It Takes Years and Years to Fully Discover Tai Chi

“… A tai chi master would tell you that you’re doing nothing wrong but you just don’t have it yet. It takes years and years to fully discover tai chi. You cannot just learn life instantly. Life is to be lived. You might think “If I find a good teacher, if I read a good book, I will eventually become very wise, and I will have conquered all the difficulties in life.” If you do that, then what’s next? Boredom. The physical understanding of movement that we call tai chi can help you to understand and face the difficulties in your life, but it won’t eliminate all your problems.

The concept of tai chi only means a way of learning how to regain balance again. It is a way to come back to yourself from all the conflicts and confusions that we feel every day in our lives. Tai chi does not mean oriental wisdom or something exotic. It is the wisdom of your own senses, your own body and mind together as one process.”

(From “Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain” by Al Chung-liang Huang)