Time flies, I have been living at the foot of the mountain for almost 2 years, and residents, who saw me wondered why I lived in the scenic area. It is humid and foggy; the mountains obscure the monsoon in all directions. If someone who knows geomancy sees it, he will think that I am poor and withdrawn, I have no point of view.
What does poverty mean? It’s not just that one can’t buy luxury goods or go to expensive restaurants, but a kind and honest person may be bullied, and once the sufferer gains power, he returns the favor to pass on the pain that he has suffered, to bully people who are weaker, because he will think that this is the natural law of survival. Sometimes I feel that I am a juvenile barnacle goose born in a harsh environment constantly crashing against the cliff, and when I land, it remains to be seen whether I will survive, since predators may take me away at any time. That’s why I’m often ridiculed: “She can’t even survive.” Most of the time, I like to be at home alone, but there is not enough food in the fridge, so I have to go out.
In order to expand on business opportunities, people like to drink, eat, and play cards, and they gather late at night in dance halls, bars or KTVs. I almost never attend such events since it’s clear that these gatherings don’t build real friendships.
I don’t know if readers have read Tagore’s famous poem: “The Farthest Distance in the World”. The bird in the sky and the fish in the water were originally destined to follow different paths, but due to the law of attraction, they briefly intersected in the physical world. “Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.” I used to think that some people would never leave me, but they wouldn’t even say “see you again” when they said goodbye. Sometimes I even suspect that, except for the love of parents for their children, all adults are willing to give only because they expect to be rewarded.
The ugliness of people chasing profit reminds of vultures searching carrion from the sky; can I point this out? I am ashamed of such people. Some people …even if they have earned plenty of wealth, still obsess with grabbing more; they have no worries about food and clothing while still searching utilitarian value. Despite good education, they expose the nature of the law of the jungle, do not know how to communicate nonviolently, to prove that they are above others. Do not say“Life is not easy”, when we go forward, it’s always windy and rainy. In my spare time, I love writing and enjoy being alone in my room. When I was a child, I was afraid of snakes and spiders, but growing up, I discovered that humans are the scariest among all animals.
I have been to Hangzhou; a magic place standing above the myriad of magic places in China. And this poem best describes the feeling of being there. Go to Hangzhou before your die; highly recommended!
A light boat and a centennial tree at the West Lake – Photo bt F. Marincola, Hangzhou, March 21 2019
寄自杭州的明信片
A Postcard from Hangzhou
杭州，丝路上的古城，
满载货物的慢船从海上来。
杭州有几个名字，更多历史，
几百个传说都发生在西湖边，
说书者一纸合一扇，说了千万遍，
“话说……”
是故事生动还是风景醉人？
满座看客才愿意定居于此，老去。
Hangzhou, an ancient city on the Silk Road,
Slow boats full of cargo come from the sea
Hangzhou has several names, much more history,
Hundreds of legends happened by the West Lake,
The storyteller shake his paper fan, thousands of times:
“It is said……”
Is the story vivid or the scenery mesmerizing?
Audience sitting under the stage,
They are willing to settle here and grow old.
一提杭州，人们就想到阿里巴巴。
诗人，创业者，企业家，身份不明的游客，
青年们浓妆淡抹，在镜头前推销产品。
中年人们下午在下满觉陇聚集，
喝茶，天南地北胡侃。
施主心有所求，就去灵隐寺，祈祷，
在溪水边冥想：
“见鱼出游从容而言鱼之乐”。
Whenever Hangzhou is mentioned, people think of Alibaba.
Upside down world – Photo by Denise Tarasuk – Nova Scotia, August 2022
Thursday August 11, 2022
Time: 2:45 pm
Campbell, California
78 degrees: sunny
Sunrise: 6:21 am
Sunset: 8:04 pm
Sturgeon Supermoon tonight: I will be sitting under the moonlight
Healing with a Shaman
Before entering medical school, I worked with the Yanomami indigenous people from the Amazon rainforest on the border of Brazil. My Peace Corps project included raising money for a Shaman-based clinic and lecturing about indigenous people and ways to help their survival. The Yanomami people are endangered by malaria and diseases brought in by gold diggers who attack the tribes. Our imprint on the rainforest, the animals, and the indigenous people must be delicate and filled with thought, kindness, and love.
It wasn’t until years later that I had the opportunity to venture into the rainforest itself, for after my project with the Peace Corps, I entered medical school. I refer to entering medical school as “the deep plunge.” My survival as a student depended on how fast and much information I could intake, absorb, assimilate, and spit out, as the fire hose of knowledge was wide open. Surprisingly, I thrived and loved the depth, speed, and challenge.
Before classes started, my husband and I watched Medicine Man with Sean Connery. Set in the rainforest, the film opened my mind and lit a spark deep within my soul. When watching Medicine Man, I was in the rainforest, if only in my dreams.
The story is about a doctor, a cancer researcher working who discovers a cure for cancer contained in a rare species of indigenous ants. He is joined by Dr. Crane, nicknamed Bronx because of her heavy accent, sent from the pharmaceutical company they both worked for to investigate the status of his research. Her life is changed forever when Bronx receives Shakti from a Shaman, a blessing that leaves a large, big blue tattoo on her forehead from side to side.
It seemed an odd coincidence. Right before I had watched the movie, I visited a Shaman, and the experience permanently changed my life mentally and physically.
I should recall how I met the Shaman, but I do not. It all seemed quite natural at the time. Why not try every healing mode, especially when nothing seems to be helping the current problem? I was into everything wild, and visiting a Shaman was just something I thought was interesting.
I remember feeling so safe as the Shaman explained we would lay down together on Mother Earth. She would hold my hand during the journey and guide me. My journey began.
Surrounding drums began beating. Vibrations filled my head. The beat of the drums went on and on. After an hour, the drumbeats slowed and then stopped.
The Shaman explained that I must be cautious in taking care of myself. My healing would start slowly. It was Wednesday, and my major shift would happen at 4 pm on Friday. She explained I would have a profound healing experience and feel much better.
Right on cue, at precisely 4 pm on Friday, I felt a massive shift in my feet and legs. I felt this sensation I will call a flow. It was as if all the blood and fluid were traveling up the veins in my legs. The feeling was intense, strange, and fast. There was an inner sound of a swish! Then swelling in my legs and feet was gone. The situation that had plagued me for a year suddenly disappeared.
Although challenging, I have done my best to explain the deep healing of soul retrieval with a Shaman. My recovery was profound, yet my words to describe the affair, to this very day, are entirely lacking. Unlike Bronx, I must report that I do not have a blue tattoo on my forehead.
Sunset, sunrise – Photo by Denise Tarasuk, Windsor Nova Scotia, June 21 2022
Moments: Present and Past
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Time: 2:14 pm
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Weather: rain, fog, and damp
Sunrise: 5:30 am
Sunset: 9:09 pm
Summer Solstice 2022
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” His words have spoken to me more than once, and it is with this short but most crucial statement I let it seep into my soul and guide my life. And so, I have always chosen the latter, followed the steps to the beat of my heart, and took the path that most would not choose.
Today is the day I have been looking forward to for months. This is the grandest day, the longest day of the year, the first day of the summer! For months, I have been rising with the sun. Watching the intense rays coming over the town as I sipped a cup of tea and stood on the back porch, where there was an incredible view of the town and the Bay of Fundy with the rising tides in the foreground.
Each evening is not complete until I watch the sunset over the Bay of Fundy that flows into a lake and then a river close enough to my front yard that I can throw a stone in the water. I started watching the sunset many months ago as I wondered what it would be like to watch the sunrise and then the sunset each evening until the solstice.
Watching the sunrise and the sunset seems so simple that everyone can partake. Many families fly to Hawaii or to Florida to watch a sunset. The experience is a one-time experience, a one-time to-do, where you sit on a cliff and celebrate with a glass of champagne. Maybe the event is a boat cruise with a glass bottom, where you can watch the fish and the sea world and follow the trip with a view of the most spectacular sunset that will stay in the part of the brain that holds all the perfect memories.
I began to wonder how I would feel. Would the experience of watching the sunrise and set daily make a difference in my life? Would I be able to sleep better? Would my happiness bar or rating go slightly up? Would I be excited about the longest day of the year? What would I do to celebrate?
Today is the day. Large expansive clouds, rain, and dense fog filled the sky and the lake below where I stood. The weather was predicted: cold, damp, and foggy. Was this going to ruin my day? Oh no, not in your life.
Today will still be the perfect day I have been looking forward to for months! I will dance in the rain, splash in the puddles, and hike to my favorite place where I talk to the grand Willow tree and lay in a field of butter cups.
Evening came, the clouds covering the vast sky and the rain that came and went, I began to have doubts about the perfect sunset. Perhaps, I thought, I should settle for a good movie or a TV show.
And then suddenly, after a last peek out the window, there the sunset was, the heavenly sky with glorious colors and just a tiny but vibrant sunset. I dashed outdoors, up the street to my favorite spot, where the best view can be seen between the tall maple trees. I stood there for some time and then my husband joined me. At that moment, joy was all around, and peace was found. The sunset I had been looking forward to for months was there for my eye to digest.
Tomorrow is another day, and I have decided to watch the sunset until Winter Solstice, which is in December. My insomnia has left; I now sleep through the night. That is a joy that cannot be explained. I love Mahatma Gandhi, and I live by his words, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Who only knows, maybe I shall spend Winter Solstice in Iceland watching the northern lights! Will you join me?
Weather: Sunny and very muggy; it promises to rain
Sunrise: 5:29 am Oh! How very wonderful to watch the sunrise.
Sunset: 9:02 pm. Completely wonderful to think there is sunshine right up to 9 pm
Pressure: 29.83 Hg
A Perfect Cup of Chai Masala
When guests arrive at our home, I always offer a cup of chai with fragrant Indian spices. Sometimes I receive a phone call in the afternoon asking if a friend could come over for a cup of chai. They explain that they are desperate! They long for a good chat and a cup of chai with some warm Indian spices.
I have had many such requests in the past, but it always surprises me when my Indian friends tell me their chai is horrible. Could they please come over and have a cup of decent chai? They are lonely or feeling stressed and need a good heart to heart. They would love to sit in my backyard and have a hot chai cup with all the sweet spices.
Today I met with my dear friends, out in the country, along the old Dyke Road. They asked how I made my chai and what spice packet did I use? Where did I buy the tea?
I explained that all the spices are from India, but I would gladly grind up cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon as a gift. I promised to type a recipe and invite them over to learn the art of making chai. How much water to boil, the perfect amount of sugar to add, a dash of ground spices, and a touch of milk make the perfect cup.
Making chai is an art, and the recipe has a secret. Once beginning the process, I do not take my eye off the chai, or it does not turn out. Chai is like a sweet baby; it knows when you are not paying attention. Chai is delicate and demanding; the taste is worth the effort.
The spice mixture is a blend of cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. Cardamom brings joy to the heart. Perhaps joy is the greatest gift one can give to a friend or a loved one.
As I drove along the old Dyke Road, admiring the beauty of the fields lined with colorful lupins that caught my eye, the largest deer I have ever seen jumped out in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes and quickly came to a halt. The deer, followed by two pheasants, dashed for the bush, leaving their long tales sticking out for me to see. Then a dove flew over my car, sending a message of love, joy, and peace.
Directions for Chai Masala
Grind two pods of cardamom, one clove bud, and a small piece of cinnamon with a mortar and pestle
Bring two cups of water to a boil
Add the spice mixture
Add 2 tsp. of orange pekoe tea
Add 2 to 4 tsp. of sugar
Bring to a boil
Add ¼ to ½ cup of milk depending on taste preference
I wrote to Yao a while ago: “You should watch “My dinner with Andre“. One of my favorite movies. It is spectacular how you can sit and watch two guys dining for two hours and don’t get bored”.
She did and she liked it, and she sent: “My dinner with Wally“. If you cannot guess who Wally is, it is understandable. Yet, it is not that difficult. It is explained in the first sentence.
Onion Flower – Photo by F. Marincola, May 25, 2020
与Wally晚餐
My dinner with Wally
那里有两个小人物，一个安于现状，一个心比天高，他们总是在吵架,很难判断谁的建议更好。
There are two small guys in our heart, one is satisfied with the existing state of affairs, and the other with great expectations. They always argue, and it is difficult to judge whose advice is better.
The questions we have to face in life are unavoidable multiple choices. Critical choices such as majors, occupations, marriage, are not as easy as choosing clothes and food. Wally, no matter what choices we make, we are always left wondering: …what is the story that would have followed those choices that were not made? We will never know. It’s a one-way ticket, every decision is an arrow that cannot be turned back, a wild horse that runs away, leaving behind a congealed life scene. A variety of factors will influence the choice, and the final decision is not necessarily the one that one desires most in the heart.
After the awakening of human consciousness, people instinctively want to have more choices, supposing that there are opportunities to change the status quo. People will gather the courage to jump off a cliff to soar into another state of life. Conscious awakening is to perceive everything and to start thinking about aging and death. One day I slept for a long time. The room was dim when I woke up. The afterglow of the sunset outside the window gave me the illusion that it was sunrise. I soon realized that the bright glow was no more dazzling. Then I watched it sink cruelly. I often fall into constant exhaustion; but no one perceives me in a terrible state. I was still in a very peculiar state at that time, expressing my emotions directly into society. Those cold robots regarded me as a weird person.
年轻的时候我看The legend of 1900那部电影，那是一部枯燥乏味的电影，就像我的生活。那种真实的懦弱，尝试着踏上陆地却没有成功。我没有计算自己看日落的次数，但肯定比小王子要多。我和寺庙里的佛像对视却没有弯曲自己的膝盖，炉子里香火鼎盛，案头上一支点燃的蜡烛，灼热滚烫，飞快的消耗着，稍有不慎，烛泪就会随着烛身流淌下来风干在烛台上。信徒们将纸币放进箱子内，将硬币丢进水池内，没有人发现神明不在寺庙内。
When I was young, I watched the movie “The Legend of 1900”. It is a long dull movie just like my life. That kind of real cowardice, tried to set foot on the land but failed. I did not count the number of times I watched the sunset, …it must be more than the Little Prince. I stared at the Buddha statue in the temple without bending my knees. A lighted candle on the altar was quickly consumed. Tears of wax flowed down the body of the candle and dried over the indifferent candlestick. Believers put the banknotes in the box and threw the coins into the pool. No one found out that the gods were not in the temple.
我询问一位扫地的僧人，“他们去哪里了？”
僧人告知我，“施主来得不巧，众神刚走半柱香的时间。”
I asked a monk who was cleaning the floor, “Where did the gods go?”
The monk told me, “You are unlucky, the gods have just left.”
I instinctively wanted to know more like a curious cat. I left my name and address on the wall of the temple, and stayed overnight in the mountains. The night was cold and the noise of the crickets was so loud that it covered the sound of the spring water. I walked out of my room. There was a faint smell of blooming flowers in the courtyard. The monk was drinking alone under the moonlight. He said that in fact he was a god, but he couldn’t give any instructions to believers. When he was born, he could choose to be a god or a devil. He remained always curious about the devil’s life. He drank all the wine in the jug, and then tossed the jug on the bluestone board, and the jug was broken into many pieces. He seemed crazy and his mental status appeared unstable. I packed the bags and left the temple at night.
I don’t know where do I come from, where I am going to, what is my mission; yet the process of life continues. When I lost my way, I can only choose to write, read, and communicate with different people. I found that no one is satisfied with the status quo of their life. Someone said life is the process of satisfying desires. I don’t agree. People’ desires are bottomless and can never be fulfilled. Only by learning to suppress desires, we may find a balance that makes us comfortable. From a long-term perspective, life is just dust scattered in the universe over time and space. Life is suffering, to ultimately vanish. May each of us find our faith in suffering.
Francesco Marincola 