I wasted
time and now doth time waste me.
(William Shakespeare)
Hobbies
People typically do not treat tai chi as a hobby.
It is usually classed as a sport, keep fit, a martial art or a club.
Yet, 'hobby' is a good approach.
Consider hobbies:
When somebody has a hobby, they consider it to be fun.
They look forward to doing it and have a genuine enthusiasm.
Nobody forces you to spend time with your hobby; you want to commit the
time.
As a hobby, tai chi has an appropriate place in your life.
Fanatic
The danger with taking tai chi too seriously
is that you lose perspective.
Tai chi martial artists need to be particularly sensible; you cannot force a
result.
Training too hard or for too long can lead to
injury.
When the art becomes an obsession, you have forgotten the 'internal' aspect
of the training.
Tai chi should be within you, not on the outside.
Religious
From a religious/spiritual standpoint, tai chi is no different from zen flower arranging, tea
ceremony or gardening.
It simply serves as a means of gaining enlightenment, of being aware of the
daily truth of your life in the moment that you are experiencing it.
Tai chi is not an end in itself, merely a vehicle for awareness; a mechanism
for attaining a condition of
meditation.
You
How you approach tai chi is up to you.
The tai chi is what it is and cannot be changed by you, but the way in which
it is
perceived varies
according to the individual.
Ultimately, what you get out of the art is down to you.
Page created 22 October 2003