[Massachusetts-NFB] FW: Reminder this Thursday FW: Are you interested in learning more about lifelong practices of cultivating balance, awareness, and inner peace using the art of Tai Chi and/or Qigong

[sharawinton at gmail.com]

Hello NFB Family,

We have a new member who would like to tell and teach us about the practices
of Taichi and Qigong. We will have a zoom meeting with him on Thursday,
August, 20 at 7:00pm on Zoom. 

The zoom details will  follow Scott's beautiful letter to us below,
describing his work. We hope to see you there. Here is Scott's letter: 

 Dear Friends,  I hope this letter finds you well.  My name is Scott
Greenblatt, and I recently became a member of our local chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind. Ever since shortly after I began my
practice, I found myself wondering whether there might be others who share a
curiosity about Tai Chi and Qigong-not as martial arts or exercise alone,
but as lifelong practices of cultivating balance, awareness, and inner
peace.  I want to begin with an important thought. I am not a master, nor do
I claim to be an expert. I am simply a fellow traveler who has spent the
past several years walking this path. Every day my practice reminds me how
much there is still to learn. If anything, Tai Chi has taught me humility
before it has taught me technique.  Over time, these practices have quietly
changed the way I experience the world.  They have taught me that balance is
not something we achieve once and then possess forever. It is something we
continually rediscover, moment by moment, breath by breath. They have taught
me that strength often arises from relaxation, that stillness can exist in
the middle of movement, and that slowing down sometimes allows us to move
through life more gracefully than rushing ever could.  As blind people, many
of us spend our lives developing an intimate relationship with the body. We
learn to trust our feet, our hands, our hearing, our sense of space, and the
subtle messages our bodies constantly provide. In many ways, Tai Chi and
Qigong ask us to cultivate those very same qualities. They invite us to
listen inwardly, to feel rather than simply observe, and to discover that
awareness itself can become a kind of vision.  One of the ideas that has
stayed with me throughout my practice is that no two people walk exactly the
same path. Each body is different. Each breath is different. Each person's
experience is uniquely their own. Yet when people gather to practice
together, something remarkable happens. We are no longer striving to become
identical; we simply support one another as each person discovers their own
balance.  That is the kind of gathering I hope we might create.  Not a
class.  Not a performance.  Not a place where anyone needs to prove
themselves.  Just a circle of people willing to slow down together.  A place
where we can breathe a little more deeply, move a little more mindfully, and
perhaps leave feeling a little more centered than when we arrived.  I would
happily share what I have learned over the years, while remaining a student
myself. I have no desire to place myself above anyone else. In fact, one of
the beautiful lessons these arts continue to teach me is that every person
we meet has something to offer. We all become both teachers and students
simply by practicing together.  Whether you have practiced Tai Chi for
decades or have never heard of Qigong before, you would be warmly welcomed.
There is no expectation beyond a willingness to be present with yourself and
with one another.  If enough people are interested, I would be honored to
help bring such a group together. My hope is not merely to practice
movements, but to cultivate a small community built on patience,
encouragement, curiosity, and mutual respect.  The Tao The Ching reminds us
that nature never hurries, yet everything is accomplished. I have found
great comfort in that simple truth, and I believe there is something
profoundly healing about gathering together-even for a short while-to
breathe, to move, and to remember that we are already enough just as we are.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I hope our paths have the
opportunity to cross, and I look forward to the possibility of learning
alongside you.  With warmth and friendship,  Scott

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://nfb-org.zoom.us/j/93680114722?pwd=En2OGaaVMvWMMhVLuTyOkfy0s4gVLa.1

 

Meeting ID: 936 8011 4722

Passcode: 1940

 

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Meeting ID: 936 8011 4722

Passcode: 1940

 

 

Scott, and I Hope to see you all there on Thursday, August 20, at 7:00pm.

Have a beautiful and mindful week. 

 

Warmly,

 

Shara Winton

President, National federation of the Blind of Massachusetts

www.nfbma.org <http://www.nfbma.org/> 

sharawinton at gmail.com <mailto:sharawinton at gmail.com> 

617-304-0347

 

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