A Rock Becomes A Happy Fruit

Article:Xue E Xu / Picture:Xiu Yu Zhu  2017-01-24

 

  What is the purpose of humans living on earth? Is it to look at the bad relationships between humans? Do I want to live my life like this? The old me was bad towards life, I didn't know the meaning and value of life. I lived among humans, but I didn't like interacting with them. Closed as I was, from elementary to high school, I would return home as soon as school ended. I didn't know any students, I was against talking to them, and of them talking to me. I just thought they were annoying. When i started looking for jobs, I aimed for professions that would allow me to work alone. Like working at a pig farm for three years suited me, because I never had to interact with anyone outside. Now I know this wasn't good for me, because this made me lonely and sick.
  
  I had the opportunity to know Tai Ji Men, find a way to turn around my life. The first improvement in my life after I joined Tai Ji Men was that the irritable bowel syndrome that had bothered me for a long time disappeared! When I was working as a waitress, I had to be quick and accurate when taking orders so that the dishes would be served as rapidly as possible. My work made me stressed and busy, which resulted in intestinal problems. It got so bad that I had to go to the bathroom every time I took a bite of food. Since I joined Tai Ji Men and started practicing qigong every day, every inhale and exhale allowed me to gradually relax and go to the bathroom normally. My intestinal problems disappeared, which surprised me pleasantly.
  
  The second benefit was that I could say goodbye to my eczema-ridden skin. In high school, my skin would itch so badly that I often scratched it raw; no ointment or salve helped. I would keep a washcloth in the freezer in order to soothe my inflamed skin. But with daily and nightly qigong, after I sweated out the bad stuff and chemicals, my eczema disappeared.
  
  The third improvement is that I enjoy interacting with people. I used to fight a lot with people, but I learned to help myself and others from Shifu. Helping myself meant working through my own issues and interacting with others. It takes two strokes to make the Chinese character "people"; it wouldn't be "people" with either one stroke. If I were the left stroke, the right stroke would represent another person. The meaning is, humans are meant to mingle and support one another. The sister who introduced me to Tai Ji Men would always ask me how I was, and remind me to practice qigong. I not only accept other's care for me now, but also I remember once during my job, a customer ordered fish. When the dish came, the fish wasn't as large as the customer imagined it to be, so he swore and insulted my mother. He shouted, "What a ripoff! The fish is so expensive!" I didn't get angry, but I smiled and apologized calmly, saying, "Sorry, but my mother's at my house." Hearing this, the customer immediately felt ashamed and apologized. I was able to dispel the situation without losing my cool.
  
  My goal is to help myself and help others. Right now I'm happiest where I improve myself daily, growing every day, like Jack's beanstalk. The higher I climb, the happier I am.