The Tai Chi Rap
Back
Keep it straight, and relax
Head
In a line with your back
Knees
Keep them bent, sink down
Feet
Keep them rooted to the ground
Let your waist keep turning
Like the coiling of a snake
Let your hands be as light as if
You’re floating in a lake
Keep your shoulders down and level
Keep your elbows low
Like a puppet with no strings attached
To shoulder or elbow
Yield
To an incoming attack
Take it round in a circle,
Spit it out, give it back
Crouching low like a tiger
That’s preparing for a leap
You can rise up like a dragon
That’s been woken from it’s sleep
Be aware of all directions
While your mind rests in the void
And keep your sense of humour
So you never get annoyed
Stepping back from thoughts and feelings
Keep it real, keep it cool
Be aware of the connections
Of the drops within the pool
Keep the whole thing moving
And keep going with the flow
Without doing any doing
Without knowing what you know
When your mind is as calm
And as vast as the sea
Using power from your centre
You’ll be doing Tai Chi
Work
The work of any man
Is like a ripple in a pond.
He cannot cure the whole world’s ills,
Nor wave a magic wand.
The place where he is standing
Is the point where he must start.
Alone in his small corner,
He must strive to play his part.
With calmness and compassion
He must live and love and be,
And so set an example
For the few who choose to see,
And if they choose to follow
They may play their part in turn
And set their own examples
So that other men might learn.
The wisdom of a man thus spreads
Unto the farthest shore,
Like ripples flowing outwards
To be felt for evermore.
Looking for God
I went Looking for God in the attic
But He wasn't up there today
Someone had said "He's up above"
But how far up, they didn't say
I decided to look a bit higher
The clouds seemed a pretty good bet
I've been studying clouds for an hour or more
But I haven't found him yet
And now the night has fallen
The stars are shining bright
But they've all been explored by telescope
And God's still out of sight
If the greatest astronomers missed him
What chance have the rest of us got?
But maybe he's like an invisible force
And there's nowhere that God is not
That would mean he'd be in every creature
Every rock, every flower and tree
In the food that I eat, in the air that I breathe...
Which would mean that he's also in me!
So I think I might give up this searching
As it says in the Tao Te Ching:
The further you go, the less you find
So the best place to look is within
Chris Thorold (Age 13)