The Gift (February 2011)

The sunlight reflected off the fresh snow in our palm trees, sparkling playfully as the fronds rustled in the wind. What a nice gift. Metro Atlanta had not had a white Christmas since 1882 and when Chester Arthur was president. This was also a first for me. I paused to take in the beauty of the yin and yang composition of the palm trees and snow while “musing on the importance of practice.”

It was the morning after Christmas and, indeed, no one was stirring in our house except for my dog Bella. I looked forward to an unhurried and delicious T’ai Chi Chih practice in front of this palms. My senses began to fill with gratitude in recognition of my good fortune. Again I thought: what a delectable gift, the snow and the opportunity to practice TCC in such an enchanting environment.

Starting with Rocking Motion was like greeting an old friend. A smile came to my face as we recognized each other. It was like a warm soulful hug as the internal glow of Chi came out to play and my fingers began to flutter. My personal practice has reached a point where I am not thinking about the movements so much, but rather they mostly move on their own and I just flow with them. When thoughts come to mind, I watch them come and go. I don’t try to let them go; I just observe. If they are persistent, then a focus on some aspect of the movement and on gratitude usually returns the pleasure of “no thinking” awareness. What a gift – joy through movement. And I sense that it will only get more joyful as I continue my practice over time.

I am not sure when I began to fully appreciate this gift. It is not unlike the gift of music lessons. It takes commitment and practice before one can read the notes and have his or her fingers automatically respond to hit the right keys in the right rhythm. Only through practice does the joy of playing a piano fully present itself. Having a piano in your living room does not make you a pianist any more than having exercise equipment in your home makes you fit.

For me, the gift of joy through movement points to the importance of practice. Only then does TCC practice provide the gift. The gift will meet us like an old friend with a big hug, but we have to meet it half way, that is with continued practice. I found that it was easy to stay committed to practice once I built the friendship.