Outside the box

Most folks that know me are aware that I tend to be an "outside of the box" kind of guy. I'm usually one of the first to volunteer to do something, I like new experiences, and truth be told, I readily admit to being a bit of a show-off. But on a deeper level, I have had a lot of experiences in my life, so I can usually correlate something that I've done before to whatever it is that I'm attempting to do that appears to be "new". So in reality, there's a bit of a safety net there. If something is vaguely familiar or relatively similar, then it's not really "new", is it? And this performance-driven person doesn't really run the risk of total and abject failure, does he?

I know...I'm working on it. I need to keep reminding myself to be patient with myself, God's not done molding me yet.

So last night, I stepped out into what I thought was going to be one of those "mostly outside the box but not really" places. I took a Tai Chi class. Now for those of you totally uninitiated in the martial arts, you may be thinking, "What's so big about that? He's been a martial artist for 35 years. How is that different?"

Well, a quick primer on Taekwondo, which is what I've studied for the past 35 years (and plan on continuing to study for at least another 35). Taekwondo (or TKD) is what we refer to as a "hard" style. It is very linear. The strikes are mostly linear, and delivered with the intent of generating maximum power at the point of impact. In fact, we make a great deal of reference to the Force Equation. Force = mass times acceleration. (F=ma). Some of us non-physics people like to joke that when they first wrote that, they were obviously thinking about "Force = Martial Arts".

Anyway, TKD is strong stances, strong techniques, strong kicking, power, speed, focus...there's nothing "soft" about it.

So I go into this Tai Chi class, dripping wet from sweating, as I just finished working through Taekwondo forms. The instructor puts on this soft music, with bird chirping and babbling brooks in the background, and starts with "ok, everybody relax". That's about as far away from what I had just been doing as you can get.

The instructor spent about 15 minutes helping us relax, generate large, slow movements through the major joints of the body, and generally help us get our focus inward. Again, huge difference from TKD, where the focus is generally on what's around you and how to defend against or defeat.

Then we spent the next 15 minutes learning the first 6 movements in the 24-movement beginning form (Yang style of Tai Chi, for those of you keeping track). I felt like a lumbering bear in a very small lace factory. Getting my arms to do these large, sweeping, circular motions with names like "the white crane spreads her wings", was way outside the box for this TKD practitioner. Stances were different, pacing was different, focus was different...and almost everything I've learned as a TKD practitioner got in the way of really grasping what I was trying to learn. At one point, I remember distinctly telling myself, "Forget everything you know, and just learn."

That, my friends, was me truly getting "outside my box." That was when the movements started to flow, to connect, and to make sense.

I had to consciously tell myself to let go of all my preconceived notions and learning experiences, and simply immerse myself into something new.

God does this to us all the time. He presents us with opportunities for learning and growth. Unfortunately, I have a habit of trying to frame whatever it is that God is presenting around my finite understanding and finite knowledge. The times I have experienced the greatest growth, development and blessings? The few (unfortunately very few) times that I have simply "let go and let God". When I let go of the wheel and let God truly direct my life, He has always (note that word: ALWAYS) blessed me in ways that I simply could not have ever imagined. True, I have a pretty active and vivid imagination. But the times we have experienced the greatest wonders and blessings? Every single one of those times were so far outside my "box", that I never would have been able to imagine them, create them, manufacture them, or cause them to come about.

The only way I will experience and learn Tai Chi is to forget everything I know about martial arts every time I step onto the floor in that class.

The only way I will continue to experience the amazing power of my God and King is to forget everything I think I know about how to manage this life, and simply let go and let God lead.

Now THAT, my friends, is living "outside the box".

My two cents worth today.