Tag: healing

I know no other way

In Chinese medicine, as with Indigenous healing there are principles that direct the course. One is to go to the root of the illness, not simply treat symptoms. Ideally, we should get to the source before the dis – ease has materialized in the body. That is how observant we should be about health; taking notice of all nuances that lead to disharmony. 

Another principle is that disease is never isolated to one individual. The healing often includes family and community. If an individual displays dis-harmony, it’s understood that it is also present in their associations. Community plays a large part in healing and adversely can contribute to illness.

We live in unharmonious times. Hatred and violence are normalized and accepted. Our children live in fear of other.  Biases and judgement keep people in isolation, never learning about or from each other. Media, politics and religion contribute to this reckless inhumanity. People are rewarded for their hatred, falsely seen as piety or patriotism. 

My Dine mentor taught traditional weaving. It was prayerful and deliberate. We were encouraged to dream and to replicate the dreaming into the weaving. Weaving taught discipline. You learned what mistakes you could live with and the ones you could not. One of the most significant understandings was to always have a way out. Traditional Navajo rugs always have that way out woven into them. 

So, what is the way out of this mess we have woven? 

The way out I choose is to discover my humanity and recognize it in others. To celebrate humanity in all its splendor and to be grateful for the gift of life. That is my way out. I know no other way. 

I have zero tolerance for the denial of my humanity…or the denial of the humanity of others. And I cling to the reality of my breathe as a source of hope, healing and courage.

When People Care

Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, there are signs that life has been drastically altered. The federal financial aid cuts hitting our local counties are shattering lives. Often referred to as “safety nets”, we are beginning to witness the severity of these cuts on our differently abled population, our children and our elderly. Local food pantries have been forced to cut fresh produce and milk and the numbers of people in need keep growing. 

To some extent, this had been happening, but the end of aid is now rippling through and the harm is startling. What comes from despair? What comes from hopelessness? As we watch the forced starvation of Palestinian people in a man-made crisis, and people here being rounded up in inhumane ways, it’s apparent humanity must reclaim empathy.

Pointing fingers of blame is senseless when you witness the destruction of lives, near and far. Instead, we need to assess what we have, collectively, that cannot be lost. We need to think anew, creating systems and pathways that allow each individual to thrive. We’re being challenged to become human once more.

There was a time when land was not owned, when people could “make a way out of no way”. But human hands created economic systems that stripped dignity away from simple living, and now those same systems are choking many lives. 

The choice before us is to recognize what is worthy of saving and what can be discarded. The effort is to rise in our collective humanity and trust again the earth can feed us – with our care. And to realize that we are worthy.

There are many local organizations and people in government ready and willing to make this turn. It’s up to us to help.

Here are some things that informed me this week. I hope you find inspiration here, to care and to act.

You can find a recording of a recent gathering of caring people at VernonReporter.com The event was billed as a non-partisan, educational, community exchange of information. It is worthy of your time to listen.

You can also listen to my podcast Changing the Narrative with author Elspeth Hays on her new book Feed Us With Trees – an important read on how we can reclaim our relationship with the natural world – and why we – or at least some of us – lost it.

And What’s in Our Future? on Life’s Essentials with Prem Rawat can be heard on Spotify as he reminds us of the power of being human.

And the photo is of Forget Me Nots…from my mother.

Be well, Everyone.