The Journey is the Gift
By Marie Dotts, Loveland, Colorado
When I started to contemplate this article, the phrase “The Journey is the Gift” kept coming up. As I let myself sit with that what arose was a beautiful image of a pearl. In Nature, the pearl is formed from an irritant within the oyster. Nature is an amazing teacher. Through the journey of the pearl, we are reminded how our inner beauty is cultivated through adversity and challenge.
We all come into this world with certain strengths. They are expressed in the areas we naturally gravitate towards. These areas come easily to us, and we feel joy in sharing them. We also come into this world with certain weaknesses. They are our challenges and point to the areas in our life we most need to grow and heal. Our T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) practice is like the oyster in that it will transform us if we are open to it. Through this transformation our weaknesses actually become what makes us most beautiful and precious.
One of my greatest challenges in my TCC practice has been my weight shifts, especially the forward and back. I always felt shaky and unstable which made me grip, creating a lot of tension in my lower body. I remember the first teacher conference I attended, which was a few months after my accreditation. I could barely walk up and down stairs because my legs were so sore from holding all that tension. I also remember being so relieved in my early years of teaching when I finally got to the side-to-side movements. My body would let out a sigh because it could finally let go of some of the tension and relax a little.
Our practice is really a mirror for our inner experience. Most of us, through our developmental years, get disconnected from our true center. It will manifest in people in different ways but in me it manifested as a deep lack of inner strength, confidence, and love. Without this inner support I was at the mercy of external support. This creates a very shaky and unstable relationship to life. There was always a lot of inner gripping and tension.
Through my practice I was guided to bring more and more awareness and understanding to my weight shifts. It led me to a deeper felt connection to my feet, legs, center, and alignment. In my weight shifts now and in my life, I feel a sense of deep core stability and strength along with a sense of joy and ease and a much greater flow of energy. This took years to unfold, and I know the journey is not over. Justin has shared that the depths of the practice may never be fully plumbed. I know I have not plumbed the full depths of the gifts of the weight shifts. I look forward to my continued journey with great joy.
Sharing what we have learned through working through challenges can be an even greater source of joy and fulfillment in our lives. There is nothing that gives me greater joy than helping students find their grounding and ease in their weight shifts, for I know firsthand how powerful and transformative they can be.
Each of our journeys is a gift. Through that journey we are cultivating our pearl, and it is truly precious. Each journey is unique and sharing the gifts of that journey is what we are here to do. By sharing the gifts of our journey, we touch others and help them grow and transform.
A string of pearls is often used as a metaphor in TCC to describe how all the joints of our body move in a coordinated, interconnected, and smooth manner allowing for a harmonious flow of Chi. This happens because our joints relax, let go, and surrender to the Chi flowing from the center of our body.
I feel this could also be a wonderful metaphor to describe the potential for our TCC community. Just as each unique pearl is precious, each one of us is precious. Communities can thrive when each person is appreciated and honored for who they are. They provide something to the community that no one else can because of who they are and because of their unique journey.
As we relax and just be the beauty that we are, the wisdom of the Chi will move and inspire each of us in ways that will bring the most benefit and joy to ourselves, our community, and ultimately to the world. As we come together as a community and move in a more inter-connected and harmonious way, there really is no limit to the potential of TCC in this world.
Thank you for your journey and being the pearl that you are. It is a gift.
