Balance
- Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance .

This article's title is a partial quote of Thomas Merton (1915 ~ 1968), a Trappist monk who was a major contributor to modern Roman Catholic thought. The full quotation is as follows: "Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."

Did you ever feel like a tightrope walker trying to keep your balance as you follow your life path? Pope John Paul II describes the feeling: "Man always travels along precipices. His truest obligation is to keep his balance." You see, we take on many roles in life, each of which allows us to express a different dimension of our being. It is these separate roles that need to be balanced. Here are some examples. If you are doing well in your career, but your family is complaining that you're not spending enough time with them, your life needs balancing. If it is not only your career, but also your body size that is ballooning, your lifestyle needs balancing. Finally, if you get to prove your skill in chess, bridge, or mahjong every night, but have no time to fix the leaky faucet, mow the lawn, or clean the garage - your life needs balancing.

There are two main ways to balance life. Since life coexists with time, the first way to balance life is to balance time. To learn how to develop your time management skills, there is no finer book than "The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life management" by Hyrum W. Smith (Warner Books, 1994). The second way to balance life is by balancing our attitude, perspective, or worldview. And we do that by avoiding extremes and taking the middle path. For instance, extreme political views, whether to the right or left, are divisive, but moderate or centrist views are unifying.

Three Self-Defense Basics
Every Child (and Parent) Should Know



When it comes to self-defense, the best weapon is your ...... head. Yes, the head is the best weapon for personal protection because that's where we store all of the rules and knowledge we use to avoid putting ourselves in harm's way. For a child to be able to remember the basic safety rules that keep them safe and secure they need to be reminded and reminded regularly.
That's the spirit of our newsletter's message this month. Allow us give you a reminder of three basic selfdefense concepts that go a long way in helping your child (and you!) to stay safe.

1. THE CAR RULE.
A child should never, ever go with or get in a car with anyone, unless they have their parent's direct permission.

2. STICK WITH THE ADULTS.
Children are safest outside of the home when they're with responsible, observant adults. The "buddy system," (when a child is with a sister, brother or playmate) won't keep a child safe and shouldn't be relied on by parents and caretakers. There are many instances of abductions and other crimes happening when children are with a "buddy."

3. INSTINCTS MATTER!
With personal protection and self-defense, follow your instincts. Children and their parents should be taught to recognize, trust and follow their gut instincts. If a situation or person makes you or your child uneasy, if something, ANYTHING, doesn't "feel" right, believe in your feelings and act on them.

Most people a child will come in contact with are kind, safe to interact with and mean them no harm; but with self-defense in mind, it's best to have a philosophy of "expect the best, prepare for the worst." It's our mission to help you.

"SUPER LEAN"
by Tom Venuto

Fat loss is the name of the game today!

I've got an excerpt from one of two teleseminars about getting "super lean" done by fat-loss expert Tom Venuto. If you're not familiar with him, Tom's a pro at helping people achieve great results in fat loss, even below 10% bodyfat !

This particular excerpt is about fat loss plateaus - why they REALLY happen and what you can do to plow right through 'em.

Breaking through plateaus is a challenge, but there are DEFINITELY things you can do to get through... read on and see what Tom says about it. I think you'll get a lot out of the info...

EXCERPT FROM "SUPER LEAN"

QUESTION:
"Our first question says, "Tom, I know you often say that to get to the point to be able to see your abs, you need to get to single-digit body fat. What if I hit a plateau at about 12% body fat? What do I need to do to break the plateau and get my fat% down to single digits? Should I do more cardio, more weight-training, manipulate my diet somehow?"

ANSWER:

We'd like to remind everyone that this month's belt exam will be Saturday - 29 March 2008

Please review the testing schedule, exam roster, and upcoming events to see how it may affect you by visiting our website
@ http://www.athensmartialarts.net and clicking on the "Student Corner" icon.