The Lighter Side (January 2004)

I teach high school special needs students. As part of the curriculum twice a week we learn and practice the T’ai Chi Chih moves. One of the students, Andy, has been intent on learning how to do the moves correctly. During the beginning of one of the sessions he was having some difficulty and said, “I’m having trouble keeping my balance.” Before I could comment, Amanda, who is acutely aware of what I say during our lessons, said confidently, “Andy you must be thinking of something else. You are not focusing your attention on the balls of your feet.” All I could do was nod and smile.

– Margery Erickson
Hanover, PA

* * *

When I saw the upcoming teacher training in Chicago (Sept. 03) listed in the VFJ, it definitely got my attention. Hmm, I thought, this would be a good training to audit. Led by Ed, hosted by Donna, a chance to visit a city I’ve never been to…well, it sure sounded like a plan. To go, or not to go, that was the question. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make up my mind. I felt overwhelmed with the details involved, I worried about finding enough money, and I was also concerned with who my roommate might be. My inner tug of war started. One end of the rope…yes, I’m going. The other end of the rope…no, I’m not. I was getting very frustrated and making myself nuts! (For those of you who know me, no comment)

Finally, I asked for a “sign” that could help me decide what to do. I was tired of trying to figure it all out. Of course when I finally let go of the rope and surrendered, I got my sign.

Before leaving for TCC class, I was putting my music CD in my carry-bag, when I noticed another smaller bag tucked inside. I’ve been carrying this smaller bag around for years, but I had never really taken a good look at it. But this day, for some reason, I had a strong intuition to take a closer look at this bag. And to my surprise, bold blue letters spelled out City of Chicago. Ah yes, that intelligent chi! Needless to say, my decision was made.

PS. I somehow managed to find the money, it turned out to be the last teacher’s training taught by Ed, and I had two great roommates. (Wendy Howard & Athene Mantle)

– Sharon Sirkis
Columbia, MD

* * *

Marcus has been in the D-home for quite a while now. He’s, well… let’s just say he has no impulse control, but he has a quality about him that tells me he could go far some day if he can ever get out of the vicious cycle of the corrections system. He asked about the Six Healing Sounds, so I explained about how monks who meditated in caves high in the mountains, far from HMOs or Medicaid, used sounds that vibrated their internal organs so they wouldn’t get sick, or, if sick, recovered. “So, it’s kind of like blessing what’s inside,” he commented. The next week, another student, Dante, asked, “Hey, Miss, are we going to do that ‘Blessings Your Innards’ one today?”

– Kathy Grassel
Albuquerque, NM

* * *

Jo Therese said to her husband Tom, “I am going to T’ai Chi Chih practice and when I return I will prepare our lunch.”

“Fine,” said her husband.

When Jo returned from her T’ai Chi Chih session, her husband was already eating.

“Tom, why did you eat before I returned?” Jo said. “I said I would prepare something for lunch when class was over.”

“Oh! I thought you said you were going to ‘High Tea’ with the nuns and they would feed you.”

– Sr. Carletta LaCour, O.P.
Houston

* * *

My student Massako Young returned from Pam Towne’s T’ai Chi Chih retreat in San Diego with a big smile and a wondrous look on her face. She told our Kaiser TCC continuing class that at the start of the retreat Pam asked that everyone come as an empty cup and that at the end of the retreat Pam had hoped that everyone was going home with a full cup. Massako enthusiastically, if not a little breathlessly, shared with our class that she learned so much that she felt like she came home with “buckets and buckets full”!

– Athene Mantle
Hayward, CA

* * *

At the end of a holiday Open House practice, at the T’ai Chi Chih Center, a student turned to me and asked, “Is this a Parkinson’s Disease Support Group practice? So many people’s hands are shaking!”

– Ann Rutherford
Albuquerque, NM