Quick notes mostly about fitting old-world wisdom into a modern American life.
In Eastern philosophy, the Earth is a symbol for all that is generative and nourishing in the Universe.
It is our model for how to give basic needs (food, water, shelter, care). And how to receive them.
The Earth gives without judgement, no matter what a person has done.
And her gifts show no signs of being finite, so long as everyone takes honorably.
A new butterfly struggles as she breaks through her chrysalis.
If you or I were to remove that struggle, say by cutting through the chrysalis, she would not be able to fly.
The struggle is what builds strength in her wings.
We go through a similar process, in a big way, throughout our youth and again every spring. And, to one degree or another, we're always going through it, no matter the season.
Where the mind goes, so goes the Qi.
This is a foundational principle of some schools of Qigong - the Eastern meditative practice. One uses mental focus to guide Qi through the pathways and organs in the body.
If I focus on my heart, Qi goes there. Or my feet or my right knee.
Not all my Qi. Just a delegation. The stronger the mental focus, the larger the delegation.
Since there is a free exchange of Qi between the body and the outside world, if I focus my attention on another person or object, my Qi goes there too.
If you're feeling tired, depressed, uninspired, or dispossessed (of oomph), it might be time for an audit:
Have I been sending too much of my Qi away? How much time have I been spending with my attention outside my body and the present moment? And what has been the intensity of that mental focus?
It might be that too much Qi is going out and a reallocation is in order.
