PeaceWalker Blog

When “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was produced for television in 1965, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz had one specific, but important directive.  That the program be about something. Namely, he insisted, it be about the true spirit of Christmas. Otherwise, he said, “Why bother? Of course, as we know now, Schulz had his way. Mostly lighthearted and inspirational, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is punctuated by its infectious original music, a catchy song, and the now iconic symbol of recognition and hopefulness: a seemingly lifeless little tree. The highlight of the special , however, is a moving scene in which the Linus character, blanket in hand, stands on a spotlighted stage and explains the true meaning of Christmas. It includes a biblical passage from the  Book of Luke. Specifically,  Luke 2: 8-14. Linus recites: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of th

  Apparently, as a result of wrangling this years ample Christmas tree around, I threw out my back. :-( It didn't happen in the moment, it was a delayed effect.   Yep... I go to get out of bed yesterday morning and I could barely stand up straight or walk. I'll save you the details about getting my shoes on or going to the bathroom!  In times of pain or trouble I often find myself making jokes or laughing... And yesterday was no exception, even though it literally hurt to even chuckle.   Why So Serious?! Difficulty befalls us all. Our lives may be going along perfectly, and then out of the blue ...  WHAM!  ... life decides to test us. You are in the fast lane of life, cruising along at a pretty good clip, and lo and behold, a roadblock appears directly in your path. It wasn't there, and now it is. You have no time to react. Your previously wonderful life is suddenly not so wonderful. You might lose a loved one with no warning. The company you work for goes bankrupt, and ove

I know Halloween is long since over, but... It's not uncommon for martial arts   and   personal protection courses of all types to use advertising based on scare tactics.  Telling stories of crime, violence  and  conflict is a good way to motivate people to take a course or buy something security oriented, be it classes, guns, security systems, pepper spray, or the like.  We tend to gravitate toward the negative. You've probably heard the old marketing line,  "If it bleeds it leads..."  That's a sad  but  true statement. In the legal field it would be called ambulance chasing.  I just made an announcement a few weeks ago at the academy half joking about our Active Response Training Seminar. It seems many of the years in the past, when we run these seminars, some event occurs just before the seminar. It kinda makes it look like we are 'ambulance chasers.' When that's not really the case it all. Our events are scheduled out about a year in advance.  Unfo

  I'm sitting here by my fireplace, paying my bills, nibbling on my lunch (Amy's organic bean burrito), sipping on a Trilogy kombucha   and   writing to you (of course). All from the comfort of home. Which reminds me of a text I got this morning from a community member. They asked: "Where does my identity as a "provider" fit in? As a man, father, ex-husband  and  husband, I've got this need to provide... Is that separate from being a protector or part of it?" My Answer... "Being a Provider IS being a Protector. They are one in the same. Providing food, shelter  and  a healthy home is an essential part of being a protector of yourself  and  family." Yes , all of this PeaceWalker Protector stuff is not just about a collection of techniques to physically protect yourself. It's not just an approach to negotiate, de-escalate, influence  and  lead. It's not just a strategy to manage conflict more effectively... or a quick  and  simple way of