For some people the cost of living seems to be inordinately high. When you look at them, it’s as if they’ve paid out a pound of flesh each and every payday for quite some time. Other people, although they might appear to be advancing in age, don’t seem the least bit phased by the passage of time.
What I’ve noticed watching people over the years is that attitude seems to be the most important factor. I’ve seen people who smoked, drank and ate fatty foods who could keep up with someone half their age. I’ve also seem people who never smoked, wouldn’t think of imbibing, and ate only the healthiest of foods almost all the time, who couldn’t keep up with the average person, 10 years their senior. The healthier the person it seems, better the overall attitude, and the more they laughed… at everything.
I know you’ve heard me say this before, but it’s the same attitude I find in people who stick with tai chi. They can laugh at themselves and the longer they stick with tai chi, the better their attitude and the younger they seem to be. They move with more grace and that grace seems to seep into their attitudes. Now I’m not saying, “study tai chi and one day you’ll magically be transformed into a happy person”, but tai chi does influence people over time.
I recently saw the “The New Karate Kid” and I could see the influence of attitude in the characters as well. The bad teacher, with an attitude I never once witnessed in China, looked older than his years. The teacher who lost his way also looked old and worn down, yet as he came back into the world of the living using kungfu, he became more youthful. He remembered what life was really about and kungfu helped him recover. Kungfu and tai chi are sister arts by the way. Even the “bad kid” looked older to me than the other kids. My observation has been that older people with this type of attitude seem to have to really work at staying in shape and wear their bodies out at an early age. That’s a high cost for living life.
So what am I really getting at here? Even though I doubt anyone reading this post is this extreme, if you’re feeling worn down and older than your years, give tai chi a try and let it give you back some of the life you’ve been paying out. Tai chi slows you down and it paradoxically teaches you to move faster than you ever thought possible. It refills your chi reservoir and makes it easier to have a better attitude. After all the better we feel physically, the better our mental state naturally becomes.
I think it’s important to remember the alternative to growing old is dying, so you may as well enjoy the process… no matter what your age. Today I leave you with the profound wisdom of a deceased humorist.
“I haven’t heard of anybody who wants to stop living on account of the cost.” ~ Kin Hubbard
Your thoughts?
John
Leave A Reply (5 comments So Far)
The comments are closed.
Shang Lee (14 comments)
569 days ago
Unfortunately, tai chi still has an “old” stigma. may feel more worn down and old when being asked to do tai chi. need to get past that stigma first before realising it can make people feel young again.
John Crewdson (479 comments)
568 days ago
Shang Lee,
I know exactly what you mean. Master Cui, and now my teacher as well, are looking at new ways to make tai chi more interesting for “young ‘uns”.
I like the concept. It’s kind of altering it a little to make it more fun and then helping them to realize that if they want the real thing they have to learn the traditional movements. Although the flashy stuff looks fun, the true power isn’t there until they learn to slow down and work with the body mechanics of real tai chi.
John
Sheldon (75 comments)
562 days ago
Hi John,
Well I’ve started at the new school and am enjoying it, one thing that surprised, or not really surprised me really, is that over half the class are young, besides the masters children, there are about ten or more of us around or under the age of thirty… and yes everyone there has youthful attitudes.
I kind of think of it like this, if I start Taichi young, I can take advantage of compound interest on my studies, ie a little bit tucked away each week over time grows exponentially, so by the time i am more advanced in my years, in theory, my Taichi/health should be that much better… right?
Also I am obsessed! LOL
John Crewdson (479 comments)
561 days ago
Sheldon,
I like the way you think. I’d also like to talk with you some about your school. Tai chi schools usually don’t have very many young students so it would be interesting to hear what your school does differently.
Obsession can be a good thing.
John