Continuation

All is frozen in place: yesterday's slippy, slidey tire tracks up the driveway, footprints in the snow, and the compost pile, to name a few. Last night's slight dusting of snow covered the ice and we're back to dull grey skies.

During my late afternoon T'ai Chi Chih practice I alternated beginning movements with ending movements. I actually started my practice with Passing Clouds, then returned to Rocking Motion, back to the Healing Sounds, then Bird Flaps its Wings, then Lights at the Top of the Head/Temples, Around the Platter, etc.

Eventually I finished my practice in the middle which seemed appropriate for New Year's Eve. Today we're not quite through 2010 and not yet beginning 2011.

In honor of this last day of 2010 I reread verse 365 from 365 Tao which is one of my favorite entries to share with students at the end of an initial eight-week class. Deng Ming-Dao writes:

Upon completion comes fulfillment,
With fulfillment comes liberation.
Liberation allows you to go on.
Even death is not a true ending.
Life is infinite continuation.

Deng Ming-Dao further describes his interpretation of "Continuation" with these words that seem infinitely fitting for TCC students who have just completed their first round of TCC classes and all the rest of us as we end one year and begin the next:

Always finish what you start. That alone is discipline and wisdom enough. If you can follow that rule, then you will be superior to most people.
     When you come to the end of a cycle, a new one will begin. You might say that completion actually begins somewhere in the middle of a cycle and that new beginnings are engendered out of previous actions.
     Completing a cycle means fulfillment. It means that you have achieved self-knowledge, discipline, and a new way of understanding youself and the world around you..... persevere with joy.

Farewell blessings to 2010 and best wishes to us all for a happy, healthy, and life-affirming 2011!