Author: Jason Zerbey

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Transformation

The impact of jiu-jitsu on our lives would be impossible to capture in three minutes, but Elevated Studios and Salvatore Productions did an amazing job in expressing how much the discipline can change someone.

In this promotional video, my elder son, Westen, plays a shy kid who has the typical jiu-jitsu experience of getting dominated for an uncomfortable amount of time. Through co-owner/lead instructor Stephen Plyler’s encouragement and the boy’s hard work, the kid grows into a strong, confident practioner.

Elevated has been our jiu-jitsu home for as long as we’ve been home educating, almost seven years. I began training last year and it is thrilling to have my son play the role of guide for me. He has grown into a mentor on the mat and a focused fighter in competition.

Our journey still feels near the start. Westen will be in the adult program with me next year and I will likely start competing alongside him.

If you have any interest in improving your life or the life of your child, take a look at Elevated Studios.

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Celebrating a Creator

James Greatorex is one fine creator. I met him on the soccer field and he quickly became my sons’ favorite player to trade comic book banter with…check that, he is their favorite HUMAN with which to commiserate on all illustrated narrative matters.

I’ve loosely followed the creation of his own title and I was totally excited to see that it hit the streets today!

Purchasing details have yet to be revealed, but I promise to share links and info here (heck, I’ll deliver you a copy if that’s what it takes) soon.

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Stand Up for Children

This mom is standing up for her children:

Letter to the Editor: U-CF board avoiding parents

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on September 17th, 2021

After the August school board meeting, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District board members decided to retreat to a virtual format in order to avoid having to face parents who could not be trusted to act with “civility” and, in the words of Board President Jeff Hellrung, because there was a controversial topic “likely to spark even more parent anger than masks” on the September agenda.

There were other reasons given, such as fear of Covid spread and “fears for their safety” due to the behavior of parents in other districts (the worst thing they could say about our parents were that one parent “refused” to stick to his three-minute time limit, and they were interrupted in their business by some heckling which they shouldn’t have to tolerate).

Clearly, at this point, there is no legitimacy to their “fears of safety,” and it was clear that the primary reason they retreated to a virtual format was to avoid having to deal with or be interrupted by angry parents as they conducted their business.

I’ve engaged in a lengthy email exchange with Mr. Hellrung, at first inquiring why the board changed the September format to virtual, then informing him of his legal and moral obligations under the state Sunshine Act to the parents of UCFSD to allow them to attend and face the board in person. But I have been stonewalled.

Although at the current moment, the October board meeting is still scheduled to be held in the auditorium, Mr. Hellrung has made it clear they reserve the right to move any meetings to a virtual format, so clearly, we cannot trust that the October meeting and others on the future docket will not be moved to virtual as well.

Lori Peters
Birmingham Township

The following was my response:

Rules for thee, not for me.

The Board is clearly willing to break the law in order to protect itself. Is there no law enforcement official willing to stand up to protect the rights of children and parents?

The lack of transparency and backbone in these politicians may be criminal.

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Monsters and Heroes

Carl Jung wrote, “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”

It’s the blessing of the suffering that is irrevocably wound up with existence. Within hours of feeling the hopelessness of a dying wife, I accepted our fate and was gifted with an experience of pure love. In those hours my life stretched between Heaven and Hell.

The monster Fear and the hero Love.

My life is filled with Love and Joy. Yet, it’s hard to see beyond the Fear and Anxiety in the world.

It was like this when I was ten years old. I was happy and full of imagination, but that imagination carried me into an empathic place that exposed me to the darkness of the world. I couldn’t handle it then, I shut myself off for protection.

I’m learning to handle it now. Widowhood cut my life in half, half living and half dead. That chasm eventually splintered all the pieces of my mind. In rebuilding, I began to integrate the light and dark fragments. Joy and Guilt rested side-by-side. Love and Pain got cozy. Excitement and Anxiety coupled.

It’s ongoing. The more Joy and Love enter my life, the more monsters I can see.

It’s all so messy and frought with human folly, but I’m accessing those dark parts of me to be a light to others. Paradox is in all of us.

Header quote from this post:
http://delawaredad.com/2019/12/28/duality-and-divinity/

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Texit

In this episode of The Tom Woods Show, Woods talks to Daniel Miller of the Texas Nationalist Movement.

There’s a lot to learn here about how the United States of American have grown and may now be too big for the modern world.

Disclosure: The link below is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.