Journey of 1000 Miles

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

A journey of ANY distance is impossible if you are in your own way, and taking even a single step is impossible. I went through a period where I couldn’t even master one donyu[*] – I was so weak that my legs wouldn’t support a single squat nor single step. I was sorely tempted to get in my own way with a painfully defeatist attitude, the internal damaging voice of criticism. My inner wounded child wanted to stomp her foot and scream: “Journey? What journey? How could I possibly go ANYWHERE when I can barely walk?” She resisted though. With closed eyes, I visualized my perfect form moving through the donyu exercises with great ease, coordinating my arms with the breath. This was my first step – creativity in the face of a small setback. The second step was faith. I am now able to do several donyus with near ease once again; my strength is coming back as I journey.

[*] – from the Xing Yi Quan tradition. Meaning: “Pounding the Spine Down or Stretching the Spine”.