Saturday, November 13, 2010

Puppet or Puppeteer?

My TCC practice was performed under cover of darkness this morning (5:00 am). I essentially hopped out of bed and slipped into Resting Position. My only concession to the darkness was to turn on a small table lamp behind me. That tiny bit of light helped me keep my balance and allowed me to watch the reflection of my movements in the dark window.

It was early-morning still. All other living beings in my house were in bed, breathing softly. Gathered round me in the morning darkness were: the sound of the wind roaring and howling and the rowdy input of my thoughts, tumbling and carousing.

It always feels good to be the first one up in the morning. It's a sacred, hallowed time. In the still silence I'm alone with my thoughts and desires and all else is motionless. It's an easier time, too, for me to drift into meditation and silence. All of the distractions and diversions of the day have not yet been set into motion. It's up to me to do or not do or ... to simply be.

After my TCC practice I sat quietly in a chair for 15 minutes simply soaking up the silence and quiet presence of unity? harmony? god? peace? Whatever it was, it felt good.

I followed my practice with a reading from Back to Beginnings: Reflections on the Tao by Huanchu Daoren (p. 137):
Human life is like a puppet. Just keep the root and stem in hand, so that not a single string gets tangled up, and you can reel in and reel out freely, action and response being up to you, not subject to the slightest control by anyone else. Then you transcend this stage play.
What a perfect description of t'ai chi chih practice! We begin by acknowledging our rootedness to the earth (root) and our suspension from above (stem). Then we "reel in and reel out freely" through our T'ai Chi Chih movements. It's true, I think, that when we engage ourselves--body, mind, and spirit--in our TCC practice, we have the ability to transcend and transform our lives and our selves.

If we imagine ourselves being held or craddled by Heaven and Earth, and then recognize that our ability to move, take action, and make decisions lies within us (i.e., action and response being up to you), we have the ability to be our own puppeteer. Then we can truly reimagine this "stage play" we call life.

No comments: