Pursuing happiness 24/7.

If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month -- get married.
If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else.

Chinese Proverb

What or whom makes you happy? Most of the time the answer comes easily, even if it might be by saying what makes you “unhappy” rather than naming the happiness in your life.

Do you feel a pang of guilt though whenever you are unhappy, a little blue, down in the dumps or just downright depressed?
What is this guilt based on? Could it be that we feel entitled to happiness?
I suspect many of us think of happiness not as a possible outcome but more as an expectation. We demand being happy 24/7 and no other state of being will do.

However, taking a closer look at Nature it becomes clear that these opposites are natural and necessary. It would be ridiculous to question night and day, the rise and fall of the seas or the waxing and waning of the Moon. So why be so harsh on ourselves for daring to feel less than total bliss at times?

Personally, I’m taking a cue from my natural surroundings by perceiving these opposite states as an essential part of me. I need the less than ideal moments to appreciate and value the happy ones more. Of course I’m not talking about a 50/50 balance here – more like tipping the scale to at least 70/30 in favour of happiness.

So here’s to “adjusted” balance by being true to our emotional selves.
Be inspired.

Playing kitchen witch

“Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble.” - From Macbeth

The impetus for grabbing a knife and chopping away at roots and herbs while brewing tinctures was a persistent cold that seemed to stay with me week in and week out. Terrified that I won’t ever get rid of my runny nose (imagine the impact on my love life) I took a tiny step away from Western medicine.

What started out as an experiment with grated ginger root went on to me scouring dusty Chinese herbal shops armed with recipes scribbled in Cantonese on scraps of paper searching for ingredients for my “latest” panacea. At the best of times these herbal shops can be “little shops of horrors” but I’ve programmed myself to look past the gory stuff for the time being.

Back in my kitchen I carefully unpack my booty, washing, peeling and grating it into a suitable pot.
What bliss to see it all boiling away on the stove, straining the remaining liquid and then gulping it down with gusto. True pleasure.

What can I say, a few days later and I’m feeling on top of the world again.
What’s more is that my Chinese friendships have blossomed into something else all together. Instead of chatting about work we now ooh-and-aah over plants, roots, herbs, bark, leaves and the best way of preparing these treasures from Nature. I look with different eyes at traditional Chinese medicine – and the more I see, the more I want to explore. With a history of more than two thousand years there sure is plenty to learn.

Two of the easiest recipes I’ve learned the past few days are for boosting the immunity.

Goji berry tea (Wolfberries) – take a few berries, place in a mug, top up with boiling water. Now drink to better eyesight, improved circulation, an enhanced metabolism (yes, yes, yes) and many more benefits.
How easy was that?

Bei Qi (Astragalus) – take four to five pieces of the root and boil in a pot with about 750ml water. Simmer on a low heat for an hour, strain and drink. My friend Doris told me that people in Hong Kong like to drink Bei Qi soup (where they add chicken to the root) once a week during Winter because of it’s immune boosting properties.

(Please note that these recipes are not meant to substitute any prescription treatment or drugs.)

Be inspired…and healthy of course.