Needles

My acupuncturist was in New York last week (note to self - save for first line of novel, short story, or stand-up comedy routine).  I saw her yesterday, and she told me that during the week she saw one of her beloved teachers who had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

Sound of needle scratching across record.

That is NOT supposed to happen to you wise acupuncture folks!  I mean, how do you get cancer when your chi is flowing properly???

Then she told me that the cancer had metastasized to his bones and he was in a lot of pain.  She said that she treated him and he felt a lot better afterwards.  She added, "I don't know how my treatment could make him feel so much better, but he opened up."

Again, the needle.

Wait, you're surprised that your treatment helped him?  Are you sure that I'm the one with whom you should be sharing this information?

When I put my fear aside, however, there is a lot to be learned from this story.

1) All sorts of stuff happens.  When I first met Huang Yu, I told her that I really liked ginger.  She said, "Maybe you were Asian in an earlier life."  No smile, no joke.  Just a perfectly reasonable thought.  She told me about her teacher's cancer in the same way.  We're on the planet.  Great stuff happens, shitty stuff happens, but it's all just the path.

2) Huang Yu gave me homework this week - treat everything like a meditation.  She said, "The universe has what you need.  Just be open to it, and what you don't need will fall away."  People like her who are vessels probably do often look at the results of their work with a kind of wonder.  Yes, she found the right spots and put the needles in, but only to make room for what needed to be present.