Gratitude and Joy

As a newly accredited teacher, I want to thank the community for the wonderful process that has evolved for preparing potential teachers. I learned T’ai Chi Chih Joy thru Movement in an area of the country where I didn’t have access to many teachers or advanced classes. So I really appreciate the opportunity that the “Intensive” gave me to refine my practice and focus on improving my form. Because of that excellent preparation and the insights gained, I was better able to focus on the inner journey at the teacher’s training.

I feel like it is very important for us to maintain high standards among TCC teachers. Let me share a story. In my business life, I managed a busy information desk. Frequently, when associates were running low on maps or other information, they would quickly grab a copy from the information rack and run to the copy machine. The next time, they would make a copy of that copy. Later in the week, they would make a copy of the copy of the copy, and so on. Eventually the maps became fuzzy and distorted. Perhaps the first copy had a little smudge. The next would reproduce that smudge, and perhaps be a little off-center. The third generation of copies would have all the imperfections of the first two, and perhaps add a little streak of toner down one edge. Needless to say, within a few months the maps hardly resembled the “originals” I kept on file in the office. As a matter of fact the difference was so striking, that the associates quickly realized the value of taking the few extra steps to get the original when they needed to reproduce materials.

I think the same applies to teaching TCC Joy thru Movement. If we become too relaxed about the standards we hold for those who teach, eventually their idiosyncrasies show up in their students, who in turn add their own unique flourishes. Eventually the form could become, like the maps, a fuzzy distortion of the original. I really appreciate the commitment of all the teachers who wouldn’t let me settle for less. Many thanks to my teacher Linda Olney and to Amy Hackenberg for her coaching. I truly appreciate Sandy McAlister and Pam Towne for helping me integrate the movements into a whole. I will be forever grateful to Ed Altman for challenging me to discover the “so much more” inherent in the practice, and to Justin for making this remarkable journey possible. I look forward to a lifetime of learning and growing as a student and as a teacher.