strange days

Just an interesting thing i noticed this morning, that's probably worth remembering, and ties in to the 'silence is golden' post i wrote the other week.

This morning i was doing my t'ai chi form in the little park.  My mind was wandering all over the place and i was making mistakes.  At one time i went from thinking about the mistake i had just made, to the need to stop thinking about other things and concentrate on what i'm doing, to the need to be able to not think while doing poomsae so as not to make mistakes, to how that might apply to a self defence situation, to Xena, Warrior Princess (via "act, don't react"), to things i'd been reading on LiveJournal.  In the midst of all that, i did a move that seemed to flow really well and brought my mind back to what i was supposed to be doing.  As soon as i stopped all the chatter in my mind, i noticed the trees in front of me suddenly come sharply into focus and had a few moments of crystal clarity before my mind raced away again with a thousand distracted thoughts (starting with writing this post in my head).  So the moment was lost, but i figure it's worth remembering as something to aim to recapture in the future.

Like any skill, i'm sure it's something that will get better with practise.

Still trying to figure out the best place to do my morning t'ai chi exercises.  

My initial plan was to use the park area next to the train station - that way i can walk up there, dunk my ticket and then do the form until i hear the announcement that the train is about to arrive.  That works pretty well, except that i get sick and tired of high school kids gawking every day, so it'd be nice to have somewhere a bit less public.  I could do it at home before i leave, either on the front porch or the lawn, but i'll have to use the alarm on my phone to tell me when it's time to head off for the train.  The downside of that is that i like to be able to see a bit further off into the distance and have a feeling of space around me, which is limited when all i can see is my own garden.  Another option i tried was the open ground along by the train line, which is nice - lots of trees still, a bit of privacy if i move away from the walking track, and i can see into the distance past the houses on the other side.  The downside of that is that the train drivers seem to feel the need to blow their horns every time (probaby at seeing someone doing something wierd and poofy) and feeling like i want to punch someone isn't really the start to the day i was looking to achieve. Maybe i could try that little reserve up the street (really a vacant block with trees), though i'd still prefer to be able to use a spot near the station as it gives me the most time to do the form without risk of missing the train. May have to think on it more.

On a less whiny note, i've discovered that the front porch is big enough to practice my tae kwon do patterns on, which will save the lawn a bit (especially when it's wet and spongy).  The only ones that were too big to fit were Pyongwon and Sipjin, but i realised if i turn 45 degrees, so the + of Sipjin goes diagonally across the porch, i can make that fit too, and likewise for Pyongwon.  The only thing i have to do is sight markers to keep everything square, as the porch is rectangular and i can't use the corners as a guide.

Anyway, it's all good, as although i miss Edinburgh Gardens for Sunday morning patterns, having a few square metres to actually do stuff at home is a real bonus and should let me practice something every day, which i've never had before.

Not to mention a jogging track from the station to home so i can have a quick run on my way home in the evenings too.