Relaxation, talent & sacrifice

We talk about relaxation in Tai Chi & in a way it all comes down to this. Not just relaxing our muscles but relaxing the fearful grip we have the world under, so that it can then begin to open up & reveal itself. The external and the internal world. When the external world opens up many more opportunities present themselves - you become more involved in the rough and tumble of living (this doesn't mean you become more busy - just more involved). When the internal world opens up you begin to feel and work with energy, spirit and heart. When you start working with these then you actually become more talented, or rather your talents can begin to reveal themselves properly. What is striking about people is that they all have something wonderful inside that is bursting to express itself. What prevents it is tension, particularly self-image. Holding on to false images. Idolatry. If people (students) can leave this aside, even for a moment, then they will always have the talent and ability to at least get thoroughly involved in the task at hand without getting tense and anxious. Such total involvement requires you to lose yourself - to stop suffocating with opinions and expectations - so that your energy can do the job. This is wanting to happen - desperately - so to prevent it requires even more desperation - hardness - the real enemy.

Relaxation is letting go. Not just of tension but of everything. Small loss, small gain. Big loss, big gain. If you put the barest minimum in then you'll get the barest minimum out. If you put everything in then you'll get everything out. And in our game anything less than everything will not succeed. Relaxation and sacrifice amount to the same thing.