Reach deep into the birth of freedom.

Meaning & diffusion

An artist must possess Nature – he must identify himself with her rhythm . . .

Henri Matisse

The manifold between carries a destiny more than abstract: scenic resonance – the fortunes of the other hand.

Assuage the febrile mind.

We must eliminate false hopes, which blind us to real possibilities.

Derrick Jensen

I think it was Charles Olson who suggested that mans' greatest achievement is his vertical gait, something we investigate and perfect excruciatingly in taichi. And I don't imagine that many would argue that our greatest failing – tragedy even – is our tendency to disconnect – separate – from the world we live in. The symptom of this disconnexion isn't just an absent minded day-dreaming or lack of awareness, it is the very act of thinking – or rather thinking about thinking – allowing ones thoughts to generate more thoughts and thereby creating a substitute world rather than letting them be what they originally are and should remain – feelings – impulses to physical action. Such thinking is very much a product of civilization – a luxury activity partaken during those times I do not need my wits about me, which for most of us leading safe and relatively sedentary lives is pretty much all the time. And such thinking really has nothing to do with understanding – with becoming more aware – but is really all about snatching an advantage – progress and profit.

Methods & gravity

The path of taichi is a protracted, though fascinating, process of softening.

Soft: (of persons) gentle or mild in nature or character; inclined to be merciful, lenient, or considerate in dealing with others; free from harshness, severity, or rigour; compassionate, kind, tender-hearted.

OED

I shall call them ‘soft’ technologies: a textural description, intended to mean not vague, mushy, speculative, or ephemeral, but rather flexible, resilient, sustainable, and benign.

Amory Lovins in Soft Energy Paths: Towards a Durable Peace

Softness puts me in the midst.

Never an excuse not to love.

Softness is putting the other first.