There is much, oh so much, to consider concerning the Earth and what is happening to what we term "the environment".  Global warming, pollution, overpopulation, etc... it's a concern that has been with us and will be for some time.  Unfortunately, it has also become a political issue.  Unfortunate because typically, once something becomes political, people often quit thinking and defer to pre-arranged constructs that fit their overall politics.  An easier task than deep thinking on all issues, but a dangerous one at that.

Perhaps we are better off taking politics out of it all together and realizing our connection with the Earth.  We can no more separate ourselves from the environment than we can cut off our limbs and dispose of them.  A painful option.

Now the world's wisdom teachers and spiritual leaders are speaking out.  Perhaps we should consider what is being said:

Thich Nhat Hahn, Beyond the Environment

Amma, Our Responsibility to Our Mother

Richard Rohr, Creation as the Body of God

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Proper training, by nature, should be hard.  Practitioners should be challenged, as we only truly grow outside our comfort zones.  When teaching we need to know the student's limits and push them so that he/she exceeds them.  At the same time, we should ensure we don't push them too far so as to be counterproductive.  Indeed the same parameters hold for individual, personal training and partner training.  If one is fortunate enough to have training partners, all should work together to ensure everyone is challenged to the point of growth.  This is especially important in martial matters, where one's limit should nearly always be just out of reach.  Close enough, perhaps to sense or feel, but far enough away that extra effort, dragged up from the depths of one's soul is necessary.

Of course the above follows for individual training as well.  Of course we want to nurture ourselves.  But who is to say that hard training is not self- nurture?  I would argue very much that it is, and of the highest nature.  We should distinguish between discomfort, pain, and injury.  We should know our limits and push them.  We always want to avoid injury, but we need to discern the difference between discomfort and dangerous pain.  In many cases what we call pain is our body crying out because of a lack of conditioning.  Some discomfort is necessary for growth.  In short, we should always, always aim high.  If we train the right way with the right attitude, mastery is never an end goal but a part of the process, that is only found in endlessly searching for itself.

The key to training hard is training soft.  Stretching, warm-ups, and Qigong are necessary prerequisites for hard training, whether it be lifting weights, vinyasa, sparring, cardio, etc...  It is important to engage all the muscle groups, relieve stiffness, engage the energetic body, and warm up before turning up the steam.  Accordingly, it is important to do these practices at the end of a hard workout as well.  An intelligent cool-down with joint-opening exercises, stretching, and lying Qigong (Shavasana) will go along way and lead to a more holistic conditioning.

Just do it; do it often; but do it intelligently.