Old Is New

A friend forwarded a text from a friend of hers. They had been texting about the high blood pressure that my friend was experiencing. Her friend had also experienced high blood pressure and was recommending T’ai Chi Chih (TCC). Her friend did not know that my friend already knew about T’ai Chi Chih. However, my friend had not remembered the great benefits that come from doing TCC that I had told her about. We both had a good laugh and once again, I found myself extolling the virtues of TCC. How fortunate to share TCC with my friend again.

Many of you have probably had the same experience with friends and with TCC coming around, again, to do good in their world. It may feel as if that’s all that we talk about and we don’t want to bore our friends. But when someone is facing the possibility of a serious health situation, a stroke, or a heart attack, they could do with a friendly reminder. I once had a friend who said that it seemed as if I felt that TCC could solve most of life’s problems. That is true. A clear mind and a body without pain is a wonderful blessing.

If we stop to think of the last time we were without pain in our bodies, the answer seems simple: when we were doing a daily practice of TCC. Whatever may have diverted us from our practice may have seemed important at the time. But the bodily, mental, or emotional pains may indicate that it wasn’t a smart move to let go of our consistent practice.

I am preaching to the choir, but for our current friends and new people we are coming to know, it’s a new time of life, post-Covid. Our personal systems and our greater lives have had a reset. We have gotten older; some friends and perhaps relatives have passed away; technology is changing more quickly than we can keep up. TCC can help us; it begins by slowing down. But don’t we have to go faster to catch up? Sometimes the faster we do things, the more mistakes we make. Most of my friends are going through the same things I am. Today, let’s help each other. It is a good day to begin anew with our practice of TCC. It is a good day to sign up for the July teacher conference in Albuquerque, to return to love and share the Chi.