08/09/2023
We are in the season of late harvest. The time when nature is still steadily busy, the earth is gifting us with the fruits of our labor, seeds we planted in spring are coming to the surface as lush leaves and vegetation are growing. It is a time of “I nourish”. The earth nourishing us with her bountiful abundance of foods.
Connecting with the essence of the earth season and what nature is showing us is a continuation of tending. Tender loving care of fields, of our hearts, our loved ones, our communities.
The Chinese medicine organ related to the earth season is the spleen and stomach. The spleen is like a loving mother, tender without overcompassion or suffocation. Tending and nourishing, caring for without overextending or even asking for a “thank you”. The spleen and stomach’s function is to digest food, and also OUR EXPERIENCES. If we can’t digest our experiences, you may see this in a mind-body connection with difficulty digesting foods, acid reflux, bloating and food allergies.
In our culture, we tend to knot up with worries, fears, ruminating thoughts. This overworry injures the spleen and stomachs function. It muddies the mind, we are unable to care or may overcare. We may take on other people’s stuff without even knowing our own needs or threshold.
How are you nourishing yourself? Your mind? Body? Spirits? Do you have the energy to keep going? To keep rolling? To keep caring? Or are you exhausted?