Sunday, March 4, 2007

Lessons from T'ai Chi

Today's Quote from A Fancy Word for Simple:

What I feel more and more is how important it is to live your life in a better way, and not to worry about it. What happens will happen.
-Barbara Walters


This is something I used to really struggle with. I felt compelled to try and wrest control away from happenstance, and make certain things would turn out the way I felt they should. I realized that not only was I missing out on some really fun stuff, but it was also getting exhausting. Now, I try to apply principles from t'ai chi and get out of my own way. That is not to say that I try not to bend things to the direction I think will work best for me, but I try not to obsess or panic if I sense they are turning a different way. When I feel myself losing control of my vehicle on snow or ice, I say "wheee!!!" out loud, and gently try to regain control. I mean, honestly, what else can I do but celebrate the chaos & not try too hard to Make It Happen. Doing so in that scenario would certainly spell disaster ... so doesn't it make sense that it might also be disastrous in less-than-life-threatening-conditions also?

4 comments:

Paula J Atkinson said...

Good principle to try.
I have long since discovered that nothing really goes the way I want.
I will be 40 in two weeks & I had a bit of a panic because all the things I listed to achieve before I am 40 are still on the list!!!!
Take my fight to get a decent payrise. I got £600/yr before taxes etc... leaving me £450 which I was thrilled to have, although not a great deal. The very next day my landlord puts a letter through my door the rent increase for this year is to be £360!!!!!!!!
Back to square one!
Sometimes you have to admit defeat & make the best of everything else!

Anonymous said...

love your thought process. trying to give in to situations and not control them is something I sturggle with. I am certianly getting better and realizing that things are much more fun when I am not in charge of everything

kaj said...

Go with the flow, huh? One day at a time, huh?
I am learning this and since so much in my life right now is really out of my hands, I am beginning to be a believer in these ideas.

Mel said...

I quit grumbling at other folks on the road--but I GOTTA learn to say 'wheeeeeeeee' instead of
'*$%!!'.

Granted, I do a "now wasn't that FUN!" after the fact. LOL