Perfect Authentic Cadences, Closing Movements, and Life

I'm the kind of person that takes extreme satisfaction in finishing something.  And I hate to begin if I won't be able to find a satisfying resolution.

When I'm working on a new song, I like to start at the end and work backwards so that I can always feel like I have a strong ending.  And if the song ends with a Perfect Authentic Cadence, life is even better.  Admit it, nothing feels as good as ending (a song or a practice session) on a strong V I with the tonic in the highest voice.  OK, maybe it's just me.

I had a little epiphany this morning as I was driving to work.  Last Monday we started a new group of students in the Sun 41 class that I am the teaching assistant for.  We spend about a third or half of class doing exercises that serve both as warm-ups and instruction in the principles of tai chi.  They we teach a new section and polish and refine what we know.  After working the new group through the first few movements, the teacher showed them closing movement (which is really easy to do) and said that wherever you stop while doing the form you can add this to end it.  And this morning, I thought of how I need to find a closing movement that allows me to let go and do something else in real life even if I haven't finished the form or found my PAC.

As an all-or-nothing personality,  I've had to work very hard to do things in little chunks.  Right now, with my health issues and my schedule, I have to be able to do a little at a time and be satisfied with that.  There is no other option.  But it is so hard.  It's hard not to beat myself up when I can't finish a project right away.  And it's hard to listen to my body when it says it's had enough, but my brain wants to keep going.  So, I'm now on a search for a form of PAC or closing movement to use in everyday life.    Maybe I'll just start with singing a nice Sol Do or doing the actual Sun closing movement.