Earlier last week, I won some tickets to see the Shaolin Kung Fu Monks. This is a performance troupe of about 20 Buddhist monks who travel around and showcase the art of Shaolin Kung Fu. I invited my friend Kim to tag along.
The monks spend 8 hours a day training in their art, in addition to farming for a living & meditating on Buddhist scripture. Their discipline is evident as they have perfected some of the most amazing weapons choreography and mind-blowing feats no human should be able to do…like eating glass (after chewing it up, of course), balancing perched atop of four sharpened spears, throwing a needle through a pane of glass, breaking blocks of cement over their heads and my personal favorite, something I shall call the “triple layer monks, machetes & boards with nails” sandwich topped with “let’s add some concrete & a sledgehammer.” A photo of a similar accomplishment is below, however for the performance today, they added another layer of monk and another board of nails. All in all, it was a fine mixture of art in color, dance, and anticipation.
Getting to hang out with Kim is nice. We work together – she’s another designer in my department – but she’s just awesome to be around. There is always something crazy going on in her life and she has the best way of cracking everyone up when she shares it. Plus she lives in an interesting neighborhood…with really interesting neighbors.
After Kim & the Kung Fu monks, I met Christina for a 2.5 hour coffee date. Christina is another one of my favorite people in the world. She is ALWAYS smiling and always has the right words of wisdom to say no matter what’s going on…we can talk about anything from tornadoes to whirlwind shopping sprees…as well as serious life-stuff. After hanging out with Christina, you can’t help but to leave smiling.
I realized how lucky I am to have a whole lot of positive people in my path right now…yet it also made me wonder what to do with those…not so positive people.
Everyone has them. The people that just kind of rub you the wrong way or flat out ooooze negativity every time you’re around them. Granted (and thankfully), I don’t have very many people in my life that do that, but what do you do in the seasons where you seem surrounded by the naysayers?
Personally, I try and live a life of loving people. I don’t care who you are or where you’ve been. I hope somehow I can brighten your day and connect with you. I loooovvvee people.
But loving everyone doesn’t always come easily – in fact, most of the time it proves to be a challenge, especially around those not-so-nice people. And if you spend a lot of time around these negative people, sometimes they can bring you down a lot faster than you can build them up.
They say boundaries are healthy…but what are the boundaries for being around negative people? Do you try and encourage them (and if so, how long do you try?) Is there ever a time where you need to cut them out of your life and end your relationship with them?
Here’s to a good week…
Comments
9 responses to “Kung Fu Monks, Happy People & Boundaries”
Yeah, KC, MO. It happens surprisingly often, but rarely makes the news.
OK. Your post was good. But I am here to say keep the profile pic you have up now. I like it.
Los
anne, i like the pic as well. and about the boundaries. it is such a hard balance i think. my wife and i were actually just talking about how there are people who are just “debbie-downers” and i don’t get it. don’t they have the joy of the lord? i know several people who have a lot of crap in their life and a lot of junk that has come down on them, but they are fighting through it, then there are the other people who are selfish in their negativity. I honestly think it’s a pride issue, deep down inside, they are missing something, so they will reach out for any attention they can get. i know that they need love, so i will try to be there for them, i just won’t hang out with them for fun.
I always say: “I’m done when the grace runs out.” Until then, I run like mad.
Then, it’s somebody else’s turn. We are the body for a reason. I’m not “it” for anybody, and thank God I don’t have to be!
They were funky China men from funky Chinatown
They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down
It’s an ancient Chineese art and everybody knew their part
From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip
Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those kicks were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they fought with expert timing
I think that MeWhoElse is crazy wise in saying….and I quote “I’m done when the grace runs out.” That is great advice for us all.
Anne,
What a cool picture. How in the world do they throw a needle through a pane of glass? Weird.
Phil
Phil – He missed the first few times; it would ricochet off the glass (and go very far I might add.) They had a volunteer from the audience holding a baloon on the other side. Finally, it went straight through the glass without shattering or cracking the part it didn’t penetrate. It really did take him a while, but it was nuts. :)
my woship pastor calls those negative people, “toxic people”. And if you get to close it can rub off. I have had to distance myself from some of those people at work in order to keep a positive attitude.
I sort of know who the negative people are and I turn it into a game…”SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE THEM POSITIVE–EVEN FOR A MOMENT” The less I am successful, the more obnoxious and edgy I get. Sometime out of shear defeat, I will say something like, “well, you’re right, there is NO WAY God could ever fix that! Or It could be worse, (insert VERY bad scenerio).
Since I already know they are negative, I come into the GAME knowing I cannot let them effect me. Thus, I have to load up on an extra dose of fun, joy, and God’s strength.
But this is just my little ‘ol strategy…