From Caterpillars to Butterflies: Teacher Training, November 2004

At some point during the Teacher Training Week of November 15-20, 2004 in Albuquerque, I had a thought about asking each teacher candidate to sum up the week in one word. Hosting duties overtook the thought, and the thought passed, as did the week, but what a week it was!

Looking back at the Teacher Training Week from the perspective of eight days past, the word that I would use to describe what I witnessed was prepared. Seventeen teacher candidates came together from eight states and one Canadian province, and while for the most part they were strangers, it was apparent that each one had “made ready.” Certainly there were fine points of the T’ai Chi Chih movements to be tuned up, but the 17 candidates all moved well, and by the end of the second day there was a palpable shift in their collective energy. Gone was the rush, or the lag, of individual movement, replaced instead by the soft swoosh of togetherness. When Wednesday arrived and they began their presentations, it was obvious that each candidate was once again, prepared. Even those who professed to have readied their material the night before, or even the morning of their afternoon presentation, were ready to tell their story. And what stories they told! Some candidates simply stood quietly before us and told us their story, while other candidates strode confidently from one side of the “stage” to the other. Other candidates employed metaphors to get their point across, and yet another candidate used beautiful roses to demonstrate her blooming.

Regardless of whether the presentation was presented quietly, confidently, or metaphorically, each presentation was based on gratitude. Gratitude to Justin for bringing T’ai Chi Chih into the world; gratitude for their individual practice and how it had impacted each of their lives, and gratitude to their many teachers for their efforts in preparing them for their training.

What other word might describe the week? I heard Justin say several times that this class was the most cohesive class that he had ever seen. He was correct, they came together quickly, embracing one another in laughter and in tears, especially applauding and praising the most nervous among them. I am not usually given to eavesdropping, however, it was all but impossible to not hear the laughter and chatter emanating from the back room at the T’ai Chi Chih Center on Friday where most of the Teacher Candidates had gathered for lunch. Joy filled that room and bubbled out into the main room where I was sitting, and I am sure that had the front door been open, it would have bubbled right out for all the world to hear.

Finally, I believe the word that the Teacher Candidates would have used to describe themselves is metamorphosis. On Saturday before they received their certifications, they spoke of change, describing how they each had arrived at the training as tentative caterpillars, only to emerge as butterflies, replete with newly dried wings poised to take flight.

It was my privilege to watch that metamorphosis and to be witness to seventeen new T’ai Chi Chih butterflies as they fluttered away on a clear November day.