Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Calmness that Enters My Heart

I practiced TCC on the deck again today as I looked out on undulating hills and valleys of snow-covered Earth. The 50-degree temperatures loosened frozen piles of snow on the deck into tiny drips of water that seemed to bounce delightedly on the ground below.

My movements echoed back to me as I watched my shadow slip across a blue tarp draped over the tractor next to our deck. Occasionally I caught glimpses of shadow fingers and hands rising and falling across the purple-painted deck rails. The softness and slowness of these shadow movements--this dark reflection of myself--was relaxing ... comforting.

A light breeze tickled the back of my neck as I observed my shadow self. Near the end of practice I turned slightly into the wind and inhaled it, the air, fresh and gentle, the silence, deep.

I'm often surprised to discover how hard it is to quiet my Monkey Mind and how difficult it can be to give myself to my TCC practice. After I begin to move I'm incredibly grateful and humbled by the healing grace of these movements, the flow of Chi, the calmness that enters my heart....

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