Hope: nature has it, so do we

Jefferson Breland

(2/2021) We live in an interesting time. By "interesting," I mean we live in a time of extraordinary challenges not seen in most of our lifetimes.

If ever there was a time to manifest and sustain hope, this is it.

In December’s Complementary Corner, I spoke of the season Winter historically being a time of great uncertainty regarding surviving the weather and the necessary resources of food, shelter, and clothing. I also wrote of "social, political, economical, climatological, civil rights, health, health care, emotional concerns…." In that column, I offered some practical ways to afford us a bit of relief of body and mind during the busy holiday season.

Now as we have moved into the new year, the many concerns of our society are still with us and for many of these concerns, there is no end in sight.

I don’t know about you; I am sometimes exhausted by the not knowing. My goal for this column is to offer some perspectives that may bring some peace and ease to our bodies, minds, and spirits to have hope.

As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, my model for health and living is Nature. Therefore, I look for clues in Nature on how to be with the challenges in my life and our society. I look to the Seasons for the symbolic Wisdom they offer. For the sake of brevity, I will only refer to the month of February which is the transition from Winter to Spring according to the Lunar calendar.

In Winter, we are called to slow down, stay indoors, stay warm, and eat warm foods. It is a time to manage our resources of food and fuel to last the full length of Winter. When we listen outside in nature, things are quieter. During a snowfall, there is a quiet like no other in nature. The snow absorbs sounds like a muted instrument. To hear what is going on in nature we must be more still and listen more deeply. The same is true if we are to listen within ourselves to our innate and gathered wisdom. Saint Teresa said, "The beginning of prayer is silence. ... If we really want to pray, we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks."

Another way to look at this is Winter offers us the opportunities of stillness and listening and therefore the conditions to access Wisdom from within and without. I am reminded of a version of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

A practice I use to quiet my mind is to simply sit alone in a quiet place, phone turned off, no music playing (if it helps, play instrumental music- words in songs are a great distraction for me), no television on. Here, I simply focus on my breath. I play around with the idea of how little breath do I need to stay awake, or alive for that matter. As with many things in life that may be tedious to me, I make a game of it. I may count the length of inhale and exhale; I may pause between the two and wait for the impulse to breathe to begin again. I sometimes listen for bird songs and see if I can determine what species of bird it is or how close it is. Make up your own game if it does not stimulate your mind too much into a thinking state. There is always some image or word popping in. The trick here is to not dwell on the thought. Let it move out of your consciousness as easily as it came in. It may take practice as this may be new to you.

Another practice comes from the author of the Tao De Ching, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (6th-4th century BCE). He wrote, "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." So, the lesson here might be as simple as "don’t hurry" or "don’t be in a hurry to know." When I consciously choose to not hurry or force things to happen, I notice that my body relaxes, and my mind seems to work a bit better and new ideas flow in.

One thing we can count on is that Spring will always follow Winter. Since December 21, 2020, we are experiencing two to three minutes more sunlight each day. This increase in daylight, has a subtle and profound effect on us and our natural world. This increase in light is part of the rising Qi or energy of the Earth according to Yin/Yang Theory of Taoist Philosophy. This is the time when the earliest flowers poke up through the soil or snow such as crocus’, violets, and pansies. This increase in Qi is felt by all of nature as many species of animals begin their mating seasons, trees begin to bud, animal activity increases in general, ice and snow melt in the mountains providing water to the plants and animals below, and humans begin to plant crops.

These are the creative aspects of nature. They represent not just an increase in activity. They are an increase in possibility, life, cooperation, and hope. This is the time of new beginnings, birth. It is traditionally when humans and all beings emerged from the darkness of Winter into the life-giving light and warmth of Spring.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a form of uncertainty. Spring in this context calls us to our creative potential. to see new possibilities, new paths for growth, new ways of working together to co-create a new and richer world. In the context of Covid-19, we as citizens of the United States, and as humans on the planet earth are being called to cooperate on a scale not seen in most of our lifetimes.

A practice I use to have hope/faith for new possibilities comes from my teacher Grand Master Nan Lu. I look at what is happening in my life and in the lives of those around me through the lens of his "Life Rules.’ These are: "There are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason. The reason is always for good. Can I see the good?"

This practice helps me remain flexible and open to see possibilities and gifts in the most difficult of circumstances even if I do not like what is happening. This practice helps me to remember my faith and maintain hope.

There are always ways that we can work together, to tend to each other, to have hope and faith that what needs will happen.

 Jefferson Breland is a board-certified acupuncturist, he can be reached at 410-336-5876. Their office in Gettysburg is located at 249B York Street.