November 13, 2004

I take tai chi. My teacher is a master. Last night I said to him, "It would be nice if we could
solve our problems with tai chi instead of with tanks and machine guns." And he said
we can. He said the best way to do that is to be practicing it yourself and that true
tai chi is the practice of peace.

He also says all the time that the main thing in tai chi is to relax and stay balanced and that
the tension we hold is left over from our defenses against an enemy. I asked him who the
enemy is and he said two things. First he said the enemy is the tension you are holding.
And then he said the important thing is not who the enemy is or what he might do to you,
but rather how you react to the enemy coming down the pike.

With all this talk about enemies I'd say it would be wise to keep my teacher's view in mind.

B'Shalom,

Avniel