A NEW YEAR –A NEW START
2009 was a difficult year for many. The economy lost jobs, businesses closed and went bankrupt at an alarming rate, and stock prices plummeted. This helped many to lose their homes while at the same time many homes lost significant percentages of their value. Our new president seems to be attempting to live up to a percentage of his pre-presidential promises but many are still quite concerned and the economy shows only glimmers and hints of recovery at present.
In the health fields, gyms, martial arts schools and yoga centers are having a fairly rough time as well. Many feel that when the going gets tough, luxury items like health centers and vacations and organic foods have to be eliminated as unnecessary expenses. On the surface this may seem to be logical. Unfortunately, like many aspects of American culture, this too is an illusion. When times are stressful, doesn’t it make sense to continue to do the things that keep you de-stressed, healthy and allow you to experience the natural high of a self induced endorphin rush? When people cut back on stress reducing, mind and body enhancing activities, and activities that make them feel content; they only make life less fun, more stressful and less satisfying. Then you add that less exercise leads to poorer physical conditioning which then in turn decreases a person’s healthy immune responses and you get increased illness, increased medical bills with potentially less salary due to time off.
I am not saying that people should not pay rent, buy food and take care of their necessities but once those areas are adequately handled, maintaining one’s physical and mental health should be the next priority. We need to re-evaluate our priorities and make choices that will keep us strong for the long haul; just in case things do not turn around as quickly as we’d like. A healthy mind in a healthy body can overcome much adversity and still emerge relatively unscathed.
We at Wu Shen Tao have been fortunate enough to have not been seriously affected by current conditions but we have seen many of our friends and peers take a serious beating during these times. Perhaps it is due to the high amount of serious practitioners that are among our numbers. Perhaps it is because we have students who are highly skilled in their professions and therefore less expendable at work. Whatever the reason, we sincerely wish to continue the work that we do; for the community, for ourselves and for the future generations yet to come. Let us refocus, reinvigorate ourselves, remind ourselves of our goals and remain positive so that that positiveness can emanate from our center and help restore balance to all.