As I walk down the street I see a variety of people. Mostly those who take action and those who don’t… just realize I’m talking about action in the important areas of our lives. Almost all of us take action on some things, while very few of us take almost no action at all. We get up, we go to work, we wash our clothes, we cook and eat our meals, some of us even exercise our fingers as we punch the buttons on the remote control, but few of us take action in the areas that really matter.
Our pop culture often tells us that we either spend too much of our lives focused on money, or that we should spend most of our lives focused on money. Yes we need to make money to survive, or even to thrive. It’s an area that’s very important if we’re to live the lives we say we want. Let’s just agree for a moment that money’s important, and with that off the table we can move on to something else… equally important.
In case you didn’t see it coming, this is where I talk about how great tai chi is. Too many people work to the exclusion of nearly everything else, or work and play (indulge) hard without any thought given to the one thing that makes action possible, our bodies. I’ve never seen anything that works on nearly every part of our bodies and our minds in a way that tai chi does. It can combat years of self-abuse and inaction in a remarkably short time.
I often hear people say they just don’t have time for something like tai chi. Yet it seems if we become sick, we manage to find the time. Once we’re ill tai chi can help us heal. Just remember, it takes more time to heal than it does to maintain good health. I don’t always have the time to do an hour of tai chi practice myself, but I can always find 5 minute slots to fit in some practice. These little practices make a big difference for me, just as they can for you.
What does 5 minutes of tai chi look like? Well, sometimes it doesn’t even look like tai chi, it looks like chi kung. If all I have is a small space to work with I’ll stand with my legs bent – to work on leg strength and to relax my center – while I run through a form set without moving my legs. Other times I’ll do a chi kung style of walking that’s very relaxing and to me feels like a wonderful drug. This particular walking exercise was developed by a woman in China with terminal cancer who, by the way, lived more than 20 years past her “expiration date”. Today it’s practiced by other terminal cancer patients who are also, interestingly enough, finding themselves in remission. Once I get my video equipment and computer working reliably together again, I’ll share this with you.
If you catch yourself saying, “I don’t have time to exercise today”, take a few minutes and do a little tai chi. It’ll relax you and recharge your batteries. You’ll feel better and you’ll probably realize you had a little more time than you thought. You may even feel good enough that you’re motivated to turn off the news and do a little more tai chi. If you can’t manage that one, stand in front of the TV and do tai chi while watching the news. At least you’ll be relieving some of that stress you’re experiencing as you watch things that make you uptight. By the way, how much control to you have over those things that make you uptight? How would your life change if you just let go of them? Are the potential rewards worth the risk?
“There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” John F. Kennedy
Your thoughts?
John
P.S. I found this pic here: http://www.todoinstitute.org/library/public/facing_the_demons_of_inaction_morita_therapy_as_a_resource_for_moving_forward.php
Leave A Reply (4 comments So Far)
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walt (60 comments)
851 days ago
“In case you didn’t see it coming, this is where I talk about how great tai chi is.”
Who knew?
“This particular walking exercise was developed by a woman in China with terminal cancer…”
I’m guessing that you mean Guo Lin? I’ve read about her, but never seen her walking style. I’ll look forward to your video.
“…you’ll probably realize you had a little more time than you thought.”
Here’s a radical idea:
Some philosophers say that the reason we don’t have enough time for things is that we don’t tell ourselves the truth. It’s not so much a shortage of time, but rather, a tendency to not face squarely what’s true.
Good post, John!
David (38 comments)
845 days ago
Tai chi, balance in motion. The secrect is to balance money with life. My long time students go on vacation for two to six weeks It was always the same thing when they returned, “I forget the long form.” Did you practice everyday? “I did not have time to practice” or “there was no room at the hotel”. Three years ago I started to teach a yang style 8 Step Form. A three to four minute form that can be practiced beside the hotel bed. There is always time for tai chi.
David
John Crewdson (479 comments)
844 days ago
David,
Yes, just like Jello, there’s always time/room for tai chi.
John
Manuel Porras Brand (1 comments)
252 days ago
Since I want to use some of this, I wont copy it. I will just link back to the Post. Sound ok ?