Whispering of Willow 57

By Dr. Anna Zhao

Autumn has arrived, and the flowers have mostly withered. Our once flourishing garden is now a desolate sight, with withered yellow leaves scattered everywhere on the muddy ground.

Perhaps because my father was a meteorologist, I've always been quite sensitive to changes in the weather and nature.

"Why do leaves fall in autumn?" I remember asking my father once.

It is likely because I was too young, my father didn't answer the question directly from a scientific perspective. Instead, he said, "When autumn is here, the tree's energy all flows downwards, leaving little energy at the top, so the leaves fall.  You know, the ‘Sorrow of Autumn’ is a common theme in Chinese literature. But what's there to be sad about? The falling leaves simply mean that the tree's energy has shifted from visible to hidden. The more energy a tree accumulates in its trunk and roots, the more vibrant and lush it will be next year."

After becoming a TCM doctor, it suddenly dawned to me that this energy principle also applies to us humans. If we apply this natural phenomenon to people, morning is comparable to spring, noon is summer, dusk autumn, and night winter. So, as dusk falls, the sky darkens, and the surrounding energy gradually shifts from yang to yin. As my father explained years ago, the tree’s energy is drawn back from the treetops to the trunk and roots. At this time of the day, people should also slowly draw back the energy they scattered in the daytime and store it in their centre. This way a new day’s energy is being guaranteed.

This is probably why Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasizes that we should go to bed with the chickens and wake up with birds. After dusk, when we are supposed to be at rest but aren’t, or when we are lying in bed and ruminating on things, we are still dissipating energy while preventing our body's Qi (energy), blood, and fluids from being re-energized and replenished. If we strive to restore our energy whenever we have the chance, it is like opening an invisible energy bank account in our body.

One day, as I was going through a grove of trees, when I saw an elderly lady in a wheelchair contemplating an unassuming chrysanthemum in the bushes.

As I walked towards her, she looked up and smiled at me.

"You really like this flower," I said. "Are you here alone? Do you need any help?"

She pointed to a man crouching by a tree stump in the distance, playing on his phone. "My son is waiting for me there. He's probably getting a little impatient." She said with a little frown. "I used to be like him, always fiddling with my phone, but rarely answering the messages from my own body. You see," she patted the body stuck in her wheelchair, "now even when I make a call to my body, she does not answer it."

It was then that I noticed how thin and fragile she appeared, and how little hair she had left. My clinical experience told me she was probably in the late stage of cancer. I didn't know what to say. Suddenly, I remembered a photo I had saved on my phone. It was a picture I had secretly taken of a bird in the garden two days earlier.

Several months ago, Dr. Ali had placed plenty of birdseed in the garden and recently installed a bird feeder for the hummingbirds. The feeder is quite elegant and from a distance, it resembles a large lotus leaf.

When treating patients, I catch glimpses of birds flapping their wings while chirping at me, or tapping on the window with their little beaks, seemingly trying to get my attention. One day, I saw a small bird with a red beak and a black belly gazing down at a pink rose, seemingly curious about why the flower was so charming, or perhaps intoxicated by its fragrance. I quickly took a snap of this so I could show it to Dr. Ali.

“Look at this photo,” I said to the lady. “Isn’t the expression on this little bird’s face similar to yours when you were contemplating that flower? You’re both enchanted.”

Tilting her head, the lady peeped at the photo, a pleased beam appeared on her wrinkled face.

Her son came over then, and I waved goodbye. As I strode out of the patch of woods, I glanced back and saw him trying to tuck the little flower she had been gazing at into her hair. But her silvery hair was so sparse that the flower fell off several times. The lady then gave up and held the flower in her hand. She glanced in my direction, feebly shook the flower in her hand, as if saying goodbye. The scene somehow touched my heart, and tears came to my eyes.

Several of our patients have quite serious conditions, including late-stage cancer.

For them, our treatment methods and plans are similar to those for other patients. We still use common modalities such as acupuncture, cupping, acupressure, massage, herbs, and meditation to treat them. The whole purpose is to create a peaceful space in their cluttered bodies as quickly as possible. We work to treat their illness, and at least help them alleviate some symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Our master has long said that our bodies inherently possess the potential for self-repair and renewal. When the normal channels within the body become open, this self-healing potential, interrupted by illness, may have a chance to revive.

Nikola Tesla said: “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

I've been wondering myself if the secret to health could be the same. A disease is simply an energy wave within the body that deviates from nature or appears out of harmony with life itself. Once this energy wave is released, healing may be only a matter of time?

How do we release this energy wave then? I think there are at least two feasible methods: first, to regularly answer the calls that the body sends in its own unique way; second, to harmonize with nature and synchronize our resonance with its frequencies.

As Emerson’s voice rings in our ear, “We forget ourselves and our destinies in health, and the chief use of temporary sickness is to remind us of these concerns.”

If you are not completely healthy, has your body ever sent you a message: Slow down your steps, smell that flower, admire the bird, and have a glance at a distant star?