The Wait
The end of the year is near. December could feature end-of-the-year energy that could feel like waiting for the new year. This special waiting for the new year can teach us about embracing change.
Tension and change
The art of Tai Chi is also known as the art of changes, and practicing Tai Chi can give you a way of looking at change. Tai Chi has its origins in Daoist philosophy, and the concept of Tai Chi describes the mystery of how life just keeps going. In the story of this mystery, first there is an open circle, which is blank and symbolizes pure potential. This pure potential, a vast limitless infinite, is called Wuji, where anything can occur. Within this pure potential the dynamic energies of Yin and Yang, also referred to as the “Supreme Extremes,” emerge out of the void of potential to come out and play. In this philosophy, life energy is always moving from one extreme to another. Tension is what happens when the extremes encounter one another.
The tug-of-war and push-pull dance between Yin and Yang become movement, and we experience the whole thing as the great play of light and energy that creates reality. The familiar Chinese cultural symbol of the T’ai Chi Tu (shown above) is a map that represents this mysterious dynamic as the light and the dark halves of a circle. What is not obvious in this map is the idea that the energies are always moving, always in relationship with one another, and always changing. This map of the mystery of the universe holds a promise that these primal energies can indeed come into balance and harmony. When the Supreme Extremes come into balance, the great harmony is known as the Tai Chi, which means “Grand Ultimate.” Personally, I experience this idea and promise of Tai Chi as a great reassurance and even cause for celebration.
The natural cycles of Yin and Yang can give you a way of thinking about tension and the sometimes uncomfortable experience of change. The energies blend and move into and out of one another, and this blending and moving can sometimes be experienced as energies slowing down or speeding up, as intensity or relaxation. Watching the seasons is an education in observing the movement and inevitability of Yin and Yang, because there is a gradual shifting of one season into to another that we can expect, and thus relax into. The fierce cold of winter (Yin) gradually shifts into the bright warmth of spring (Yang). You can notice the little changes along the way that constitute the big shift in seasons.
Simply watching the great play of Yin and Yang can be a way of embracing change rather than resisting it.
A slowing and waiting time
During this time when the deep cold of winter slows everything to a halt, there can also be a feeling of waiting. Winter is the time when the fields are dormant, and creatures hibernate. It is a time of rest. But underneath the layers of cold, the energies can be reconfiguring into new forms that will be ready for “blast off” when the spring season comes.
So, you can think of this time of winter as a rich waiting time that is full of potential. Winter is a special transition time when the usual way of life becomes suspended, as for example, when businesses close for holiday break, and the daylight hours are very short, or weather conditions affect what we do. The usual routines are temporarily replaced with other things. During this time, there can be moments of quiet when you might contemplate new directions for the new year, and this contemplative activity is completely in harmony with the season. Who knows? Those small moments of quiet in between the holiday activities can be times when you might touch into that feeling of limitless infinite and glimpse a new way of being.
These are the blessings of the season!