​Cool Winter Morning
Silence reigns supreme through out
Frost covers the car, the ground and all vegetation
Inward, inward, nature pulls
Introspection, survival is the theme
The bare minimum, the bare bones
Bare trees, brown grasses, slight smells
All seems to be waiting for the warmth of spring
Quietly contemplating the riches to come
Patiently harnessing the energy available to hold on
Taking time to appreciate the journey
To go inside and connect with the Universe
Time to recognize and appreciate our purpose
Faith that the warmth of Spring will come again
 

Perfect Day
 
Golden soft light shining strong
Clean fresh air with a very slight hint of cool
Bees buzzing in and out of a small evergreen
Flowers still upright but fading quickly
The soothing rush of the waters remind of
My childhood safe place, returned to in meditation
People smile as they move in the warmth
Sharing the beauty of this day
Colors are bright yellows, light greens, muted browns, grays and whites
Smells are fresh non overpowering
Sounds soft, quiet, muted
Emotions appear to be a quiet joy
One of those days that gives you optimism
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 







​Some trees bare                          
Leaves changed but not fallen      
River flowing quickly not rushed
 
 

“Our lives are a mixture of different roles. Most of us are doing the best we can to find whatever the right balance is . . . For me, that balance is family, work, and service.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton
​
  We all have witnessed those people in our lives who overdo or been those people, the aholic be it workaholic, alcoholic, screen addiction etc . When focus, energy, passions get out of balance, other areas of our lives and those we connect with suffer wounds that fester and grow. Of course there are times that require extra focus in particular areas, such as when getting a degree or making a career or life change. Those times are when we need to remember the crucial impact of balance. Balance doesn’t necessarily mean that every area gets exactly the same attention, but that no one area takes over to the exclusion of other areas.
Balance is both internal and external, finding equilibrium between introspection and connection with others in our lives. The key is to acknowledging the importance of balance and recognizing it is an ongoing process not a finite goal. Like physical fitness we work to get to our desired equilibrium and then work to remain or return consistently to that special place. Balance is an individual calculation and there is no one formula that fits all. We all get to choose our own priorities where we focus our energy, what our life balance wheels looks like.

Balance, Centered, Grounded is where we want to hang out the majority of the time and where we want to return when we get knocked off our path. The journey is to discover what practices or disciplines help us return to the sweet spot, the place of workable balance. Luckily there are all kinds of self-care that can support us, meditation, exercise, healthy eating, acupuncture, yoga, etc. The combination that best supports each of us is unique and individual. 

Acupuncture is an ancient medicine based on the study of balance in Nature and thus an integral part of who we are as beings. Acupuncture originated in ancient China many centuries ago, and is used as way to prevent diseases and to bring the body back to harmony when it has fallen out of balance. By inserting very fine needles into specifically mapped points along the meridians of the body, the acupuncturist can manipulate the body’s energy force, or Qi to help the patient return to his/her internal balance. When balance is returned so is health in body, mind and spirit.
 
Possible strategies to try:

1. Take Stock – What is working, what is not? What is one adjustment I can make today?
2. Prioritize and delegate – What do you really have to do yourself? What can you let someone else do?
3. Pay Attention to your overall health – Look at your eating, exercise, regular doctor checkups. How can you minimize toxins in your foods and environment?
4. Schedule regular time on your calendar- Schedule  Alone time and Connection time with family and friends.
5. Research and try out practices that solidly support your balance in life. Try classes, get referrals for meditation, Yoga, Qi Gong, Acupuncture, Talk Therapy, etc. Practice each one for 3-6 months before assessing the benefits and drawbacks. Choose 3-5 to become a regular part of your routine and life.
6. Treat yourself regularly – Have fun, do those things that feed your soul- Reading, Massage, Classes, Concerts, Biking, Hiking, etc
7. Reassess each night - Journaling what worked, what didn’t? What can you change? What do you need to research or contemplate further? Use a page of your journal to do a Gratitude Journal. Listing each little blessing, surprise or ongoing good in your life. 

Meditation Point Lowry

I set the clock so I could greet the sun, a rare occurrence as I prefer to snuggle deeper into the covers and finish the night’s dreams.

The air is cool, even cold this morning frost nipping at the car windows as I stroll past. Definitely a layers type of day as the projected temperature is 80.

The birds greet me as I step from the door headed to the near by park. Many birds have gathered in close proximity to each other and are chirping away sounding a bit like a convention hall during “Social Hour”.

The leaves pepper the yard, but as I look up I see the tree is still full with green leaves not yet even turning. This is the rare time of both Moon and Sun visible before one blots out the other.

The neighborhood is still sleeping except for a few dog owners like me and the resident creature welcoming the new day. I remember this being a time of relief as a teen, the relentless Oklahoma heat dissipating and school firmly in place so I had a sanctuary to escape to at least 8 hours a day. One of the few times of year in Okla. when you could breathe easily and spend extended time outdoors without discomfort.

As I stroll down the street I notice plants starting to fade, still very present but some of the vibrancy toned down a bit. Dew clung to the rose bushes just about to drop, but not willing to release its grasp. The native grasses/ weeds that are now so popular for public landscaping are coming into their own in this season, moving from beige to deep reds and purples truly harvesting the seeds planted back in the Spring. 

I notice that the chill in the air fills my nose and precludes other smells although there is a quick scent of wet grass. Sitting up at the meditation point wisely included in the neighborhood park I look out over the beauty that is early morning and write this poem.
 
     A chilliness that will soon fade with the
     warming day
           
     Birds waking, singing, announcing the rising sun
 
     Cars on a distant street sounding like ocean
     waves crashing on the shore

     Meditation point wisely included in a small
     neighborhood park facing the majestic West
 
     Sun already easing the chill
 
     Still so much green, trees full
 
     Not yet Fall
 
     Magpies making a fly by, chirping to
     announce their presence
 
     The rock that is my seat chilled, but not
     bone chilling
 
     Time of year for relaxing into the impending
     cold,slow, slow, slowing down
 
     Gathering in supplies, harvesting, to plan
     for the winter ahead
 
     Breathing space, relief from the relentless heat
 
     The golden days of Late Summer – the Element
      of Earth slowing passing with Fall
​      /Metal approaching

Memory Garden for a lost child.

My first deployment, The Cold Springs Fire, to a disaster and first experience up close and personal with the first responders. 

The comradeship among the company members is great to witness. These guys and gals eat, work and rest together. They are truly there for each other on a daily basis and it shows. Our first night we had a company that decided to come check us out together. Together they received ear acupuncture for the first time. We were discussing acupuncture and they were all surprised to hear it takes a masters degree to become licensed as an acupuncturist in Colorado and most states in the USA. Then suddenly one of the firefighters proclaimed "Hey I am starting to relax!" "This stuff really works!"

Word is the next morning this company announced at breakfast they had "slept like babies", because they had acupuncture the night before. Needless to say we had a long line that night!
I was struck by the connections of everyone involved, they fight fires all over the country. Those who can no longer fight on the line support behind the lines. They have their own community made up of great people willing to do what is needed to help others in a time of extreme need. 

I was honor to hear a briefing of the firefighters one evening and was struck by the leaders respect of the people and properties involved along with putting safety first. After the fire I talked to a friend whose house was within the fire and they were very impressed with the professionalism of the firefighters and the great care taken on their properties.
​I believe so profoundly in Colorado Acupuncture Medical Reserve Corp's mission and this deployment made me to feel honored and lucky to be involved.

First Hike of the Season – Spring   (Wood Element)
 
Puffing up the steady incline
Legs bucking at the exertion
Breath catching, face reddening
Doubting myself and cursing myself at the same time
Why am I so out of shape
What was I thinking letting it get this bad
Removing myself from the center of attention
I focus on the wonders around
New plants pushing up through the dry ground
Delicate buds covering trees about to burst
Tiny birds dashing through the bush chasing each other
Ants marching in time never missing a step
Spiders plotting their next web
An abandon web along the trail
Connecting with Nature and my visiting friend
Both seem glad to be with me, both welcoming and warm
Nature reminding me it is time to shake off Winter and embrace the new
Time to stretch and push my body to move and strengthen
I too need to wake up from my Winter’s nap and embrace the new day.
By the end the difficulty melts away and the connection is all that counts.

​I wake to the birds singing loudly in all directions. It is hard to know which ones as they seem to be all singing at once, at bit like being in a convention hall where everyone is talking at once louder and louder in an attempt to be heard. The birds sing of the newness of the world. The new growth everywhere is slightly lighter than the old. The colors are subtle but obvious, a lot of silvery white, pale yellow and an occasional deep maroon. Trees that look dead and bare from a distance are truly full of new life up close, they are heavy with new buds ready to burst into leaves and blooms announcing the arrival of the new season. In the mountains the Spring is truly MUD SEASON. All the underground springs that have been dried up for months burst forth once again. The ground above the springs becomes soft and wet. The road, South Beaver Creek is filled with soft wet spots that become damaged road from the springtime springs. It is a fact of life in the mountains and as the runoff runs it’s course the springs will dry up as will the roads and the ground so that mud season will fade away. But for now one must remove one’s shoes on entering the house in an attempt to preserve order and cleanliness. The air today is filled with fog and chill yet there is the promise of warmer weather not far off now. The air smells damp and rich with all the moisture and new growth that is wet with dew and fog. You don’t really know what to expect from the day as the sun could burst forth or snow could comes down from the heavy clouds that hang overhead, that is the reality of Spring in the mountains. The only sure thing is the mud!
 
 
Mud Season
 
Here mud season is official
The ground soaks up the moisture and builds a muck
Every where there is soft wet earth announcing the change
Bursting forth at will, in our driveway, all along the dirt road
The county so use to the phenomena they just put out signs
Warning damaged roads, and wait out the process
The springs will run their course and cease to exist soon enough
Shoes heavy with mud sit in mudrooms designed for this very reason
The air is rich with the smell of wet earth and new growth
Everything smells new and moist
Cars are never clean as they are spattered constantly with mud
Small hills and grooves develop in the road way creating obstacles
Drivers slow down recognizing the need for more caution than usual
Maybe the springs are nature’s way of alerting the humans to the change of seasons
One of the many signs that time is marching on and we are on to the next part of the cycle
Once Again
 

​

                 The morning dawns in the canyon

​Snow still lies about in the mountains soon to melt
 

​                 The road erupts with new born springs flowing beneath the surface

The essence of Wood is that it is the Element of growth and planting of seeds to be nurtured and grown over the Spring and Summer, then harvested in Late Summer. Wood is the Element that is the origination of our vision, in body, mind and spirit. It is also the Element of movement which the tendons and ligaments help to facilitate.  This is the Element of single-mindedness with a focusing on the vision forward. There is an optimism, newness and excitement of a vision, of knowledge of where it came from and where it’s going, with a knowing of how to get there. This Element, as is each element, is crucial in that it is the Mother of Fire and without it there would be no fuel for its child.  As with each Element there is a wide variety of how this manifests in nature. There are millions of different types of woods in nature which can either be very flexible or very stiff. This is actually true of each wood at different points of its life cycle. Young wood is very green and flexible; it then strengthens with age and gains firmness, sense of purpose. In old age it becomes stiff and inflexible. The climate of Wood is wind which is nature’s way stripping away the unnecessary and doing its spring cleaning.
I see a lot of myself in this Element, in that when I am in balance I am full of ideas, plans for the future. For example the decision to be an acupuncturist was born of this time. Seven years ago I made the decision to change careers and pursue an education in Classical 5 Element Acupuncture. This was a big change for me as I had been successfully teaching for thirty-three years. The beauty was that as soon as the dream was formed, the knowledge of how to get there was totally available to me.  I put into motion the necessary steps for retiring from teaching, found the necessary
pre-requisite classes within 5 minutes of my house and conveniently fell into a job with incredible flexibility.  Even as I questioned the wisdom of entering a new career at this point of my life things fell neatly into place for the success of my plan. Now I am here pursuing my dream with a deep knowing that this is where I am meant to be at this point in time.   
I also relate deeply to out of balance Wood as I have myself been mired in that dark inflexible, stuck place of depression. I have often fought the immobility, the inability to see beyond the hopelessness. There have been times when I felt that all was darkness and there was little reason to believe there was any thing beyond that black place. I was stuck in this very place when the Universe/ My Higher Power brought me to Emily Calvert, my first Five-Element acupuncturist for the first time. I felt talked out as far as traditional psychotherapy went. Emily helped me to talk, but also anchor the healing in my body. Her treatments helped me to discover and act on the potential within with confidence and a new found knowing of my own inner beauty. Interestingly there was a gradually lightening of my load and my world became brighter and more hopeful.  It was a big step in my journey to realizing my potential and fulfilling it on a daily basis.