Friday, December 30, 2011

Hooray for Willpower

Today I finished reading my first e-book on a Kindle. It was okay; but, I admit, I'm a sucker for printed books that I can touch, open and close, and know exactly where I am in the book. Though I can download the books at work and read them at home, I cannot sinc to the last page read, get a description of the book, or perform other electronic functions that require a wireless connection because I live without wireless internet (actually, I live beyond the realm of cell phone reception). That's okay with me, but it also reminds me that a print book is more appropriate reading material for the middle of the woods.

I did today's T'ai Chi Chih practice on the porch after Frances and I spent several hours sledding and wheelbarrowing in firewood from the forest. When night fell, I moved to the porch and practiced in the dark with a light on in the dining room behind me. There were many different versions of myself to observe: I watched my reflection in the windows, saw my shadow on the walls of the porch, and noticed another shadow of my head and shoulders on the white snow outside. (All of these diverse representations of me looked marvelous, darling....)

There was no color in the sky and no visible sunrise to inspire me to perform a break-of-day TCC practice today. It was merely grey, overcast, cloudy. When I heard a late afternoon radio show about a new book, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, I thought a lot about how each day's TCC practice (or any attempt at self-care) takes dedication and willpower to perform. The author mentioned that it's best to start with just one habit you'd like to establish and ... you guessed it, practice.

It's true that my daily TCC practices (and blogs) are easier to do now that I've created a regular routine and expectation that these rituals are a standard part of each and every day. And I do believe that, despite occasional dark and unmotivated days, I'm a better, happier person because I've developed some smidgen of willpower to get me to--and through--each T'ai Chi Chih practice. Hooray for that!

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