A Peace that Passes Understanding

I prefaced tonight's class with my own private practice before students arrived. Our class meets on the third floor of the Cultural Center in Washburn which means I literally had a birds' eye view of Lake Superior. The sun came out in late afternoon after a dreary, overcast, looks-like-rain kind of day. The rain never arrived--though we desperately needed it--and the late day sunshine and warm-up felt good after the morning's grey coolness.

Class was, once again, special. (When isn't it?) We started with questions about various aspects of the form and the fundamentals of the movements and then segued into a super-slow, super-relaxed practice session. By the end my head was in a different place.

One student mentioned after class that he almost didn't come because he felt so scattered and distracted that he didn't think he'd be a very good student. I responded, Well, I almost didn't come either because I had a headache and didn't think I'd be a very good teacher. Frankly, I'm glad we both were there because I believe we both felt better in the end.

After all my years of teaching t'ai chi chih moving meditation I'm still astonished by the magic that settles over a room when my students and I move together in silence. It's a gift ... a blessing ... a peace that passes understanding....