Whispering of Willows

Like usual, I got up at 4 am and meditated. Opening the balcony door in the darkness, I was greeted by a silver moon above my head, and a few stars scattered here and there. I rarely eat dinner and often feel a little hungry in the morning. When hungry, I drink a sip of moonlight or starlight.

Quite early I went to the clinic again; the inflow of sunlight from the terrace pouring into the clinic. I couldn't help but drank another glass of sunlight.

Two eye patients this morning. One elderly client with severe Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and the other, a 14-year-old teenager with serious myopia. I gave the former needles in the eye socket, and the latter, who fears needles, I gave massage, herbs and qigong. I used herbal eye drops on both, which were a formula provided by my master. The AMD patient said his central vision had improved so much he was able to see the car plates before his car. The young patient said her eyesight was significantly improved since a few weeks ago. No doubt, Traditional Chinese Medicine has great potential in treating ophthalmological problems.

At noon, my medical partner Dr. Wang, rode his BMW (his beloved bicycle) to go shopping for the clinic. Quietly I closed the door and went to the secluded terrace again, finding a shady spot to relish my lunch.

Dr. Ali has planted many fruit trees on the terrace. Most of the pears on the branches have been chewed on by the birds. The short apple tree， planted just this year, is laden with fruit. Crows, squirrels, and wind, are scattering fruit everywhere. Dr. Ali spends much time and effort cultivating these fruit trees, but somehow, he seems to favor the cultivation more than the harvest.

An apple fell on the ground. I picked it up, assuming such an ordinary looking fruit must be sour. Deciding to try one bite before throwing it away, I realized that what I was swallowing was a mouthful of refreshing nectar.  Fruit are like people, I discovered, you can be fooled if judged by appearance.

I took my time enjoying my food. In my ears are the chirping of birds, the whisper of an autumnal breeze, and the roaring of cars and the Skytrain. The whole city seems so close yet so distant. The same goes for the whole world. A sweet sigh was audible from the bottom of my heart: ah, we love this.

I say to my patients: “If you learn to listen to your inner voice, you will find your physical pain subsides.”

Some ask: “But Dr. Anna, how can I listen to my inner voice?”

“First of all, you need some solitude. Just like where we are now, on the patio, so quiet that a flower blossoming can be heard”.

Patients often ask: “Dr. Anna, I know that sufficient intake of water is essential for the body. How many milliliters of water should I drink every day? Why do I still have so many problems and chronic inflammation in my body despite drinking sufficient water?

I replied: “Traditional Chinese Medicine always emphasizes the word balance. If your urine is nice and clear, no need to keep pouring water into your body. Perhaps what you need more is a sip of the moon, and the stars and the sunlight...”

Yes, I do believe we have the power within us, to open ourselves to the divine inflow in nature, and in the cosmos. We can choose to do this through the power of our mind.

A young man asked with desperation: “How can I improve my poor eyesight faster?”

I replied: “After enough looking at your phone, your computer or people, take some time and have a look at the clouds, the stars, the moon, the earth, the ants, and the river; you will likely find your eyesight improves.”

The more clinical experience I gain, the more I realize that a person's failing health is closely related to his loss of connection with the cosmos, with earth and with nature. There is no such a thing as one hundred percent physical pain. All pain and diseases are more or less related to our negative emotions, unresolved inner contradictions and conflicts.

I asked the patient who was extremely anxious: “Does your anxiety come from others or from yourself?”

He looked confused.

I went on: “If it is due to others, you must know that no matter how hard you try, you can never change anybody ese in this world. If so, why anxious? If it's due to yourself, you are the master of yourself and you can change your conditions anytime, one step at a time. If so, why worry?”

Thoreau said: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived...."

He is right, the depth of nature is the depth of our soul. Peace and happiness lie right there, hand in hand.

Hence, I often add one note to my herbal prescription: go for a stroll in the woods.