Years ago I lived with a family including youngsters whose dessert during down-time was a video animation called “The Backyardigans.”

I joined the viewing one afternoon with low expectations. I remember very little of the bright shapes and headlight-eyes of the characters and their adventures but I remember very well, and occasionally reference, a brilliant line from one of their songs:

” Do it afraid. ”

I thought of it yesterday as I dropped tender baby bok choy into hand-dug holes in a garden plot newly my own. I’m a Master Gardener through Cornell Cooperative Extension but in the moment of transplantation I felt afraid to dive in to making my community garden plot into an actual garden. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t do the soil prep I know is key to success. I’m behind on starting from seed on my own, including the chamomile I covet. I felt afraid of killing these eager brassicas and afraid of failing to put into practice the education and experience I’ve cultivated in garden know-how.

” Do it afraid. ”
And into the ground they went.

I’ve thought of this slogan during times of perilous growth – darker and more urgent times of being. The slogan is comprehensive and pushes me into acceptance of my fear, that fear is a part of the journey. Fear is also informative and can keep us safe, keep us out of doing. But sometimes we need to ” Do it afraid ” !

” Do it afraid ” in the garden, in communication, in wellness.

Nettles are hanging in my south-facing window,
soon to be tinctures and loose-leaf tea.

They are outstanding medicine to build blood and lung function. They are great relief for seasonal allergies.

Nettles are an iron-rich sauteed feast,
when harvested with love and protection from their sting.

Zong Qi is one of many kinds of Qi that we use to live our lives. Food/ Universe Qi + our stomach Qi = Zong Qi.

What does it mean to think of our food as Universe Qi?

It’s the understanding that food is a manifestation and combination of the universe around us. We know that some food tastes better and is easier to digest. Food that is grown in toxic soil under stressful conditions will taste differently than food grown in healthy soil with ease of being.

How it is grown isn’t the only component of quality. How food is prepared is a huge part of unlocking or destroying the nutritional qi it offers. Whatever approach you use – raw, fermented, fried, steamed, frozen – will change what’s possible for combining with your stomach qi to make Zong qi.

Other important components of quality are the state of being when preparing food and when eating it. Can you remember a time you ate food made with love? And food made under duress? It has nothing to do with the complexity of the meal or the amount of time it took to make it. The state of consciousness during preparation is a key ingredient to healthy food.

And so is the condition of our consuming it. Eating the breakfast burrito in the car on the way to work or a quick bite en route to a meeting decreases the Zong Qi we can make of it. Dimly lit restaurants have it right – low lighting and a calm environment without many distractions are ideal for our stomach qi to do it’s work. Watching television, reading the news, and stressful conversation during eating are one more thing we have to ‘consume’ and diminish our capacity to create Zong Qi.

We can all optimize our digestion with simple changes in choosing food, preparing food, and consuming food.

Artwork by Kathy Goodall

Thank you
for helping me grow, be, share.

I offer my work as ours and in gratitude to the willingness and bravery that makes connection possible.

Thank you
near & far.

With Regards,

Corinne