Deeds Of Kindness

The last T’ai Chi Chih class of the year at Rossmoor, a retirement community of 10,000+, has an end-of-year celebration. We combine the beginning class and continuing class and enjoy a large group practice. We then gather to share food and chat. Also, at this time, donations are gathered from anyone who would like to contribute to the Rossmoor Fund, a non-profit foundation that provides assistance to residents in need. It’s gratifying to show support from our TCC Club to those in need, to concretely manifest the spirit of our TCC community/class.

Doing TCC affects practitioners in ways far beyond the physical. It opens hearts, it draws us outside of ourselves, it softens our attitudes and judgements, it builds confidence enabling us to reach out to others, it helps us feel a deeper connection to the physical world and those around us.

All those who practice TCC are a part of the TCC community, whether teacher or student. It is a community that is spread across the US, Canada and other countries around the world.

Because we are strictly a volunteer community, our contributions of time and energy support and connect each other through websites, newsletters, Facebook pages, workshops, retreats, conferences and making available teaching materials.

But what about the greater community we each live in, the community we are all a part of—humanity. If TCC truly does move us toward a greater appreciation and awareness of our world how do we reflect that? Rather than saying TCC is good for you, how do we live that? How can our smaller TCC community support the larger community we are all part of? Do we have a responsibility to do so?

Without a teacher conference this year it seems a golden opportunity to put that energy (whether attending or facilitating) into supporting our local communities. It can be a simple one-time event, not necessarily a long-time commitment. It would serve as a great advertisement for TCC, especially if everyone wore a TCC t-shirt.

Here are a few ideas:

• Many cities have tree planting or activities on Arbor Day or Earth Day.

• Clean up a local beach, lakefront, section of river.

• Ask a local senior center if there is a job that needs doing such as reorganizing or tiding up their lending library.

• Volunteer to entertain one afternoon at a skilled nursing facility.

• Help out at a food bank.

Justin felt the practice of TCC developed or opened up our creative abilities—be creative. People do TCC because it works, because they receive some benefit from the practice. Receiving leads to giving.

This year the TCC Foundation is giving three grants of $200 each to TCC teachers. Its purpose is to increase awareness of TCC through demonstration, information and/or experience. The grant cannot be used to produce materials that monetarily benefit the recipient. The grant should not solely benefit the teacher, such as increasing their classes. The grant application form is found on TCCcommunity.net under resources.

Past grant projects are varied. Teacher Sr. Christa Thompson used a grant to produce a DVD showing TCC being taught to children, grades one through six, with interviews of the children, their teachers and the principle. A copy was shared with TCC teachers who attended the 2018 conference. It will be a great visual aid for TCC teachers starting TCC classes in schools. Another grant helped purchase a banner and informational handouts for a health fair.

I encourage teachers to think globally and act locally. Let your experience, desire, creativity, love, joy and passion express itself, whether through a grant project or helping out with a community need. Give your students an opportunity to participate.

May we create new opportunities this year that allow us to share and give. In doing so what we receive in return is precious. Let the spirit of the practice of TCC manifest concretely through deeds of kindness.

Pyramid Poems

How does Rocking Motion change the way you feel about life?

flow

timeless

effortless

let go grounded

life reflects

inside

joy

~~ M.R.

how

do I

say what is

true when all I

feel is the

depth of

shhhh

strong

feeling

of what is

inside showing

how to flow

being

one

~~ Caroline Guilott

open

sharing

connected

experience 

walking hand 

and hand

home 

~~ J K Veerkamp

slow

let go

relaxing

even more so

feeling the

life force

flow

~~ Anonymous