PDA

View Full Version : 2011 Lenten Challenge



RickMatz
03-03-2011, 04:51 AM
Every year, I throw out the Lenten Challenge to my martial arts buddies. It has nothing to do with Christianity or religion. We are simply using this time as a convenient reminder to rededicate ourselves to our training. It’s kind of hard to miss either Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras, the last day before Lent, which is also Paczki Day!) or Easter Sunday (Bunnies, candy, colored eggs; that stuff). Several of us have been doing this for years now.


The challenge is this: from Ash Wednesday (Mar 9) until Easter (April 23), train every day, without fail, no excuses; even if you have to move mountains. Simple enough said, a little harder to do.


It's not as easy as it sounds; things come up. Some days, you might only be able to get a few minutes of training in; but the point is to do it everyday, no matter what.


It doesn't have to be martial arts training either. Whatever it is that you need to really rededicate yourself to: studying, practicing an instrument, walking, watching what you eat; anything - do it every day, without fail.


In the past on some forums, people have posted what they’ve done everyday. I think everyone who’s done that has become tired of writing, and the others get tired of reading it. How about you just post if you’ve had some breakthrough, or you’ve had to overcome some unusual circumstance to continue your training? Maybe just check in every once in a while to let everyone know you’re keeping at it, or to encourage everyone else to keep at it.


If you fail, we won’t hate you. If you fall off of the wagon, climb back on board. Start anew.


For those of you who insist that you really do train everyday anyway, by all means continue and be supportive of the rest of us. For the rest of us who intend to train everyday, but sometimes come up short due to life’s propensity for unraveling even the best laid plans, here is an opportunity to put a stake in the ground and show your resolution.


As a gesture of solidarity with my Orthodox friends, I usually keep it up until the dates for Lent as is marked on their calendar. For the Eastern Church, Lent begins on March 7 and so will I.


Won't you join me?


Best Regards


Rick

Brule
03-03-2011, 06:50 AM
I think i'm going to give this a go this year. Rick why don't you TT this thread on the day just to give us a reminder?

bawang
03-03-2011, 04:50 PM
sorry i have to refuse. the first thing thats wrong is u make training hard everyday sound like its a tough challenge. ur supposed to train everyday. the second thing thats wrong is holy days are days of rest fastng and prayer.

normally you dont train hard, then when a religious holy day comes you suddenly train hard. it doesnt make sense.

RickMatz
03-03-2011, 06:54 PM
I think i'm going to give this a go this year. Rick why don't you TT this thread on the day just to give us a reminder?

I will be happy to do just that!

Brule
03-04-2011, 06:33 AM
sorry i have to refuse. the first thing thats wrong is u make training hard everyday sound like its a tough challenge. ur supposed to train everyday. the second thing thats wrong is holy days are days of rest fastng and prayer.

normally you dont train hard, then when a religious holy day comes you suddenly train hard. it doesnt make sense.

sheesh.....way to try and ruin the fun Father Bawang..

SenseiShellie
03-05-2011, 12:37 AM
Sorry, I am giving up flipping off people for Lent.

crashhelmet
03-05-2011, 02:35 PM
sorry i have to refuse. the first thing thats wrong is u make training hard everyday sound like its a tough challenge. ur supposed to train everyday. the second thing thats wrong is holy days are days of rest fastng and prayer.

normally you dont train hard, then when a religious holy day comes you suddenly train hard. it doesnt make sense.

Training every day is hard for a lot of people. They have too much to do in their daily lives that sometimes training has to be skipped on certain days. School, work, kids, errands, and the elusive thing called "sleep" can all get in the way for some people.

Holy days aren't counted among the 40 days and 40 nights of Lent. Use your Holy days as rest days if you traditionally participate in Lent. If not, try and go all 46 days.

I'm going to give this a shot. This will probably work out great with the other sacrifices I'm planning on making for Lent.

RickMatz
03-09-2011, 04:48 AM
The 2011 Lenten Challenge starts ... NOW!

crashhelmet
03-09-2011, 02:20 PM
I saw this article today and after reading it, your challenge seems like it's something I should make tradition.

Ash Wednesday and Lent: Beginning Again Always (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sister-joan-chittister-osb/beginning-again-always_b_830218.html)

RickMatz
03-09-2011, 06:27 PM
I don't usually post an update on how the Lenten Challenge is going this early on (less than one full day into it!), but I thought today's events might be interesting and pertinent.

One of the reasons I study martial arts is to help cultivate a calm mind. I think it's far more likely that a calm mind will help me deal with the random events that pop up during the day than fighting ability.

So there I am Monday evening, on a business trip, having dinner with one of my colleagues when I notice a voicemail on my phone. I see it's my youngest (20 year old) daughter, and I'll call her back when I return to the hotel.

I get back to my room and listen to the voice mail. She's upset and crying. She's been in a car accident, and no one is hurt.
I call her immediately. She's with her mother and older sister. She's calmed down now. While going through a yellow light, a person coming the other way decided to turn left and together they proved a proposition of physics that two physical object may not occupy the same space at the same time.

The car was undrivable and had been towed away. The airbags went off and her boyfriend, who was a passenger, now has a friction burn on his face from the airbag.

I ask the older sister (24) how Mom took it. You see, the Mrs is undergoing a certain chemical transformation common to women of her age. A side effect is that she hasn't slept well for years and one of the things this all adds up to is an inability to process the unexpected easily. I was very pleased to learn that rather than bouncing off the walls, after the initial shock she took the news more or less calmly and did her best to sooth our youngest who had been really shaken up.
Your whole life can change as a result of one phone call.

There wasn't anything I could do that night, and I had my meetings in the morning, but I assigned the youngest some phone calls to make and some information to gather so I could make an insurance claim and get the proverbial wheels turning the next day to get the car back on the road.
I made the claim. The insurance company was suppsosed to pick up the car the next morning (when I would be in town) and take it to the body shop I designated. Fine.

One of the reasons it's important to have a calm, open and flexible mind is that in situations like this, the truth seems to change a little with every new person with which you have a transaction.

The towing company called to say that they wouldn't release the car until I came down there and showed them the registration and proof of insurance. Ok, fine. A slight change of plans.

We get down there to liberate the car and to check out the wreck. My daughter's boyfriend had his glasses knocked off by the airbag and in the excitement after the crash, didn't bother to look for them. Maybe they were still in the car. Nope. Not there.

The car is a 2004 Grand Am. The question would be whether they'd pay to fix it or just total it. The frond end to up in front of the front wheels was pretty mashed, but I didn't think it was that bad, all things considered.

The car gets towed to the body shop and the insurance adjuster checks it out. $9000 worth of damage, and the Blue Book for the car is $5 - 7000. They are totalling it.
Now the Mrs starts bouncing off the walls. This was one surprise to many. The daughter starts bouncing off the walls as well.

Both their reactions are human nature. The Mrs, with one additional piece of bad news to process was simply reacting. The daughter had to process the bad news as well, and in addition was mirroring her mother. We have to buy another used car for the daughter, and the Mrs doesn't want to buy a car from a stranger, because you can so easily just be buying someone else's problem (we had the Grand Am new). Replacing the car was a can of worms that really upset her.

I managed to get them both calmed down, by being calm myself. The daughter barely uses the car at all while she's at school and really doesn't need a replacement until the school year is over at the end of April. We can wait a couple of days to see what the settlement check will be.

One of my daughter's friends has 3 or 4 uncles plus a grand father who are all car brokers. Their business is finding used cars and selling them to used car lots. They see a LOT of cars every day and can quickly size up a good one from a lemon. We'll ask them to find us a replacement.

The fires are out (or at least under contol), the wheels are turning and practice tonight has never been as sweet.

RickMatz
04-20-2011, 07:02 PM
Only a few more days to go!

How has your practice been? If you've been practicing all along - great. If you've fallen off the path, you can still train with us for the last few days!

For myself, my practice has been strong and my mind has been calm and clear.

How about you?