Life's like that, right? You're walking along and WHAP! you hit a low tree limb, a surprise that jolts you.That's what happened to me with my tai chi class. I signed up thinking it would be a nice change. "Tai chi" means "peaceful energy." I could use a bit of peacefulness in my soul.
Of course, I was running late for the first class. We meet from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., so getting out of bed and dressed so early is new for me. Lately, we've turned into night owls with David's store hours. I took a spot in the back. The class was doing warm up exercises. Okay, fine, got that. Then the "instructor" said, "Now we'll do tai chi."
Everyone turned around and stared at me.
Huh?
Turns out, this particular group has been meeting together for six or seven years. The only other newbie has been attending for two years. And the "instructor" is a class participant. The original instructor had to give up teaching the class, so the participants decided to keep meeting and to take places leading the sessions.
Obviously, I stuck out like a sore thumb. But my classmates were just lovely. They explained what we were doing. They take turns correcting me. They brought me handouts on the second session. I might be the youngest person in the class; I'm certainly one of the youngest. Suddenly, I feel like I have "parents" again. Especially when we finish the session and walk together to Whole Foods for breakfast.
I went for the peaceful energy. I think I'll keep going for the camaraderie. I'm happy to be their class project.
How about you? Ever get hit by a low hanging limb with something you didn't see coming? And did you say to yourself, "What a lucky dog I am?"
