Elephants and twigs

In India (before the bulldozer or the crane were invented) elephants were trained to do heavy lifting for their trainers. A trainer will either purchase or capture a baby elephant. For the first few weeks, they tie the elephant to the biggest, heaviest objects they can find. The baby struggles and struggles, until it finally accepts that wherever it is tied, it can not escape.

Because of their good memories, this lesson is remembered. The trainer is able to tie a fully-grown elephant to a tiny twig stuck in the ground. 

As small children, we learn similar limiting lessons. However, some of us realise that the bonds holding us back are not as strong as we thought. These are the people who break away from damaging relationships, or make massive changes to improve their lives. 

Martial Arts - Capture the Spirit

If there is one film you should have seen in 2008, forget "The Dark Knight" and "Mama Mia". If you're into martial arts, "Kung Fu Panda" was the best by far.

Don't be fooled by the fact it is a cartoon. This simple film has some fantastic touches, and has prompted a great deal of soul-searching among the Chinese as to why they did not do anything like this before.

If you are interested in Chinese martial arts, and want to learn about the martial spirit, this is a great place to start.

World weary?

Is the relentless cycle of bad news getting you down? Are you despairing about the state of the world? Is it hard to see how things can improve?

You are not alone. Check out the following quote:

"The Earth is degenerating these days. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching."

This was discovered on an Assyrian stone tablet, that was carved approximately 4,800 years ago. 

As you can see, the world has not ended yet.

Team Northwood - News

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am expecting my second child. 

The due date has been put back to March the 30th, and the 21 week scan showed that we are going to have another girl.

As usual, I will keep you all posted of further developments.

In the moment

When I first travelled to China, I was with a group of 24 english tai chi practitioners who were eager to learn from Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. 

I recently met up with one of the people who I travelled with. As we shared our memories of the trip - immediately, he brought out a thick photo library and thumbed through the pages eagerly. He had obviously taken a lot of pictures, and we enthusiastically went through the pictures of the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Great Wall.... all the sights.

But when I asked him about what he learned in training, his conversation slowed. I asked him how he felt about some of the things that were said, he could not remember. It reminded me of the Chinese proverb:

"You can't stand in the same river twice."

The moments of our lives are truly precious. Once they are gone, we can never get them back. Yet - as with my friend - if we try too hard to record these moments, we will corrupt our experience of them.

So with the oncoming festive season, think about that camera in your hand. While you hold that, you're not hugging your family and friends. 

Books

"Seek truth in meditation, not in moldy books.

Look to the sky to find the moon, not in the pond"

Persian proverb

A Smile for Christmas :-)