Well we're into a new year - somewhat blessed by lots of rain that has kept the really oppressive heat of summer at bay… so far. 
For Bob the year started with a five-day Summer School run in place of a summer Gasshuku from Monday to Friday… and I think it was thoroughly enjoyed by all the participants. And classes start in full swing next week - beginning no less than at 4.30am on Monday! I would comment about some teacher's students allowing the teacher to get away with such "exploitation" but I'm one of them… so there's goes that argument.
Bob has also spent part of the new year spending some of his accumulated birthday money from the student body - and through kind assistance from many people is able to drive what he calls an elite wheel barrow (the wheels turn so easily he says - and it runs so smoothly), has a new pair of prescription bi-focals for computer work and reading, some more interesting books on the 'to be read' pile and the latest edition that arrived yesterday…a heart rate monitor that I vow I am not going to get to grips with. My basic one is enough technology for me, and if I feign ignorance I won't be called on to switch it on / off / download / or interpret anything!!
Bob's focus for the coming year is to establish Hombu, and we have several fund raising and useful projects on the go. The first visible improvement will be the grading and subsequent tarring of the driveway, followed slightly more longer term by parking improvements so that the combination of rain and slipping wheels does not destroy the grounds.
The Centre will also be holding a soccer festival to raise funds for a new roof for the dojo… and then there still those plans for the REAL dojo.
For Shaz, the year started in full tilt with my first deadline for the year being financial news summaries due by 8am on Jan 2 - that's in long enough before 8am to let my friendly Johannesburg editor, Roy, have a quick run-through for the inevitable typos and style slips…
As far as T'ai Chi goes, I think it is going to be an exciting year. I have decided to go to T'ai Chi Caledonia in Scotland in July and have two students keen to join me. I also decided to keep informal T'ai Chi sessions running during the break, and these were very well supported by the more senior students (with the exception of this week with everyone back at work…) But most of the excitement is not about trips in the future, it is about my decision not to charge for classes this year, and to teach purely for the pleasure of sharing, on the understanding that an exchange of energy takes place in the form of donations.  I am already feeling some of a sense of liberation that I expect to grow quite noticeably in not HAVING to teach for the money - and am looking forward to the year with much anticipation.
Bob has been very supportive of the move, despite the fact that (having tried this himself at least twice) he is quite convinced that I am going to end up disillusioned with humanity. But for me it is really about a move to do things from the heart - to live honestly, and encourage others to do the same. Not having to pay a prescribed fee, students are free to express gratitude, or not, as an honest outcome of the training received, not because there is a fee… Perhaps it will get them to question the value of things; their value of things… and see things from outside the confines of predicated societal norms.
I came across an interesting quote from Osho last night that encapsulates my growing view on teaching:
"Sharing the vision. When I say don't be a missionary, I mean don't impose yourself upon others. Share, but don't impose. Sharing is totally different, it is very respectful toward the other person. Sharing is not violent, imposing is. You are not respectful toward the other person, you are simply using the other person as a means; you are interested only in converting him. That is wrong. Never use a person as a means to anything, because each person is an end unto himself. The missionary is very disrespectful toward the person, His whole idea is how to convert him, how to make one more person part of his sect. He is not really interested in sharing. Sharing is totally different: you share because you have experienced something, because you have seen something. You share unconditionally. If the person becomes converted that is just a by-product but that is not the motive of it. If he does not become part of it, you are perfectly happy - happy because you shared. Your work is finished. You are not looking for any result. It is good to be conscious about all the possibilities, otherwise one tends to become a missionary. Just share and forget about it. Sow the seeds and go on moving and don't look back to see what is happening to those seeds. In their time, when the spring comes, something will happen."
Otherwise, I must confess that my new job is going to be an interesting teacher of lessons. Practically I am finding that the need to précis precisely and quickly is sharpening my intellect in a particular way, and the news I'm needing to read is broadening my general knowledge (and disillusionment with society)… But what is presenting the biggest challenge is learning to face a daily deadline, without the panic of a deadline consuming me - I find it erodes my sense of enjoyment, my awareness of environment, not to mention my sense of humour… and I know I need to learn to relax into it - and enjoy the process. It will be of great benefit to my writing and a wonderful discipline in the long run - but at the moment I am resenting the regular intrusion into my freedom, coupled with the fact that the nature of the work means that I am unable to work ahead to spacebank material for the next day or two…
This takes me to another interesting challenge of my dreams and perceptions. I have viewed this new writing contract as a financial stepping stone to my dream of a writer's cottage in the country. Bob threw down the gauntlet the other day (I'm not too sure that he was so serious that he expected me to take him up on it) and suggested that I 'test' my theory of farm living by renting something for a few months before buying - like in the height of summer when it would be at one of the extremes. That of course has got me looking at a whole new thought process … so if I had this country cottage, how would it fit in with my lifestyle, with classes, with Bob, with… hold on a minute. I was looking at saving and building up the image slowly, not diving headlong into the unknown. It has been an interesting process, and I'm still mulling the possibilities over… twice as carefully when I get really annoyed with the new contract that would pay for the farm in the first place - like when there's Eskom (also known as Eishkom) loading shedding between 4 and 8pm when I NEED to work. I can't work in advance, the news is not in yet… so I have to work late, or miss a deadline - and I never miss a deadline!
The centre is green and somewhat overgrown with weeds - but more under control than it was last year at the height of summer. PAWS is well, but starting to slow down with age a little. She is also developing back hip problems and is currently enjoying been fed her powdered medication mixed with peanut butter every morning - and she's put her vote in … She says rent the farm NOW, and make sure it has cows to bark at!
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