Yesterday, on our way to Mt. Lemmon we turned an exit too early. Realizing this, I turned on my blinker asking the long line of cars if they would let us back in the flow. One driver did. He yielded his time (Just a few seconds), his place in line (one car back), and I waved in appreciation. It didn't cost him much to act in such a kind way. In fact, he may have even felt better for the act. The idea of yielding in Tai Chi is not giving up or surrendering or capitulating or knuckling under. Rather, it is yielding to life energy. It is building the sensitivity to feel where the energy is going in your own body and learning how to flow with it, follow it, rather than blocking it with your own physical tension, your own mental agenda, or the artificial motion you rely on when you move without mindfulness. Yielding is a skill I'm trying to develop not just in my Tai Chi practice, but in my life, too. This skill is critical in allowing others to go their own direction, to feel the flow of events in a smoother way, to allow the insults and stresses of daily life roll off me so they don't result in hurtful impact or injury. The principle is simple: yield yourself and follow the external forces. Instead, most people ignore this simple principle and reach for a more remote and impartial method. They lust for power or they clutch their craggy fingers around the need for greed. I don't want to be like most people. I want to be content being part of the whole, part of the river of life, no better, no worse than the next. I believe if more people would practice yielding the world would be a better place. As for me, my life is good, especially today.
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