. Still with me? Good.

Decades ago, when I was younger and more about the skill than the meaning, I began noticing a certain phenomenon around my Sensei. Random people would often approach him and speak to him, sometimes to take photographs or simply ask how his day was going. I never thought much about it beyond considering it odd, considering there was usually a number of us around but he would usually be the only one approached. Then one day, such an encounter finally had me ask the question.

We were in Naha, Okinawa. The year was 2001 and I was 23-years old. I was full of the ol’ proverbial piss & vinegar and I was raring to train. But since the temperatures in Okinawa during the month of October reached somewhere in the low 40 degrees Celsius, Sensei felt our afternoons could best be spent relaxing on the beach. I should have been willing to relax and enjoy the sun and sand, but like I said: I was too focused on the skill than the meaning. So it irked me to no end that we were just sitting there, when we were actually in a Japanese prefecture and there was so much to see.

Anyway, Sensei was walking along the beach with a towel around his shoulders when five or six Okinawans approached him and started talking to him and asked to take photographs with him. I had seen similar things happen with him on numerous occasions, so I asked his wife, who was on the beach with us why this always seemed to be happening. She explained that it seemed as though people had always been drawn to him, without him ever trying or drawing attention to himself. It struck me as an odd thing. Until some years later, when it started happening to me.

Once my youthful shenanigans started dying away and I became more of an instructor and more about the art than the skill, I started to notice that people would often approach me without reason. Sometimes it would just be a general “Hi, how’s your day been?” But sometimes I would have random strangers approach me and talk to me at length without reason, without knowing me and without begging for change or trying to sign me up to their multi-level marketing scheme. It seemed as though I could manage to provide advice, encouragement and perk people up without much effort. Folks would often even come to me for advice, even if I never put myself out as someone who would provide it. I never paid much attention to it; until it went away.

The last three years have been the most difficult years of my life. I’ve been depressed, despondent and at my lowest. I’ve had some good times during those three years, such as the birth of my son Alexander. But it’s been rough waters and it’s taken some time for me to see bright shores ahead. They say you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I never noticed the effect I described above disappearing, until last weekend when it came back out of nowhere.

I was at the local corner store, checking my lotto ticket. Yeah, yeah, I know… Let’s move on as the lotto ticket isn’t the topic of the post. As I was walking towards my vehicle, a random elderly lady walked towards me and asked me how my day was going. I replied that it was going well. I thought it strange that she was walking towards me, specifically since there were about a dozen vehicles and people milling about. I thought that perhaps she’d ask me for money or something. I hate that I even think this way, but the world has made me this way. She approached and told me she was feeling very happy today as it was Mother’s Day and her children would be bringing her supper.

We chatted for several minutes about her children and how her day was going as well. When I mentioned my own children, she asked me to wish my wife a Happy Mother’s Day as well. I promised that I would. We wished each other a great remainder of our weekend and she carried on her way. When I got into the car, I recognized the phenomenon for what it was and when my wife asked, I explained that it was the “Chi Effect,” and sat in bewilderment for a few moments as I recognized that I had been lacking it for the past few years. It made me happy. It renewed my sense of how my life had changed.

I’m not a guru or a sage. I don’t profess to project my aura, I don’t practice Reiki and I believe my energy is my own and no one else’s. I’m not deeply rooted in metaphysics, although I will confess that I’ve studied it a bit. But what I do believe is that positive energy is contagious, and I believe that when you’re happy and you give off that positive energy, others will pick up on it. And I think that’s what happened with this lady and I, last weekend.

My life and existence have involved the martial arts in every respect. I’ve learned and developed to a level that I realize that the same aspects I’ve seen in Sensei in my younger years are now being reflected in me. The past couple of months have seen some of the shadows lifted from my soul. And the past month in specific has seen me happier than I’ve been in a long, long time. And I think that people can sense that, albeit in a passive way. As my wife once said, many years ago, “happiness heals.” Perhaps some new wounds are starting mend, with some old wounds beginning to make way for new happiness. Food for thought… ☯

From Coppertone Baby To COVID Baby…

Ahh, the Coppertone Baby… For those who may not be in the know, since it may no longer be a popular thing, it featured a toddler having her swimwear yanked down by a puppy to expose her backside. It became a thing in the early 1950’s and worked towards making Coppertone famous as a leading brand of sunscreen. It became their principle logo on most products and still is on some. As a child, Coppertone was a common name around my house as my mother used to slather my brother and I with sunblock in an effort to keep us from burning. Mostly due to the fact that we were white as ghosts from childhood illnesses but also because being the child of a red-headed man, I had the ginger gene and my skin didn’t fare well in the sun.

By the same token, my children are both very fair-skinned and they come by this honestly, since I carry the redhead gene and my wife is redheaded, herself. My youngest son, Alex, happens to have bright red hair. And he is what I refer to as a “COVID baby.” Although you may find some different meaning behind this term online, I use it to refer to infants and toddlers who were born into the time of the pandemic and have never known any different. My son Alexander was born in September of 2019, only six shorts months before the world slipped into lockdown. He’s only a few months away from being two years old, and he’s never known anything but a life of COVID-19 restrictions.

My son Alex and I, about a month ago

I had the opportunity to take him out a small handful of times after his birth, including trips to visit my coworkers at the office, a few restaurant outings and a couple of trips to see Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, Alex has never met my parents, who live in New Brunswick. The world locked down before we were able to make it out, and they’ve been limited to photos and the few short video clips I’ve managed to send them on DVD, since neither of them can handle technology. It brought me to think about all the ways the pandemic has affected my young children. But nothing did so as clearly as what happened last weekend.

Since it was Mother’s Day last Sunday (a fact I should have recognized and posted about! My bad, Moms!), we planned on picking up some finger foods with which to have a picnic in our backyard. Coupled with some cake and time together as a family, it seemed like a very “COVID-friendly” way of celebrating Mother’s Day. We already had the cake, having done groceries the previous day. But we wanted some snack meats, cheese and pickles to pair up with some crackers prior to eating the cake. Since there were a couple of stops to make including getting the car washed, I suggested we go as a family.

Alex is already used to being in the car, since he’s been on rides every now and again when we’ve dropped Nathan off at school and on a couple of occasions when pandemic conditions have lessened enough for us to take him to groceries and such. And riding around in our family vehicle doesn’t really stretch the expectations of Health Regulations, since I was the only one attending the errands while others waited on the car. But Alex hasn’t really experienced much beyond the inside of our small home and backyard. I’m quickly reminded of this fact by the way he sometimes reacts to normal things.

After picking up an item from someone through a buy and sell site, we attended a local drive-thru carwash, where we had some music playing in the car and Nathan excitedly waited to see the “colour in the foam” (tricolour soap). He loves sitting through the car wash and enjoys seeing all the water sprayed everywhere. As soon as the water jets started rinsing off the family vehicle, we discovered that such is not the case for Alex, who started screaming and crying at the sound and appearance of the water hitting the vehicle.

It only took us a moment to realize what was happening, and I had foolishly purchased the longest wash available, since Nathan absolutely loves sitting through it. My wife was able soothe and stay with Alex throughout the process so that we could get the hell out of there and every pass of the water freaked him out. It made me realize just how little of the outside world he’s been exposed to. And one has to wonder what the long term effects this will have on all the children born during the pandemic.

We often believe that children are resilient and can adjust to anything. And so they are. But the belief that this pandemic hasn’t affected children, especially the younger ones, is a falsehood. The fact that most of these younger children will be forced to learn and experience the world through the screen of a device and spoken word as opposed to being out there and living it will have long-term damaging effects that may change the face of our society forever. Depending on how long the pandemic takes to end, it may still be a while before children get to cut loose and roam free in the world. And who knows knows how reclusive our children may have become by that point? ☯