Conference Committee Reflections

I think I speak for everyone on the committee when I say that it’s good to be on the other side of the 2019 T’ai Chi Chih conference. There’s a bit of mopping up to do, but it’s satisfying to be putting things back in order, storing equipment and filing reports. But when I think back…

A year ago, in April 2018, our small but mighty conference team clustered at base camp and pondered the heights we had to scale to mount the annual conference. Looking up, it seemed a long and a dizzying climb.

First, we yoked ourselves to a visionary theme, Return to the Circle. It served us well –something we could rally around. Next, we doled out assignments according to interest and ability. The best thing we did was link our ropes together, pulling one another up bit by bit and week by week. If anyone slipped, another committee scaler was there with a safety catch. No one fell, though we sometimes feared losing our footing. Our climb took 452 days, each step bringing us closer to the peak – the anticipation of welcoming our community to Minnesota. Were we exhausted? Yes. Were we thrilled? Yes. But the mountaintop had room enough for all to gather and embrace new learnings, old friends and reliable traditions.

We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this year’s conference! Part of the exhilaration was in knowing that individual expeditions were in capable hands, whether it was the auction/raffle excursion, or the registration trip or the accommodations/meals journey. We scrambled with a dedicated pace, one foot after another finding toeholds, until we met at the top on June 27, 2019 – huge smiles on our faces. Thank you to everyone who gave us a boost here and there, or an encouraging word or a helping hand. You are what made the annual conference a success. Thank you for joining us atop the mountain.

Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.

Let this be our song: no one stands alone.

Standing side by side, draw the circle, draw the circle wide.

— from the Friday night concert, “Draw the Circle Wide” – Gordon Light (2008)