Alive
The month of June is almost at a close. As I sit and type I hear the rain coming down outside my open window. I love the rain – the way it sounds, looks and smells. I often just want to step into it, face up towards the heavens, and be still. Focus on the sound for it is a language all its own. The body becomes chilled – revving up the fire within to share the warmth, like an embrace, with the outer body – a simple act of love. But it also invigorates a sense of being in the moment – alive.
I suppose this describes to some degree how I feel about selling our home. It’s a beautiful space that we have tended and nurtured. Our personalities grafted into the arrangement and placement of items that are not only of utility but sentiment also.
Intense
And so, the process has begun. The donation centers finally opened back up and we took our first big load of items to Goodwill. I felt quite detached from the process but it did bring a sense of relief and accomplishment to let the first batch of stuff go. We are peeling back the layers of accumulation and accepting the vulnerable space we have chosen as our new way of life. Let me tell you – it is intense. The fear that arises doesn’t just manifest itself in the mind. If not dealt with it begins to assault the body. Like a screaming toddler it demands to be heard. Okay, baby, we hear you… help is on the way.
We are both struggling to conquer our fears. Ken has been dealing with an interesting physical phenomenon that Chinese Medicine refers to as “Plum Pit Qi”. This is a throat disorder that has no visible anatomical or physical anomalies. Only a sensation that there is “food” stuck in the throat. It can present as a mild yet uncomfortable annoyance but can escalate into an inability to keep one’s food down. Fortunately, his symptoms are mild with some occasional nausea. I wanted to make an appointment with an acupuncturist but with COVID19 mandates oppressing every decision we make (“stay inside, stay alive” “mask your face until it’s safe” smh) – we decided to figure out how to deal with it ourselves.
Remedy
I did some research and found a Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal remedy: “Ban Xia Hou Po Tang”. After reading about the ingredients and contraindications I decided this would be a safe bet. In the meantime, before I placed the order for the medicine, I decided to try out some remedies I already had at the ready. Having slow cooked a whole chicken that morning I made a simple soup for dinner. But, before we ate the meal I had him take a dose of Swedish Bitters. He ate his meal and we waited… no “plum pit” feeling. From this I deduced that the bitters must have relaxed the “spasm” in his esophagus.
Plum Pit Qi
In Chinese medicine, this lump is called Plum Pit Qi because it feels like a plum pit is caught in your throat. The Chinese believe that Plum Pit Qi is the result of a situation that is figuratively too hard to swallow, so it gets caught in your throat and won’t budge. That’s why I know that the patients I see with this condition are also struggling with some kind of stressful life event or issue. – Health Insights
We are not out of the woods just yet. This will take some time and diligence to remedy. I will be adding acupressure routines to the mix in order to bring about faster results. I am so thankful for all the healing resources available and to the people that have devoted their lives to the lives of others.
In life, we are constantly confronted with a non-stop array of challenges. How we decide to meet them is entirely up to us. Choosing to sell our beautiful home and refuge probably seems like a nutty idea to most – especially in such uncertain times. To some, it launches their imagination, wonderment and sense of adventure. For us, it is more than a journey of the senses and more than gaining a bit of financial flexibility. It is primarily a journey to find the way back to Self and, hopefully, improve our understanding of what it means to be alive – in this life and in this time. Thanks for reading…
Sorry to hear about Ken’s challenges – life ain’t easy, is it? But cleaning out , while challenging, can also feel good – been doing some of that myself.
Yes, there is a lesson in everything that challenges us. It is definitely shaking us up and directing us to “clean out” in so many ways. Hope you are seeing/feeling positive results with the changes you are making! x
Always look on the bright side, you will have no debt and money in the bank.
Right – The next challenge is money management and learning how to function in this brave new world.