TCC or Tequilla Sunrise?

One of the things I love about Tai Chi Chih is that it’s portable. Wherever I travel, I have a way to welcome a new day in a new place, preferably outdoors. Periodically, I vacation in Key West, where, every early morning, I ride my rented bike over to the pier. If the tide is out, there are often a few great blue herons standing like sentinels, or moving sedately in the shallows. They remind me of TCC practitioners. Further down the beach great white herons rise into the air and resettle. As the light increases, shrimp boats pass by on their way into the harbor, their wing nets extended.

Before enjoying my Cuban caffe con leche and pan con queso, I practice the “joy through movement” of TCC. The first light comes much sooner in the Keys than in the north, and it spreads subtly outwards, long before the sun appears. Pastels soften a fading dark sky. As I proceed through the joyful movements, gulls hover on the wind next to me. A large brown pelican lands on the concrete barrier in front of me. I begin to wonder if these birds are drawn by TCC’s energy. (When I do TCC regularly, I feel a steady energy and a consistent sense of wellbeing.) Later, in Nebraska’s wintery cold, my teacher, Rita, agrees that yes, the birds were attracted by the energy. Other people are gathered on the pier – one woman lifts her arms as the sun comes up, and a group is gathered around a woman in a motorized wheelchair and opening champagne. The air is charged with the beginning of a new day.