Libraries & Community

Author’s Note: In April, I sent a letter/story to our local library foundation and Board of Directors for National Library Giving Day. It was to help them understand the importance of programs they offer to adults and children in our community. This is a slightly edited version of that. Libraries are gathering places and can help foster community. For 3 ½ years, our library has given T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) a place to grow and thrive.

I would like to tell you a story. It is about the importance of libraries in creating community. Since childhood, I have valued libraries as treasured places to read, learn, use my imagination, do genealogical research, and connect with people. In January 2022, I saw a notice posted in our Regional Library for a weekly class, Tai Chi Chih (TCC), and decided to attend. At the first session, I met our teacher, Marie Dotts. She shared that the library was funding this opportunity.

As a person living with both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis for almost 20 years, I recognized that this might be both fun and beneficial to my health and well-being. I will not lie. During the first six months, I wondered if I would ever master nineteen movements and one pose. I spent the next six months realizing that muscle memory came from practice and that “mastery” was not the right goal, letting go was.

With practice, the movements released energy and a sense of well-being. I found balance —physical and emotional — and much less pain. My TCC practice changed the way I approached my walking program, resulting in more enjoyment and less effort. When I walk now, for cardio or meditation, I feel grounded; I have found my feet. It is not work; it is fun.

Little did I know that the changes I perceived in myself might be visible to others. About 18 months into my TCC practice, I was walking in my neighborhood when I noticed a car turning around and heading in my direction. A young lady stopped and rolled down her window and said, “I just wanted to tell you that you look like a person at peace with yourself and I wanted you to know that it made me feel good.” I barely had time to respond before she rolled up her window and drove away. I never saw that person again. Months later while walking and listening to music, a friend drove up by me, stopped, and rolled down her window. Her words were something like, “I want what you have.” She wondered about the music I was listening to, if that was why I looked so serene. At the time, all I could really say was that I was enjoying my walk and my playlist.

Since then, I have come to realize that TCC as a practice does change a person, certainly it has me. When I am bothered by something, I find my feet, breathe, and practice TCC. Letting go and living in gratitude is an uneven process, TCC has helped me understand and accept where I am and where I wish to be as a person.

This amazing opportunity the library has afforded me, and many other people, over three-plus years, has created a community and real sense of belonging. I am grateful to the library team who welcome us each week and provide space for our TCC community to connect. I consider our library a blessing for the many opportunities provided for all of us.