EXCERPT FROM A LETTER TO MY BROTHER

……..as an RN (age contemporary) said to me the other day, “Why did they wait our entire lives to tell us this stuff [Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts]?!” Those energy meridians acupuncturists use? They’re very real!

I think the thing that stands out most to me about the Eastern Taoist disciplines is the emphasis on the cyclical nature of our world: everything – including us – in the normal course has five “seasons”:

1) Spring – 2) Early Summer – 3) Late Summer – 4) Fall – 5) Winter.

 

Growing up in Vermont we know each season has a different energy: things bloom in the Spring, hibernate in the Winter. It’s simultaneously sobering and relieving to realize that you and I are like magnificent old maple tress in the Fall: as good as we get. Like an old maple tree that’s been through a lot of seasons and storms, before long our limbs will become more brittle, and our leaves will dry and fall.

The awesome thing about these Eastern disciplines is the emphasis they put on restoring, maintaining and replenishing the energy that sustains us. That’ll keep your beautiful Fall foliage blooming longer!

Love you.