Grandpa's Knife

Written by Gary E. Anderson


Grandpa’s Knife (fromrepparttar book Spider’s Big Catch) Gary Anderson www.abciowa.com

Sometimes, when I’m stressed or feelrepparttar 116187 need to refocus, I find myself thinking about my grandpa’s knife. There are people inrepparttar 116188 world who drink or take pills in an attempt to manage stress, and some folks handle their rosary beads.

My grandpa whittled.

My brothers and I could always tell when there was something weighing on Grandpa’s mind. He’d pick up several short sticks, sit onrepparttar 116189 porch swing, and begin to whittle. We could judgerepparttar 116190 size ofrepparttar 116191 problem he was grappling with byrepparttar 116192 size ofrepparttar 116193 pile of shavings atrepparttar 116194 old man’s feet.

As far as I knew, he never whittled anything useful. That was never his purpose. He just took any old stick and began whittling it into a point. Then he’d keep whittling untilrepparttar 116195 stick was too short for him to hold, set it down, and start on another one. I marveled at his ability to focus so intensely, just sitting there, gently rockingrepparttar 116196 porch swing, quietly whittling a problem down to size. Then, as if being guided by some inner signal known only to him, we’d see Grandpa suddenly stand up, and we knew he’d reached a decision. He’d pick up a small whisk broom that always stood besiderepparttar 116197 swing, clean uprepparttar 116198 shavings, and walk away in silence.

There were also times when Grandpa’s knife helped teach us other lessons—lessons that were more difficult to face. No matter what our indiscretion may have been, we boys knew that there would come a time after we’d received our punishment when Grandpa would call us to come and sit with him onrepparttar 116199 porch steps. Holding several sticks in his left hand, he’d reach into his overalls with his right hand and pull out his old knife. Then he’d sit onrepparttar 116200 swing and begin to whittle, slowly and deliberately, never looking at us, never saying a word.

Martial Arts

Written by Jesse S. Somer


http://www.taichiacademy.com.au/default.htm

I am very interested in Martial Arts, as I’ve been training in Tai Chi on and off for ten years as well as an Internal Martial Art called Wu Dao Gong for a year and a half. I have searched many websites to find a good one to write about but none seem to compare torepparttar site byrepparttar 116186 actual organization that I am fortunately part of. They are calledrepparttar 116187 Tai Chi Academy and their online magazine can be found at a link from their homepage or at: http://www.taichiacademy.com.au/magazine/index.htm

What I find so remarkable about this site compared to other martial art sites isrepparttar 116188 variety and depth of information shared with visitors. These people really want to paint a true, honest picture about everything that they do and why they do it. ‘Flow like a river, and be still like a mountain.’ This famous Tai Chi quote epitomizesrepparttar 116189 flowing yet static style of this website. There must be at least a hundred pages about everything from basic school principles for prospective students to recipes for healthy vegetarian food recipes! Martial Arts are a lifestyle to this school and I believe they want to address all aspects of life in a truly holistic approach.

Integrated throughoutrepparttar 116190 site are heaps of photos (most of which are in vibrant color) depictingrepparttar 116191 actual training as well as cool photos of their field trips to China etc. The magazine site itself is separated into main categories such as Archived Features, Testimonials, Archived Interviews, Suggested Reading, and Vegetarian Corner for Non-vegetarians as well as Links.

Underrepparttar 116192 ‘Archived Features’ section is a category entitled ‘Training in Wu Dao Gong’. This couple of pages givesrepparttar 116193 visitor an excellent, detailed perspective onrepparttar 116194 philosophy behind this training. If you are then interested in finding out more you can click onrepparttar 116195 Tai Chi Academy actual Home Page and click onrepparttar 116196 subheading ‘Courses’. There you can read several more in-depth explanations about allrepparttar 116197 aspects ofrepparttar 116198 training from meditation to physical exercises and their effects. They emphasize that emotional and spiritual development are integral to moving forward downrepparttar 116199 path of happiness and peace. They are adamant that this is a course forrepparttar 116200 arts and is not religious in any way.

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