Nov 2021- Today the Winds blow fiercely outside my window. Branches and leaves are being ripped and thrown about the streets and sidewalks. The rain is battering the people walking by and the water runs in streams down my street. The damp cold is settling in my bones. I can feel the fear that comes with change creeping into my mind again.

All of the pieces are in motion now. Half of my stuff is in the new office location and half is still at the old office. While I am still grieving the comfortable place that I had constructed for myself and my patients. I am trying desperately to see into the future and plan for this new space. Even so, the fear of not getting it right is slipping through the empty spaces and in between my thoughts. Like the leaves carried by the whipping wind, the fear is carried deep into my mind. What if the new place is not welcoming, what if the parking is a problem, what if the building gets broken into again, what if no one comes back?

The traditions of East Asian Medicine bring me back to my senses. If I can honor the passing of the sweet comfort of my old office, then I can open myself to the opportunities of the new office. By releasing what is no longer serving me and honoring that grieving process, I am strengthening my Lung and Large Intestine (metal element) systems and preventing stagnation from forming there. This then feeds the Kidney (water element) system which is most damaged by fear. If my Kidney system is robust, I can more easily process my fear and let it slip off of me as water running off the feathers of a woodland duck. The ancient concept of metal feeding or turning into water comes from the idea of a metal tool that has become cold overnight and is then warmed by the sun. As it warms, condensation rolls down its sides, thus the metal turns to water.

Today, after the storm passes I hope, I will head to the new office to build some furniture. The idea of pulling things out of boxes, puzzling over the directions, and achieving a finished product feels like the kind of joyful activity I need right now. The joy that comes from a balanced Heart system can help to overcome the fears of a weakened Kidney system. I know I look like I am fine on the outside, but on the inside, my internal storm threatens to cause an imbalance in my systems. While this process is totally normal, it sure does resemble the storm that is whipping things up just outside my window today. And just like this weather pattern, the storm will settle, the sun will come out and things will once again become more peaceful, as least until the next time.

Alrighty then, here I go. Taking one more step into the opportunities of the future all the while mindfully honoring the storm that rages inside and outside.