Tai
Chi is like washing the dishes…
Language
really interests me. I’ve been thinking
lately about, of all things, dirty dishes.
The use of the word “dirty”.
Logically, these dishes are not dirty but they do need to be
cleaned. First the dish has a meal on
it. Then we eat. Then the dish is now dirty. But it’s not, really. Perhaps we use the word
dirty to motivate us to attend to the cleaning of the dishes sooner than
later. Nothing more annoying than dirty
dishes just lying around…
We
also react negatively to a body that needs a good shower or bath. We will even use the word dirty to describe
it. Mostly they are sweaty (the result
of metabolism and the accumulation of waste products) and the odor tells us
that this person needs to clean up. This
is more of a somatic or cultural reaction to our well honed sense of
cleanliness that most Americans have grown accustomed to. It is not the same in other cultures where an
odor is just an odor and a shower is a luxury.
How
does this relate to tai chi?
I
often see tai chi as a process of becoming LESS, not MORE. We are the “dirty” dishes that need to be
cleaned in order to see that dish as something useful. Clean dishes are waiting to hold food. They are ready to do their job.
A
clean body is welcoming and allows others to be close without intervening
thoughts of rejection, repulsion, or judgment.
It allows us to be with each other without a reaction that generally
creates separation. That soap clean
smell is almost delicious. We FEEL
inviting.
By
taking away tension, by relaxing, and letting our structure emerge, we become
who we really are, not the knots of tension and habits of movement that mar the
functioning of our bodies. We become
cleaner, more inviting, and more useful.
Life is easier to manage; interactions are more fruitful and more fun.
Clean
those dishes and then admire their beauty; take that bubble bath and notice how
refreshed you feel.
Practice
your form and notice how much better you feel.
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