in fact, it can be very very muddy harvesting this root for our gastronomical consumption…
Okay, so here too, it’s mud, mud, mud, no lotus (flower) up North in Vancouver this season.
Where is the blossom? When does it flower?
***
Returned from Japan via Taipei (just a stopover during typhoon weather – would love to explore this city next time), then to Vancouver (stayed awhile – a very cosmopolitan city with lots of yoga – after all, isn’t this place the birthplace of Lululemon?) and now home. What a relief… “there’s no place like home” cried Dorothy and savoring that similar sentiment – if only I could have just clicked the heels of ruby red shoes to get home. Or have that Doraemon-like private helicopter to go from one place to another with no time zone diff. Rather, a head-spin… Suffering from the worst jet lag ever…
Feeling unprepared as I stress over coming back to reality where TO DO LIST awaits stealth like … Probably not having been able to practice the kind of yoga that’s suitable for last couple weeks have brought on this sense of … discomfort. Serious discomfort in my own skin. It’s a bitter medicine to learn from the consequence of not listening to my own body and mind – I should know how to take care of them – I should know better – all studied – yes, that art of self-care – and yet, somehow all went out the window as I let myself languish in the hot heat and humidity of 95% … somehow made myself a prisoner to an air conditioned indoor environment … as news constantly reported alarming temperatures of near or over 100F and dangers of sun strokes… Take one step outside, and immediately, I would be dripping with sweat – so muggy – sweltering suffocating heat. If you like Bikram yoga, I suppose, it’s just ideal … but it’s not just 90 minutes – it’s 24/7. How is that for hell for a pitta dosha like me? I used to love summer in Japan as a child but … it’s either global warming or my body has changed – it’s so much hotter than how I remember my childhood summers – even college years summers in Japan. I Love Japan but only in Spring, Autumn and Winter …30F degrees cooler upon landing to Vancouver… (95 degrees cooled to about 60… I would call this a drastic change…)
While in Vancouver, feeling the need to “restore” myself into balance, did seek out a Restorative yoga class and a Yin – always fascinating to see how others teach them – at a sparkly posh downtown studio, the 90 minutes class taught by a father of a two-year old, rather buffed young instructor, very talkative with an interesting playlist, first; an interesting sequence of many squats, second; an interesting ‘take’ on “restorative yoga”, third. Guess ALL yoga should be “restorative” in one way or another so his departure from the expected can be appreciated. Let’s just say, it was a playground … with props. Packed to the brim with 50+ diverse students and counting – a bit surprised on Sunday morning at 9:45 … while not exactly what I had expected nor wanted, it worked to bring about some sense of ease and comfort in my own body tight, stiff and sore from hours of sitting and waiting in different time zones. So in need of relief … (will cover this class at another post)So in need of comfort, support and sense of security. A Balance.
As I tried to restore myself, I found myself chanting to self … “no mud, no lotus, no mud, no lotus… ” My trip to Japan was not a vacation – visiting my aunt dying at a hospice was grating to my nerves and exhausting … Why do good people have to leave this world to go to another? Why does our body have to wither away ? Why do we suffer? If we can’t live forever, we have to live in the moment – that eternal moment. That eternity we pin our hopes to – that life is meaningful and precious.
Tried to find peace as I took in the group energy…all looking for some relief from the daily grind – the struggles… Sunday is a day God (or Higher Power) bestowed on us to REST, DIGEST, INTEGRATE so that we may PREPARE for Monday.
AND lotus roots are so tasty… love RENKON – a very popular common root veggie in Japan is lotus roots… it’s super yummy:)
I realize I am getting away from the Buddhist teaching significance …celebrating this root vegetable. It’s crunchy and yet a little bit chewy …a must for Chirashi sushi my mother used to make:)
and here’s renkon edamame …
and renkon chips:)
So…
No mud, No lotus. No dark, No light. No sadness, No happiness. No Yang, No Yin. No Grief … No Joy then. Repeat – No Mud, No Lotus.
Both spiritual and gastronomical – Amen.
