Words for Well-Being

I can feel vacation slipping away and my anxiety returning. As you may know, I am a worrier, so while the start of the new semester brings the excitement of bright new students and fresh challenges, it also makes me sleep a little lighter, worrying I am forgetting something, wondering how I'll manage seven classes at three different campuses, hoping and praying I haven't stretched myself too thin by saying, "Yes, I can!" to all the opportunities that came calling. When I am plagued by worry, one thing that really helps is acupuncture. I usually walk into my sessions with shallow breathing and tense muscles, and leave feeling like I had the most amazing massage of my life, like my body is alive and floating, and that my life energy is balanced and flowing again. If you haven't tried it, you must. It's life changing.  Our sessions always start with a tongue examination, then my pulse is taken - which today she described as "wiry", there is a discussion of my eating, sleeping and exercise habits, and then my emotional state. I explain to her that I am anxious and stressed, she explains that I should stop drinking coffee and that I have Liver Qi Stagnation (which she always tells me, still not 100% sure what LQS means) and then I lie down, she massages me and inserts tiny needles, I stay very still, candles are lit, soothing Chinese music lulls me in and out of sleep, needles are removed, I am again massaged, I am a new person.

In today's session, on my way out, my thoughtful and magical acupuncturist gave me her usual warm hug, but also handed me a freshly printed copy of the list below, and with the warmest smile told me to "read it and live it." How lovely is that? I taped it next to my bathroom mirror so I have a daily reminder. It's not the first time I've seen these words, and there is nothing earth-shattering in these 13 little lines, but like most truisms, the wisdom here is simple and obvious.  I'm sharing it below just in case you too might be in need of a gentle reminder to slow down, let go, be mindful, and generally not over-complicate things like I tend to do. Enjoy.

speak less, listen more

say less, do more

worry less, work more

ride less, walk more

eat less, chew more

start less, finish more

correct less, prevent more

blame less, forgive more

wrestle less, embrace more

compete less, cooperate more

take less, give more

have less, be more

frown less, laugh more

(Photo: Borneo sunset, 2011}