I Wanted What He Had

A long time ago, I saw Justin Stone from across the room demonstrating a T’ai Chi Chih movement at a local bookstore.My toddler had wandered into the store and was running amok. A sizable crowd was seated and standing, watching him discuss and demonstrate something I had never seen. From 20 feet away, he made a strong impact on me.

I will never forget that moment. I was so amazed by his presence that I let my daughter wander through the bookstore unsupervised, for a long time. But I could not take my eyes off him. I have no apt language to describe what I saw and felt, even now. But I knew at that moment he had something that I didn’t. And I wanted it too. I mentioned to my friend that one day I was going to learn about what he was teaching. I didn’t know who he was, but I did know that he was very special and when I looked at him, I felt calm and peaceful and confident. I looked at the seated crowd and thought: these people look interesting. I liked the way they looked, probably because they were so grounded. (I only know that now.) I became busy in other areas of my life and never followed up.

A decade later I started having horrible back pain and my daily yoga practice was not helping. I thought, what is gentler than yoga? T’ai Chi. So, I googled T’ai Chi Albuquerque and after seeing many images, mostly of a martial arts nature, I came across Justin’s face. I immediately recognized him and looked for more information. From the TCC website, I picked the first teacher name that appealed to me: Carmen Brocklehurst. I called and she answered, “How may I help, dear?” What a gift. Carmen has been my teacher ever since, for the last five years, and I became accredited at the Albuquerque center in November 2018. I feel so thankful to have seen Justin that day. Even though I never spoke with him, he taught me so much (just by his strong presence) and he continues to do so. Thanks for being, Justin.