I am inspired by Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’. The question that followed me for a long time was, “What does it mean to walk the path of one’s own legend?”
The answer came during a Chinese medicine class, with Ping Fang.
“Today I heard again in my heart the words ‘If you follow the path of your own Legend, everything favours you’.”
Ping Fang, who teaches a class on Herbalism in Chinese Medicine, spoke today straight to my Heart, to my Soul.
And she started with the question: “What is your purpose for studying Chinese Medicine?”
Memories were revived in me. I recalled questions about how herbal formulas work. Doubts about how the same formula works differently on people with the same medical diagnosis. I began a search that brought me back to medicine from 2,500 years ago. “It’s only for a year” – I thought. “I’ll find the answer, brush up on my diagnosis, learn more about the nature of herbs”. In August 2019, I started my fourth year at the TOMO School. My adventure with Chinese Medicine has transformed my life.
I heard from Ping: “The thing about Chinese Medicine is that you can start anywhere. It is not linear. The starting point is also the end point. Every direction is ‘forward’. What does this mean for me? “To have the mind of a beginner, the mind of a child.”
I grasped the source of my joy in exploring the ins and outs of diagnosis, patterns of pathology, herbal ways of dealing with them. One day I imperceptibly delved into the nature of life. It is not just the body and its ailments. It takes energy and Spirit to complete it. ‘Illness is not the problem,’ Ping said. ‘Lack of Shen – that is the problem’. “A man is made happy by what he has in him, not by his state of being. A happy man does what he loves.
I was overwhelmed with such peace of mind. My only job is to cultivate this state, to take care of it. I will only do my job well if I myself am healthy, happy and at peace.”
I am not always healthy, happy or calm. I have my stumbles. And they teach me that … “this too shall pass”.
Soul
