Outdoor TCC Practices: The Why and What For

Saturday, July 7, 2012:

Today was a busier than busy day. I got up early to help Frances prepare for the Farmers Market and then opened the Bayfield Library and spent the day working there. After work I drove home to visit with Frances and an out-of-town friend who arrived to help us learn how to post items for sale on Craig's List and e-Bay.

Whew! T'ai Chi Chih practice was reserved for ten brief minutes before I tumbled, exhausted, into bed. But even those ten minutes made a difference as I felt my body relax and gently release stored tension from this too-rushed day.

Sunday, July 8, 2012:

Ahhhh. Today I'm allowing myself time to reestablish balance in my life. I'm staying home (alone this morning), resting, napping, reading, relaxing, doing T'ai Chi Chih practice, and simply be-ing. It feels great! I truly don't know how people can spend day-after-day in rush-around mode. I can't do it. After several days I feel my energy flag and, often, my body starts to feel ill. I absolutely crave the be-ing along with the do-ing.

Today's TCC practice outside with the dog and goose was wonderful (as usual!). I watched the sunlight dance with the shade, listened to the hummingbird buzz around her feeder, and felt the gentle touch of breeze on skin.

It reminded me of a passage in the book I finished this morning, "Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie." The author, Beth Howard writes:

     "For as much as making pie soothes my soul, I find my greatest solace in nature. Just as the Grand Canyon gave me that feeling of peace about the meaning of life, when I am walking in the soybean field, the world just seems to make more sense. My rubber farm boots firmly connecting with the ground, the views of the fields all the way to the horizon, flocks of geese flying overhead, the sound of nothing but prairie grass rustling in the wind, the cool air and sun on my face, breathing in the earthy scent of wet hay and moist soil--my surroundings serve as a spiritual connective tissue. Pie connects me with people, but nature connects me with God and with myself."

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons I do as many of my TCC practices outdoors as possible....