Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Tao of Pooh

It's been a long, busy day in the neighborhood. First up this morning I made a vet appointment for our--now--three-legged dog, Namaste. His lifelong hip problems have escalated to the point where Namaste is often in pain and it's hard for me to watch our little bugger hopping around on three feet. We'll see what the vet says Friday morning....

Today I practiced T'ai Chi Chih before I left for work. For whatever reason, it felt difficult to focus my attention on my practice but, as usual, practice time sped by. It was helpful to me that I practiced before work since I had a bit of a run-in with one of our patrons over cell phone use in the library. Although we have signs posted by every entrance to the library: "No Cell Phone Use in the Library," it's surprising to note how many people disregard this request entirely.

Often the cell phone offender is working at a computer with other patrons sitting at a computer right beside them (which was the case today). Typically, when a librarian goes and specifically asks the patron to move their conversation to the entrance, they comply. Not so today.

It was interesting for me to notice how quickly a situation can turn into a power struggle. Since this patron ignored my request I simply made it clear to the patron before s/he left the building that, even though there weren't many patrons in the library at the time, it still disturbed me to listen to someone's private conversation. Then I let it go.

That, I think, is a lesson from the Tao. Be strong enough to know and state your truth and then, be satisfied that that's all you need to do.

No T'ai Chi Chih classes this week due to Thanksgiving. I'm excited to have an open evening and morning to prepare food for Thanksgiving, work on firewood collection, and continue my editing project. Obviously, I'm not at a loss for projects to fill those extra hours.

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