Musings on the Future of TCC

Since the 50th Anniversary T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) Teacher Conference this summer in Albuquerque, I’ve been visited by recurring thoughts about the future of the TCC community. It was so nice to see people — in person — after five years of either no conference or Zoom conferences. The simple act of spending time with others without a screen between us was deeply appreciated and cherished more than ever.

And yet, it was the first time I was struck by the “maturing” of the community. I’ve always heard whispers down the lane about our group being rather homogeneous and at least middle-aged, but this year felt different. Was it the five-year gap of not seeing folks in person? Was it the absence of friends who were unable to attend due to caretaking others or having an illness themselves? Was it the usage of adaptive equipment by community members? Was it the seeming paucity of younger teachers?

To be honest, I seriously questioned if this community would grow and thrive and even went into thoughts of “We friggin’ need to do something!” But what?

There was some discussion about this on the last morning at the conference and it was nice to see and hear the community come together with ideas after sharing similar concerns.

As some time has passed, I’m feeling more trusting of the process. When I react emotionally, I am in the mind and generally not grounded. When I respond from a place of detached stillness (often from the soles of the feet or the tan t’ien), the quality of thoughts changes and listening becomes more attuned.

Prajna occurs in the moment. We are all part of the Cosmic Rhythm. And there is only one thing going on. I trust we each will be inspired and act when we are guided as the next fifty years unfold.