T'ai Chi Chih Fertilizer = Growth

After teaching two back-to-back T'ai Chi Chih classes tonight the bottoms of my feet hurt! And, in the middle of my first class, my knee started to give out. Still, despite my physical dis-abilities my mind and spirit feel energized, calm, and light (with regard to both weight and color).

One student brought a favorite Tao te Ching reading to advanced class (Verse 56). It states, in part:

Who knows
doesn't talk.
Who talks
doesn't know....

Then you can't be controlled by love
or by rejection.
You can't be controlled by profit
or by loss.
You can't be controlled by praise
or by humiliation.
Then you have honor under heaven.

This student was quick to add that you can't be controlled by profit or by loss ... or by politicians. Given the current state of our local, state, and national politics, that's a comforting thought.

We had a lively and funny discussion after our advanced class practice as we played with refining movements. One student who just started taking a yoga class said that his teacher told the class, "The grass grows by itself." He asked: Could that be Taoist philosophy? It could.

Another student piped up: It sounds like kids. And ... it sounds like all of us, young and old. T'ai Chi Chih practice can be the fertilizer that stimulates our growth. If we absorb the light that shines upon and within us, we'll undoubtedly grow into a healthy, hearty garden.