The past few weeks of struggle against ongoing “pain” eases today as I take some positive steps toward alleviating the symptoms that have plagued me for six months. I put the word “pain” into quotation marks because I am the first to recognize that what I am feeling might be considered negligible to those who are suffering serious illness or injury.
As ever, step one is to lighten my load (and the white feather I found not long ago is a daily reminder to remain light and able to rise above everyday trials and tribulations).
The second step, also as ever, is to reassess my diet and keep it as lean and clean as possible, which means, this time around, to eliminate sugar. I have been mostly good about not allowing white sugar into my life for a long time, but I “cheat” by having raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc… And, as everyone knows who has any kind of a sugar addiction, a little here and there leads to more and more and more. Plus, I am very fond of baking and making treats for my husband and friends. Thus, a more serious challenge of “giving it up” emerges.
The third step for this coming month of February, is to return to a paradigm that helped me greatly many years ago: homeopathy. By chance, my doctor from years ago texted me a “hello, how are you,” and I did not think it a coincidence during this time of struggle. I asked for a consultation by phone and after our chat and his research, he recommended Pulsatilla (pasque flower), which I was able to easily purchase at a health food store in a nearby town.
However, the agreement to try this remedy came with the condition of eliminating caffeine, mint, menthol, camphor and other aromatic oils. This gave me pause. No morning tea with my meditation ritual. And most of my usual essential oil products (toothpaste, mouthwash, muscle rub, etc…) would need to be eliminated. As I began to struggle with this new complication, I heard the message given to me by the old monk years ago, “A mere turn of the mind.”
All I needed to do was turn my mind away from the worry and concern. All I needed to do was forego putting tea into my hot water. All I needed to do was sit in gratitude for all the other things that I was capable of enjoying: the sound of birds singing outside the window, the warmth of the room, the time and space to practice Tai Chi and Chi Kung.
If Zen Masters can perfect the art of drinking from an empty cup, surely it would be a simple thing for me to choose to drink hot water instead of tea.
~LJ