I can’t recall where I read the proverb I used in my title, but it’s pretty accurate. If there’s an important lesson I’ve learned in almost four decades, it’s that we gain almost as much from teaching and passing on our knowledge as we do from obtaining it.
I’ve previously mentioned the martial arts ladder, and the importance of helping other students climb beyond you, once you’ve reached a certain level. Some “old school” martial arts teachers will often claim that it’s important to hold something back; keep that secret technique to yourself so that you always have a finishing move to fall back on. I was raised on a system of martial arts where the students have the potential to learn EVERYTHING the style has to offer.
Shintaro-san showing me some specifics of a kata Okinawa – 2001
Humans are competitive by nature. There’s no getting around it. Something about “survival of the fittest”, and one of the aspects of that competitive nature is showing off your skills. Most people are inclined to show others what they’ve learned and showcase their skills. That’s why most sports are competitively displayed for spectators. Although some instincts are hard to fight, one can easily turn that competitive nature into an instinct to teach.
One of the best times of my martial arts career was when I had a school of my own, back in New Brunswick. It was a wonderful feeling, opening the class with all the students bowing to me and following my instruction. There was a deep feeling of satisfaction in knowing that these people were learning and progressing based on what I was teaching them. Seeing their progress taught me a great deal about how I was learning.
Leading a junior class in Sanchin, sometime in the early 1990’s
I was reminded of all this when I saw a Tai Chi group practicing in the open hallway of a local shopping mall this morning. The group was a bit on the smaller side, maybe more than a dozen. I don’t like using the term “elderly” but the group was a touch on the older side, and you could see that the person leading the group was deeply invested in coaching a guiding the people that were there.
I had to close my school in early 2009 as I had to move across country for my career. Since my job usually moves me around every few years, I’ve never had the stability to open another school. It wouldn’t be fair to any prospective students to start training with me, only to have me leave after a few years.
But it got me thinking about decades down the road, and wondering if perhaps eventually I’ll be teaching my own group once I retire and finally settle to a permanent home.
Learning any new skill is exciting and loads of fun. But should you ever have the opportunity to teach what you know to others, I highly recommend it. Like most thing in life, teaching has its difficulties but can offer great rewards and satisfaction. ☯
I don’t know how to do yoga. I know, shocking right? Can’t do it. I know it involves specific poses, stretches and stock ownership in LuluLemon apparel, but if you asked me to stand in front of a group of folks and try and teach them yoga, three things would happen: my pants would likely split from the attempt, all my joints would create a sound likely to frighten all those who hear it and last but not least… You wouldn’t learn yoga! Plus, picturing me doing downward dog is likely causing all the angels in heaven to simultaneously throw up…
Learning a new skill or art can be fun and exciting, but there are certain steps to acquiring that knowledge. If I walked into a yoga class today, I wouldn’t expect exclusive lessons and mentorship from the instructor. After all, he or she would have a classroom full of people to take care of. One would be inclined to assume that one would have to simply follow along and gleam what learning they can as they go along until they acquire the basics they need to start advancing. Some classes are like this. Another option is that you would perhaps need to accept coaching from someone not too far above your skill level. This is more likely.
And the case would be the same for the martial arts. If you walked into a karate class on your first night of training, you could hardly expect that the lead instructor would be the one showing you the basics. Maybe they would; it depends on the school you train in. But unless the school you’re starting with is overrun with black belts (in which case, you should run from that school as fast as possible and find a different one) the safe bet is that you’ll likely be learning from a junior belt, perhaps even a white belt. And not everyone is okay with that.
I’m reminded of a class from just a little over twenty-five years ago… I was stretching and shadow boxing, preparing for the gruelling two hours that awaited me. I was early, as usual, and I noticed a new guy in class. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and sweatpants, looking awkward against the backdrop of students in crisp, white karate uniforms.
Sensei walked up to me and introduced me to the new student (I honestly don’t remember his name. It’s been over twenty-five years, give me a break!) He asked me to show the new student our ten basic exercises and aiding movements as well as the opening of our first form. I gladly agreed and introduced myself as Sensei walked away.
I noticed that the new guy seemed a bit distracted as I spoke to him and I asked him what was wrong. The exchange went a little something like this:
ME: Is everything okay? You seem distracted…
New Guy: No, no, it’s fine. It’s just that… Shouldn’t I be learning this stuff from him? (points to Sensei)
ME: Well, Sensei usually takes the first fifteen minutes before class to stretch and has one of us teach basics to new students. Is that a problem?
New Guy: Honestly? No offence, but I didn’t join karate to learn from a white belt! I want to learn from a black belt… (walks away and starts stretching in imitation of what Sensei was doing)
Now in this guy’s defence, I WAS wearing a white belt! At the time, I had a white belt with a solid green bar, meaning I was ready to test for green belt. I was far from new and was more than capable of teaching what was asked of me. But from this guy’s perspective, I was a white belt and unfit to be showing him the ropes. Ah, that lovely perspective…
Once class was in full swing and we started doing the actual form I was supposed to show the new guy, his confused look and the fact he was looking around in a vain attempt to mimic the other students did NOT go unnoticed. Sensei stepped up behind him and asked what the problem was, since I had shown him these steps. The new student replied that I had shown him nothing.
Once we closed and students started filing out, Sensei approached me and asked what I had shown to the new student. “Nothing,” I replied. “He decided he didn’t want to learn from a white belt. Sensei shrugged and instructed that no one provide guidance to the new student until he asked for it.The guy attended another two or three classes then dropped out. Seems that karate isn’t all that easy to learn when you aren’t willing to listen.
Was it a harsh elimination of an unwanted student? Perhaps. But the lesson here is that if you truly wish to learn a new art or skill, you’ll take the knowledge from wherever you can. If that student had followed my guidance on the first night, he likely would have been able to follow along and progress. Instead, he allowed his preconceived notions about the belt around my waist to negate any possibility of his ever training in the martial arts. A great loss. For him, not for us.
Be willing to accept knowledge from whomever is willing to share it. Sometimes you may lose nothing. Sometimes you may lose a great deal. But unless you’re willing to accept it, you’ll never know. It’s like Sensei used to say, “You’ve got two ears and one mouth, so you should listen TWICE as much as you talk!” ☯
Yesterday was a bit of a hazy day, with temperatures barely reaching the minus teens. Some light snow was falling and the sun was nowhere to be seen. I woke to my wife already on the couch with our newborn son, Alexander. He had been up, off and on during the night to feed.
I was all talk twelve hours earlier, and had bold plans to take the entire family out for the last day of Black Friday sales at Chapters bookstore and some other locations. But once we woke up, the story was much different.
Although my wife had no work today and my older son Nathan woke up when we did, we opted for a lazy morning. I made a solid “traditional” breakfast of eggs, hash brown potatoes and maple bacon (could I BE any more Canadian?) and we sat at the table for a quiet Sunday morning breakfast. Well, my wife and Alex did… Nathan ran off to his room like a butt-hurt teenager until he was hungry enough to scuttle out for his breakfast.
I cleaned up the kitchen after the breakfast I made and watched Batman Begins, which led to me sitting in my rocker for the morning. Once I finished the first movie, I moved on to The Terminal. My wife and I relaxed with coffee in the living room and neither of us did anything. You read that right. We did nothing.
Once the second movie was done, my son Nathan returned to his cartoons and everyone else enjoyed an afternoon nap. We never did make it out to the bookstore… Not particularly necessary in light of the thousands of books my wife and I own. But considering it was a cold, snowy day, it was hardly a wasted day.
Sometimes it feels nice to simply take a day to sit back and replenish your batteries. Apparently it became a family thing, which can also be nice. Although it’s of the utmost importance NOT to allow yourself to become complacent or lazy, there are measurable benefits to occasionally taking a day to do absolutely nothing. ☯
It is SO easy to slip off the rails and leave your fitness and physical well-being behind. As I write this, it dawns on me that it’s beena week since I worked out. It isn’t that I’ve “gotten lazy” or have decided to no longer take fitness seriously, but with everything that daily life involves, fitness habits sometimes slip off to the side.
The important thing to remember is that this happens to everyone. Even the most disciplined of athletes will sometimes have dry spells where they go without working out for days at a time. As long as you come back to it once you realize the lapse, things can continue on smoothly.
Fitness doesn’t have to involve a huge commitment. A lot of people tend to have the perspective that “I’ll work out this afternoon” and assume it will take the afternoon. But you can maintain your fitness in a lot less time than that.
Fitness can be as easy as going for a light run, bike ride or swim for a half hour or more. On more intense days, you can get into HIIT or circuit workouts and push for about 75 minutes if you’re looking to reach certain goals.
Even on days where I forget to slip a workout in, I usually remember to take a short period of time to go through my forms, kicks, punches and blocks. This usually works up a mild burn and gets me at least a bit sweaty in order to maintain my physical fitness.
Now is a good time to remind everyone that regular fitness will help with weight management, blood sugar levels, muscle mass and sleep patterns. No matter how much or how little you do, ANYTHING is still better than NOTHING. Keep at it and don’t be afraid to feel the burn. ☯
People often don’t take into consideration the very essence of one’s will. The human body is more than just a sophisticated machine, it’s an almost perfect machine, despite our many imperfect uses for it. For the most part, we depend on modern medicine and doctors to fix our problems and rarely take into account our body’s ability to mend and heal just about anything that life has to throw at us.
First, I should start by pointing out that I’m not taking anything away from the people who have suffered and even succumbed to the the effects of any illness. Despite the point I’m trying to make here, sometimes the body can only take so much. And I’ve seen a lot of that in my life.
For the past twenty years, I’ve been friends with a guy who is about ten years younger than I am. His father, who was also Type 1 Diabetic, was about ten years older than I am. A bit of a strange scenario, as it kind of puts me in range to have a reasonable friendship with either party.
The father spent his life living with nothing but positivity in his heart. He and his wife had only the one son, and he spent his life living the way he wanted to. However, he suffered from many complications normally associated with Type 1 Diabetes. He had heart problems, vision problems and suffered amputations on both of his legs.
On the negative side, he was a very sedentary man… Reasonably overweight, never exercised, ate like a trash can, smoked and drank heavily; none of which are good components for healthy Diabetes management.
Towards the end of his life, he had lost both feet, suffered severe failure to his eyes and cardiovascular systems and no longer had any measurable control over his Diabetes or his life. Sadly, he passed away in 2014. I don’t know what the exact cause of death was, but given all his complications it could have been anybody’s guess. Such is the Diabetic life…
The passing of my friend’s father was devastating, not only to him but for the fact that it’s usually an awakening to people with Type 1 that perhaps they need to take a look at themselves and examine what they’ve been doing to maintain their health. So, what makes me different from the many folks who seem to struggle and fight so hard against the ravages of this condition?
I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in 1982, right around the time I started kindergarten. Although insulin and other therapies were in existence in the early 80’s, I was lacking in several key areas that could have changed the course of my life from the very beginning. I had just joined the Beavers (before anyone decides to be funny, the Beavers are a pre-cursor to the Scouts) and my school life was still raw and new.
My teachers did what was expected of them, they explained to the class that I was “special” and that if anyone saw me acting strangely or appearing to be ill, she should be told immediately. Great. Thanks, teach! You just set me apart from the pack and ensured I was a loner for the foreseeable future. Fantastic. I had to drop out of Beavers because I was still in a stage where I didn’t have control and proper management of my blood sugars and I was left vulnerable.
If I hadn’t taken my life in hand and started taking steps towards improving my health, I likely would be in same boat as my friend’s father. Certainly, I suffered from insulin resistance and a number of Diabetes comas. But at some point early on, I decided to make some drastic changes, even at a young age. I started to focus on fitness and health. I got into the martial arts. I studied and got on board with nutrition and eating better. I made a difference in my own life.
Through my own will, despite being told I wouldn’t live beyond my teens, I improved my health and have managed to reach my 40’s without any loss of neural function, clean cardiovascular system and strong blood glucose management. Am I so different or better than anyone else? Of course not, I’ve simply chosen not to lie down and let my condition take me. And that’s something any of us can do.
I repeat it in most of my posts, but the important things in life are eating well, exercising often and be willing to always learn something new. New treatments and therapies keep coming out and you have to stay on top of them. Most of us always say that we don’t expect to see a cure within our lifetime, but life is strange. One truly never knows. But how this all plays out is totally in your hands.
Do I acknowledge that my life has been shortened by a decade or more from Diabetes? Do I understand that this condition may debilitate me or render some of my organs useless? Sure, I do. But it doesn’t mean I have to go down easy. If my time comes because of Type 1 Diabetes, it will be because I fought the good fight until the very end.
I encourage you all to do the same. Whether you have Diabetes or not, the lethargy and sluggishness that life breeds doesn’t need to have a hold on you. Through your own strength of will, you can change the course of whatever may have a hold on you. ☯
Perspective is important. We interpret the world in what we see and hear, but our specific perspective of what we see and hear defines the world around us and helps to define us as people. As we grow and age, we unfortunately develop a certain pre-programmed mindsets regarding the things we see and experience. And if any of you have come to learn anything about me while reading this blog, y’all know that I’m going to give you an example.
You step out of your local favourite burger spot after a fantastic meal with some friends (mine is a place called FatBurger, I highly recommend it). As you step out, you see a guy sitting on a bench against the building. As you look at him, you notice a number of things about him.
His cloths appear disheveled and filthy. There are traces of mud and dirt all over him. His hair is grungy and he looks as though he hasn’t shaved in a long while. He’s bent over and appear to be staring into space. He isn’t really doing anything in particular and just seems to be sitting there.
What thoughts would go through your mind to see someone in that state? Without speaking a single word to this person or knowing any of his background, your perceptions would decide for you. These perceptions would be defined by previous experience and what you may have been taught or told by people of influence in your life.
One side of the coin, depending on your perspective, is that you may think this man is homeless. You may assume that he’s decided to have a rest while wandering the streets, perhaps begging for change outside of eateries in the hopes of getting himself a meal.
On the other side of the coin, and the one you wouldn’t know unless you spoke to him, is that this man just finished a 10-hour construction shift and is waiting in exhaustion for his wife to come out of one of the local businesses so he can go home with her, explaining the filth and dirt and his general demeanour.
Which one is accurate? Without first hand information, you’d be hard-pressed to make an informed decision. But your perceptions would fill in the gaps for you, whether you like it or not.
The lesson here is that lovely quote by Edwin Rolfe that tells you not to judge a book by its cover. Everyone has a story. The question is whether we choose to guess what that story is, based solely on what we see and hear or whether we choose to believe that there’s always a chapter we haven’t read yet.
Basic humanity and compassion are not extinct. They are still very much alive and we need simply not be afraid to let them surface. Although your perspectives may have provided you with some of the guidelines you’ve needed to get through life, it’s okay to allow your scope of the world to expand and learn. This is how growing is done. ☯
Parenthood is a blessing (I can picture most parents making a squinty face as if to ask, “Is it though?”). It definitely is. On the one hand, you get to experience watching this tiny version of yourself grow and develop to become their own little person. They develop their own tastes and personalities and they also ensure our perpetual immortality through the continuation of our DNA. As I look down at my oldest son, who kindly spilled some mio-infused water on my carpet just now, I realize that they’re also little demons that are sent to punish me for all wrongs I’ve committed, known or otherwise. But once again, I digress…
But the purpose of today’s post is actual children’ inability to eat what’s in front of them. As I’m sure any parent knows, most kids have a hard time blindly accepting the food in front of them. A lot of different factors will play into why they won’t eat what’s provided, but it causes strife and difficulty for the parents who are trying to keep their kids nourished. Allow me to provide an example.
Yesterday was my oldest son Nathan’s fifth birthday. We had planned a fun supper idea involving stuffed crust pizza (his favourite) and we had purchased a rather large, colourful slab of white cake in which to enjoy afterwards. He had a number of gifts coming his way from my wife and I as well as a number of relatives.
Loads of fun, right? Not so much. It seems that while I was out at work, my son was offered a small portion of slow-cooker chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. He took one look and refused to eat it. Although this isn’t totally unusual for Nathan, it’s still a source of great frustration for my wife and I, especially since he hadn’t even tried it before dismissing it.
My wife and I have a simple rule: you WILL try your food. I totally get that he may have tastes of his own, but we refuse to unnecessarily waste food in this house, so while we can promise that we won’t necessarily make that meal again if he doesn’t like it, we still insist that he eat some on the first occasion that it’s made. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Not to Nathan.
Once he refused to eat his lunch, the usual penance was invoked: no other food would be provided until he ate what was in front of him. Although that might seem cruel a punishment for a five-year old, it ensures that our son will grow up learning the value of what’s provided, rather than the “flavour of the day” attitude that seems to exist in today’s society.
Here’s the hiccup in our plan: that penance means he wouldn’t get his stuffed-crust pizza OR any of his birthday cake… ON HIS BIRTHDAY! The threat of that didn’t seem to sway him at all, despite being repeated. The stubborn little mini-me was sticking to his guns and wouldn’t fold. I should point out that this was definitely a punishment to me as well. So, why the hell are kids like this?
The reality is that your child isn’t refusing or being picky because he’s trying to be an asshole. At least not in most cases. But there are a number of reasons why your child may be as picky as he/she is in relation to their food. For the most part, the texture and/or colour of certain foods may throw them off. We need to remember that young children view the world in a significantly different way than Mommy and Daddy do, and some things may look “yucky” despite being absolutely delicious (my slow-cooker chicken was delightful, by the way).
Jill Castle, a registered dietitian and childhood nutritionist, explains that between the ages of two to about six, children become picky eaters because their growth begins to slow for a period of time and so will their appetite. Castle goes on to explain that “food neophobia”, or fear of new food, can cause young children to be wary of trying new foods and vegetables, often based on texture, colour or appearance. In fact, forcing or demanding that your child eat may only reinforce this behaviour as young kids are usually not game to being coerced into ANYTHING (and my son is no exception).
Some children are also “Jag” eaters, where they eat a handful of typical and repetitive favourites without leaving room for anything new. Tuna and peanut butter (not together) are Nathan’s go to foods. Although they may not be eating a variety of foods we’d like to see them eating, they’re eating enough based on their hunger and requirements. They may also be distracted (I’m VERY guilty of this) where you allow your child the use of an electronic device or toys at the dinner table. This takes away from their focus on the food in front of them and may have a negative impact.
Realistically, there’s no easy answer as every child is different. All one can do is show the proper example and offer lots of food varieties and eventually your kid SHOULD get on board.
So, what happened with Nathan’s birthday, you ask? Of course the little booger got his damn pizza and cake! What am I, heartless???
Nathan with his birthday cake. Look at those icing balloons!!!
My wife and I agreed that Nathan’s birthday only comes once a year, and it was more important that he celebrate that, and the rest could come tomorrow. And I think this was a good call, as everyone had a great time with Nathan and shared his joy as he enjoyed his cake and played with the toys he got for his birthday.
Stick to a schedule, keep offering lots of options and eventually, your kid will outgrow the pickiness that drives all parents nuts! ☯
One of the things that my Sensei used to tell me back in the day, when I was still living on his side of the country is that when you reach a certain level of experience in the martial arts, “once a Sensei, always a Sensei.” I never paid that much heed except that when I take the time to look back over the past decade since closing my dojo, I recognize a number of times where I’ve fallen into the instructor’s role without trying.
Even in my current role of training with my local school of Kempo, I often find myself providing a certain level of coaching and instruction to some of the younger and lower-ranked students. It’s almost a pull or an instinct. But like anyone else who passes on information they may have, I’m not always as clear as I should be.
I’ve written a number of times about how it’s important to stop doing the same thing over and over and to change it up, challenge yourself and go outside your comfort zone in order to progress. The problem is, some folks have taken that message as a meaning that performing repetitive actions such as forms and drills have no value and should be avoided. Not only is this false, but there is an important discernment to be made between repeating specific actions in order to build one’s muscle memory or learn something, and always staying at the same level by repeating the exact same actions. Allow me to explain…
Let’s say that you want to learn a new type of kick… Chances are that the person teaching you will start by having you observe him or her do this kick before having you join in and practice it a number of times before letting you practice the kick on your own. Even once you’re on your own, you’ll need to continue repeating the technique until it becomes comfortable, familiar and you can claim at least some level of proficiency with it. This is a called “muscle memory” and not only is it a good thing, it’s a vital part of the martial arts. And the only way to achieve it, is through repetition.
Muscle memory is an integral part of the martial arts because, let’s be honest, an attack generally won’t come with a warning. So setting yourself up, stretching and being ready to respond never happens. Ever. Sure, we stretch and get ready before a class, but that’s a controlled environment intended for your learning. Your body needs to be able to respond to a potential attack on it’s own without you needing time to put thought into what you’re going to do. If you take time to think about it, chances are the attack has already happened. So repetition for muscle memory is good.
Now, let’s once again assume that you intend on doing… let’s say a light dumbbell workout. You line up a pair of 25-pound dumbbells, because they’re the ones you’ve always used. You take a few moments to stretch, followed by 25 jumping jacks to get your heart rate going. Then you fall into 3 sets of 10 reps of bicep curls, butterfly curls, shoulder presses and weighted squats. You do this exact same workout, every Saturday morning at 9 am. You never increase the weights, never change up the exercises and always repeat the exact same workout. Any exercise is better than no exercise of course, and I’m only using this as an example but this is the bad kind of repetition.
Do you see the difference? The problem is that if you repeat this exact same workout EVERY time you do it, there will be no growth, no progression and no advancement in your fitness. Muscle memory holds no value for fitness workouts, so you need to be able to change it up. Maybe the following week sees you increase your weight. Perhaps you’ll lighten the weights and do sets of a cardio-style dumbbell circuit. Maybe you’ll do that same workout but add 30 minutes of jogging or cycling in the mix. Whatever. As long as you’re building on the base you’ve already established.
In case my explanation was a little too long in the tooth (as it often is), the point of today’s post can be summarized as follows… Long-term repetition for the purposes of learning and/or improving a technique and develop muscle memory: GOOD. Remaining stagnant by constantly repeating the exact same workout without ever challenging yourself or allowing growth: BAD.
Martial arts is actually a very slow-moving creature and it takes years to properly learn techniques. I’ve been doing karate for 31 years and I’m still learning, so that should give you an idea. But while you’re busy learning all the good stuff, keep pushing your body to grow and progress, increase your weights (safely) and keep your fitness fresh and fun by trying new workouts! You’re more likely to stick with it, that way.☯
The past decade or two have unsurprisingly (given the state of the world) yielded some really strange social trends. Anyone with a modicum of common sense usually looks at these so-called “challenges” and wonders if it’s truly time to lie back and give up on the society.
If we look back as far as 2001, they came out with something called “The Cinnamon Challenge”. This ludicrous trend, which began pre-YouTube, involved the swallowing of a tablespoon of dry cinnamon powder, without the help of liquid. The big problem with this challenge isn’t just the difficulty, but the damage it could cause to your lungs through gagging, asthma attacks and choking. Not to mention that cinnamon contains an chemical similar to formaldehyde and is basically composed of ground up tree bark. So THAT’S what your possibly inhaling. It gained further steam for a while in 2006 when it finally hit YouTube and people started posting it.
Fast forward to more than a decade later, and they came out with something called “The Tide Pod Challenge”. Just to clarify, when I say “they”, I mean a generation of people who don’t seem to have anything better to do and don’t seem to understand the value in picking up a good book or getting a workout in. But I digress…
The Tide Pod Challenge simply involved putting one of the laundry detergent pods in your mouth and chewing on it. Yes, you read that right: LAUNDRY DETERGENT PODS!!! Friends would film you doing it, and possibly get some laughs as spit out soap bubbles and such. The problem, besides being stupid enough to put one in your mouth, is that some people would end up swallowing them, intentionally or accidentally. Considering these bad boys are made of laundry detergent, they’re caustic, toxic and can wreak havoc on your lungs and digestive system. And that’s just a start.
Sometime after Tide Pods were no longer the flavour of the week (see what I did there?), they came out with “The Condom Snorting Challenge”, which involved sticking a condom in your nostril while plugging the other one, inhaling it into your nasal cavities and reaching into your mouth to pull it out of your throat. Considering most people have difficulties using condoms the way they were intended, I can’t imagine why they think THIS is a good idea… The problem is that the condom can become trapped, block off breathing passages, be inhaled into the lungs and cause infections, sepsis and a score of other medical complications.
Really, internet? Most sources agree that the big problem behind all these “trends” is that they’re dare-based and today’s society thrives on how many likes, views and clicks one can get. Some people even make an income through their use of social media, so it’s not surprising that some of this happens. Although I can’t help but feel that this is Darwinism hard at work…
Now, on to my colourful title. Given that the month of November is almost done, I’l cover this one off. Many people have chosen to participate in a challenge called “No Nut November.” It’s pretty straight-forward: it’s simply going without ejaculating for the entire month of November. Although this seems like a pretty benign challenge and we can all agree that having some restraint is good, there are some dark aspects to this one as well.
First of all, there has been no scientific or medical evidence that shows that “going without” for a month has any measurable benefits for the body whatsoever. The opposite however, is that it can improve sleep quality, lower risk of prostate cancer and heart disease in men and can also boost the immune system. Fatherly.com has a good article that outlines all of this: https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/no-nut-november-is-bad-for-men/
But No Nut November can cause certain anxiety and stress issues, cause strife and difficulty in relationships and remember that preventing prostate cancer thing? You lose that benefit if you lose your happy ending…
I focused on this last social trend because it provided me with an entertaining title for today’s post, but the truth of the matter is that due to the popularity of online dares and challenges, we’ve likely not seen the last of this sort of thing.
Folks, pick up a book, go for a walk, spend time with friends or family… Any of those things will provide a much more fulfilling life and provide you with more benefit than getting a heavy number of views for possibly harming yourself online for the sake of some likes! I can’t change the world, but I can guarantee there may be a special school of the military sort waiting for either of my sons, should I ever hear they snorted a condom or ate a Tide Pod. ☯
“Pressure’s a privilege and only the privileged get to experience pressure…” – Vernon Adams Jr.
I hate hockey. (Cue every brick in Canada being shat at once) Yes, I hate hockey. There, I said it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the sport, and it certainly is staple of Canadian culture since, well, you know… it was invented here!
I’m slightly biased against it, since all throughout my schooling the hockey players were the de facto “rulers” of the school. They had privilege, they went to all the parties (and were often the ones throwing them), they had friends and got all the girls. I was a bit more on the “intellectual” side of things… Okay, fine! I was a nerd!
My point is, I’ve never been much of a team sports guy. I grew up with more of an interest in singular physical activities such as cycling, mountain climbing and the martial arts. But I’ve never been into mainstream sports.
But being into these sports is not what makes me Canadian. And no matter what you’re into or what your interests are, you can still learn from these things. For example, the quote I started this post with, was spoken by the Montreal Alouette’s Quarterback.
You’d be surprised at what you can learn if you’re willing to mingle and learn, even from things you aren’t interested in. One of the first activities I did with my co-workers when I moved to Saskatchewan, was sit in one of their living rooms and watch the Grey Cup. I couldn’t understand what was going on, but the energy in the room and the camaraderie was certainly positive. ☯
The Blogging Buddhist 