Thank you to all of you who helped during our kick-a-thon to raise money for the AED (automated external defibrillator) that we now have on site at MIMA!  We have a trainer who will come on site on January 31 to certify staff and any additional member who is interested obtaining CPR and AED certification.  This is great for teens who may babysit during the summer, and also for any adult who is interested in learning or updating these important skills.  We will have 8 spots available for training, and the cost is $55/person which is payable on the day of training to our on site trainer.  Training will be Saturday Jan 31 from 12-3 at MIMA.  A sign up sheet will be available for those who are interested, and the training will only be available for the first 8 people who sign up.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact CGN (Dr) Jen Mills.  Thank you!

My final two heroes are my Mom and my Dad.  As routine as it may seem for a person to say that their parents are their heroes, I don't think there is anything average about my parents.

 

I admire my Dad for his strong work ethic, his desire to help others, his teachings to me that all people are equal and that I should never 'judge a book by it's cover'.  I admire him for turning his health around late in his life after a cancer diagnosis--for doing what most people never do and working hard to change his diet, start to exercise, and finally (better late than never!) quitting smoking.  

 

I admire my Mom equally for her work ethic, for dedicating herself to my brother and I when we were young, and then working her way back into the work force when we were older.  She is truly dedicated to her teaching and manages to smile even when her work is tough.  She is kind, caring, always thinking of others, and one of the most dear and loving people that I know.  

I am proud to call them my parents, and am grateful to them for giving me a good example of what it means to be a great parent.  

I sat recently at a small group at work for a focused discussion on the practice of mindfulness.

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way
-on purpose
-in the present moment
-nonjudgementally
-as if your life depended on it.”

I realize that martial arts is one of my 'mindfulness practices'. When I am working on forms, learning new techniques, or kicking boards, my mind is paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and with no judgements to myself or others. It's one of the unexpected and unique things about the practice of Tae Kwon Do that I didn't expect when I started. I would say that the feeling of having a focused mind, body, and spirit is something that doesn't come easy or naturally, but has improved in me over the years with the practice of Tae Kwon Do, and I can only imagine becoming more fulfilling with time. If someone would have told me when I started marital arts that I would feel this way about it after a few years, I probably wouldn't have believed it. At the beginning I was so worried about how to kick, where to turn, which move comes next. I still worry about that, and I think that feeling of being a new learner never completely goes away. But as time has progressed, I have found myself in that clear minded, focused, purposeful, and nonjudgmental moment often. And it is refreshing. Studies show mindfulness practices reduce stress, anxiety, pain and job burnout. It's a skill that requires ongoing patience and practice, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to practice it at MIMA.

I have what can be a very exhausting job. I spend much of my time as a palliative medicine physician helping the sickest patients cope with their illnesses, support their families through their illness, and balance the delicate line between hope and reality. I see a lot of patients transition though the last days of their lives. I see reconciliations, lives well lived, peace; I also see mourning of lost time, regrets of things not done, and fear of the unknown. All of these things give me perspective, they reward me, they are at the core of why I went in to medicine. But these things also leave me tired, and constantly working to strike balances in my own life.

This is where martial arts comes in. I started martial arts training because I thought participating would be more fun than just watching while Kaleb was in class. It was really for no other better thought out reason. What I couldn't have known when I started was just how much this would become part of keeping me whole. The physical exertion is challenging, and it is an amazing release of the stressors of the day. The ability to focus my mind, to focus my body, and to do so in an environment that is fun and rewarding has become vital to restoring me during the week. All of this, AND an environment that I get to share with my son and that supports the values that I hold dear. The best medicine for my week is martial arts....maybe you need a prescription for it too! =)