28. The Game of Monopoly drinks tea

☰ Recently while enjoying Nigori-style saki 濁り酒 and oolong tea 烏龍茶 overlooking a beautiful garden, I found myself ruminating about what Baguazhang 八卦掌 means to me. ☵ And then as if a little nudge from heaven decided to join in, a dear close friend of mine asked me why I like to mix martial arts with tea 茶? ☳ Shouldn't I just play it straight and stick to the path laid out by the masters that came before us - Am I not content to abide by the system? ☶ And why, for god's sake, do I keep referring to the board game of Monopoly as an analogy for walking the circle? ☴ Too many questions. I take refills on the saki 酒 and tea 茶, and continue our Tea Time equals We Time session. The truth is, only recently have I started noticing how much my life through Baguazhang 八卦掌 mirrors symbolically the four corners of the Monopoly board game. And they are related only because both in my mind are about going around in circles. One Baguazhang 八卦掌 set equals one turn around the Monopoly board. It is all a matter of paradigms and mixing alcohol with tea 茶. Kids don't try this at home. ☱ In fact: Stay clean and sober. Do your martial arts straight. Stick to the way of the fist and listen to your sifu 師傅 or sensei 先生. Leave the crazy stuff to the crazy people who would ponder on a crazy question like: If through my forms/katas I am about to pass go and collect $200, what does that mean in terms of my baguazhang and life in general? ☲ Heck, what does the 'Pass go and collect $200' look like when doing martial arts as a daily occurrence in our lives? ☷ In the end, just like walking the Tao 道 or practicing Zen 禪, nothing 無 was attained. Tea Time equals We Time ended blissfully and I went back to doing my daily Baguazhang 八卦掌. Liked what you heard & want to connect with me? Join me at… linkedin.com/in/peterhainzl/