“Self-Portrait” by David Whyte

It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned,
if you can know despair or see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eye,
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living,
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.

I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.

With warmer weather we are not the only ones with Spring Fever – adult deer ticks are more common during April and May! Now is the time they are looking to attach, feed, and possibly transmit diseases. (And then again in October and November.)

The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends a twice daily tick check that focuses on these parts: Under the arms, in and around the ear, inside of your belly button, back of your knees, in and around the hair, between your legs,  and around the waist. This is second only to a full body check – every where! You can use a small hand-held mirror to help you examine carefully.

If you’re checking twice a day (AM & PM) you are greatly reducing your risk of disease transmission if you are bit by a tick. Removing the tick within twenty-four hours is key. Twice daily tick checks also increase your likelihood of knowing it happened – it’s not uncommon that people experience symptoms of tick-borne illnesses without knowing where and when they were bit.

I recommend reading over Hillary Thing, LAc’s online article: First Aid for Tick Bites and Lyme Disease Prevention.

Examine, Examine, & Enjoy your outdoor explorations!

Spring for you and Spring for me and Spring for your neighbor all mean something different. Keeping that in mind, here are some Spring-inspired foods recommended because of their upbearing effect, so that your Qi can move with the season like the shoots you’ll soon see coming up from the ground:

* Fennel
* Rice
* Buckwheat
* Lemon and other sour flavors in moderation
* Bring out the pungent cooking herbs! Basil, marjoram, dill, rosemary.

Avoid hot and fatty foods. Keep things light. Consider a cleansing practice appropriate for you.

It’s time to walk, venture, spring forth!

What’s near you?

A lovely, soggy,  Shaupeneak Ridge moment in the Hudson Valley has me interested in exploring more:

http://www.scenichudson.org/parks

We’re all astir.

Years ago I assisted Tania Neubauer, ND, LMT in presenting information about nutrition to day laborers at Voz: Workers Rights Center in Portland, Oregon. We handed out business-card-sized references for what to include and what to avoid when making choices about eating. We cooked and shared food that demonstrated what we were talking about. We listened to the concerns about diabetes and it’s complications, and the challenges of access to healthy food. In the heart of Portland, Oregon, this community faced multiple barriers to basic nutrition to sustain themselves throughout the day. Every day. Every week. The number and depth of those barriers illuminates the complexity of societies everywhere.

I returned the next week to present information about acupuncture, and offered free auricular treatments to those interested. This was the beginning of nearly two years of a by-donation weekly community acupuncture clinic in the available half of a trailer used as an office. Moxibustion heat therapy, QiGong, and meditation were a part of the clinic too. Nutrition remained a focus- it was always a part of our conversations. It was never lost to me that this all began with a connection about food.

The community of Voz: Workers Rights Center is an ongoing inspiration for me in many ways. The origins of my work there has resurfaced in my mind because of the growing numbers of patients who understand the central role food plays in their health. And like the community at Voz, are ready to do something about it.

Education, discipline, attention, and intention in food choices is crucial to health. It’s a lot of terrain to navigate! May we all have the guides (inside and out) that we need and may we all have the opportunities to receive what we have chosen.