The Tai Chi Gardener
Jamee Culbertson, A tai chi friend of mine, recently made this posting on her Facebook account:
“Chuang Tzu asked us: Where would the gardener be if there were no more weeds?”
The 4th Century Chinese Philosopher makes a valid point about life in general that also applies to our tai chi practice. We need to practice regularly. When we don’t weeds sprout up. Hell, I can tell you from personal experience that they pot up even when you do practice regularly; they just don’t grow as big.
As humans we tend to forget things, lots of things. Our memories are fluid and ever changing. As time passes we color our memories according to what happens in our lives. Our bodies it seems, aren’t quite as susceptible as our minds. I believe our bodies record things more consistently than our minds. The thing is not everything the body records is accurate.
When our memories, mind or body, are off we end up with weeds in our forms. We need to become consummate gardeners, ever vigilant. Good teachers and accomplished masters have developed this skill and they use it to keep us in line. My senior training brother Michael refers to these weeds as a disease. Michael has coined the term SPD, or self-perception disorder.
SDP is nothing to worry about, only something to be aware of. When your master, your teacher, or even a fellow student points out something you’re doing wrong, don’t be too quick to dismiss them. They’re probably right. It’s easier to see flaws in someone else than to see them in ourselves.
Don’t spend much time thinking about SPD. Instead focus on what you’re doing right and SPD will be only a minor concern. Remember what we focus on we get more of. Be aware you might not always be correct, but spend most of your time thinking about what you’re doing right, or at least what you want to be doing right.
Your thoughts?
John
P.S. I found this pic on GardeningAfterFive.Wordpress.com. If you’re a gardener you might like this blog: http://gardeningafterfive.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/victory-over-flea-beetles-and-weeds/
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