In many cultural traditions, spring is the season for new beginnings, growth, expansion. The Rosicrucians posit that it is the best time to make plans and take actions to promote new projects and ideas; especially for the proceeding fifty-two days. I liken the season to caterpillars emerging from winter's dormancy in their chrysalis's with opportunities to spread their wings to fly...
This is a welcome transition point for me. It marks the near midpoint of the longest semester here training and my first winter on the mountain. Our first semester began last September and lasted sixteen weeks. This semester is twenty-four weeks long. The days and weeks are coming and going by rapidly now and I have a sense of urgency to get it all in because I know that this unique experience will soon be over--June 2019 is 'right around the corner.'
The gravel path down to the creek Photo credit: RJ Woodbine |
The path up to the Retreat Center Photo credit: RJ Woodbine |
My legs are probably in the best shape they've been in since I ran cross country in high school (1968). The significance of this is no small thing and plays itself out daily for me in our training drills. Whether it's doing the form, White Crane Qigong or our partner drills (Push Hands, Yin-Yang Symbol, Centering, etc.), my body continues to refine its understanding of what it means to be rooted without being stuck. The Taijiquan classics say that "power is generated by the legs, directed by the waist, and manifested in the hands". Understanding it intellectually is one level, but embodying it is quite a different experience. More on that as time passes...
30' rope on a Madrone tree limb Photo credit: RJ Woodbine |
Lately, I've thought about how favored my life is. My grandmother and aunt raised me and taught me the meaning and value of love. My father apprenticed me when I was about ten years old and gave me my footing in the healing arts. The Reverend David P. Kern chose me as one of one hundred inner city kids to attend the summer academic enrichment program at the Hotchkiss School (the G.O. Program) in 1965. I subsequently enrolled and graduated from the Hotchkiss School and attended Harvard University through 1973. In 1980, I was blessed to work at Xerox Corporation until I left in 1984 to work for Digital Equipment Corporation until 1992. At that time, I entered naturopathic medical school and completed that training along with a masters in Chinese medicine by 1999. After caring for and treating patients and their families for the past twenty-two years, here I am now at the YMAA Retreat Center further refining my mettle!
Most mornings here I awaken before my alarm goes off at five. There are times when I do not want to get out of the bed at all--tired, cold, achy, maybe even in pain. Yet, I pull myself up and out of my comfortable bed and continue training. My favored life is also one that taught me the importance and value of discipline, diligence, and tenacity. Those three keys that have unlocked my capacity to endure discomfort and maintain my faith even in the face of doubt, opposition, or any visible confirmatory sign that I was close to being successful. Truly, more important than the goal is the journey, the process of moving toward it. That, in of itself, is the gift I think I'll be able to offer when I've completed this program.
For now, I'm going to bed to sleep. Have to be ready to train in the morning...
Thank you to all of you that continue to support my being here morally and financially!
Blessings,
Dr. Woodbine
"What would you do if you knew you would not fail? What would you do if you knew now one was looking or there to encourage you?"