In flowing water
balance is felt in the eye
of a hurricane.
It seems a little supercilious commenting on Tai Chi and the underlying philosophy of the Tao Te Ching that inspired this form of movement meditation. Most linguistic explanations will fall short, and often can point away from a place of understanding the essence of Tai Chi. To read a direct translation by Stephen Mitchell please check out this link to a free PDF of the Tao Te Ching.
I practiced Tai Chi between 2003 - 2010, and can attest to its power to balance body and mind. To put it as simply as I can it seemed to make a still lake of out of a tumultuous ocean, a gentle mountain spring from a raging river. This only comes with practice, but the wisdom inherant in Tai Chi is a profound vehicle for living in harmony with the world.
“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
― Lao Tzu
The words of the Tao express the not doing of Tai Chi far better than I can, so I will leave it here for today.
To read more about the aesthetics of true haiku, and the difference between haiku and senryu, please check out my post: Haiku Vs Senryu - The Aesthetics of Form
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