Unselfconscious pursuit of creating a good space for oneself is a remarkably beautiful thing.
Last weekend, the hotel I stayed at was close to Chinatown in Calgary, and the foods and sights and sounds was heavily influenced by Asian culture. The shrimp wonton soup was wonderful!
I had a chance to see Tai Chi being practiced at various points of my run. There was something quite wonderful about seeing an elderly man quietly, slowly and peacefully making controlled movements as he was looking out over the water at a scenic location along my running route. There was a group of younger people in a circle silently and gently moving in synchonicity with each other as I peered through the branches into a clearing. Another man was on stage of a community outdoor theatre. He wasn’t performing, facing out to an imaginary audience–he was facing the back of the stage elegantly moving a flag in time to some internal time honored patterns that have long become a part of them.
Pictures don’t adequately capture the beauty of this ancient practice being done in the middle of the city. I held my breath and couldn’t pull my eyes away from the oasis of tranquility that each person created for themselves. While there were people walking by, they seemed quite unaware and unselfconscious as they slowly and meditatively moved. It created a sacred space which had me, someone who doesn’t even know tai chi, benefitting from even just watching it.
It reminded me to pursue quietness and exercise and centredness and wholeness to remind myself of my inner core–that the busy-ness of life doesn’t need to crowd out stillness. That I can find ways to nurture my soul and I need to do so without wondering how the others around me will react.
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