Inspiration

Things lately have inspired me. My friends, my husband, my parents, autumn, autumn leaves, my acupuncturist, road biking and cooking. The way the sun sets over Twin Peaks and what I call The Eye of Mordor (ok, Sutro Tower - geek moment). The way R, my husband, always makes me laugh. How I can call up my friend A and see if she’s free for after work drinks to talk about life, careers, happiness... How I can call my friends in Seattle, N & S and discuss the same things. And how I can pick up friendships from across the country just by spending a weekend in NYC. I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life. And I need to always be inspired. I recently realized that it had been awhile since I was inspired and needed to stop for a minute and try to look at the world around me every day for inspiration. Even if it’s just cooking a meal or a smile from R. How about you? When was the last time you were inspired? Need some inspiration? See this video!

Above photo: view from the street in SF that I live on, looking towards Twin Peaks with the Eye of Mordor peeking up in the background. The street on the left is the steepest street in North America!

I know it sounds sort of corny, but this bout of inspiration really started the week of Steve Jobs’ passing. Watching his commencement speech from 2005 really made me wonder: “why am I sitting on my ass in a job I rather dislike?” And really, why am I? I’m not hungry or foolish as Steve Job’s so famously proclaimed in this speech (by the way, if you haven't watched this, please do, it's worth 15 minutes of your time, I promise!). Coincidentally, the year that he gave this speech is the same year that I graduated college - it’s amazing how much it speaks to me over six years later. And also pretty incredible that this inspiration coincides with the whole Saturn Returns thing.

And so, it is with much shyness that I discuss my latest inspiration. For those who know me - I’m not a shy person. In fact I’m quite outgoing. For whatever reason, however, this topic pretty much scares the shit out of me. It must be serious. So I’m shy.

So, deep breath, here we go...

I went to the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine open house on Saturday. Ok, you say - no big deal! But, this feels monumental. Just writing about it makes me nervous! Thinking about changing my entire career, jumping off a cliff and *hoping* that a new pathway in life would be much more rewarding. Even clicking "publish" for this blog makes my stomach have butterflies (or flutterby's, my Dad's childhood name for it).

It’s just that it would be such a huge and monumental change. “Giving up” my career, my paycheck, my colleagues, everything that I have worked so hard for through high school, college and the past six years - just to see if becoming an acupuncturist is the right thing? Bloody scary. I put “giving up” in parenthesis because really, is trying something new, stepping out on a limb, taking that leap of faith really giving up? Not really I try to convince myself, and this is where I circle around to inspiration. Chinese medicine inspires me. It’s time to be hungry. It’s time to be foolish. I’ve spent my previous lifetime being calculating, controlling, anticipating every action, every move, being successful. And you know what? I’ve spent the past six years working towards something that really doesn’t interest me or inspire me in the least.

I feel I must take a moment here and be mindful of the advice A recently gave me during our after work drinks - even if I decide to go back to school and fail and/or hate it, I wouldn’t have really failed in the end. Or even have made a poor decision. *must remind myself of this... must remind myself!* If it doesn’t work out, at least I would have gained in some respect.

This isn’t to say that I haven’t taken a leap of faith before. I went to college. I moved to NYC with R right after college. I bailed on science after a year as a research tech and went into sales. It’s just that it seems harder the older I get to take those risks given that there is so much on the line. Or is there? Really? Yes, life would have to change. I’d need to spend less money, we may have to move apartments, take fewer trips to see family & friends, skimp on vacations, eat out less and I will have to stop buying new gear for my many outdoor hobbies! But is that worth it for something that could change my life? Could change my career? Could bring me more happiness than I’ve ever imagined? Since graduating college, I’ve always said that I should have been a nurse or should have been in the health care industry. I want to see others heal, be healthy and be happy. Sitting in my box of a cubicle doesn’t really allow that unless someone isn’t feeling well and I suggest a tea, a netti pot or some EmergenC.

So let me conclude with a few thoughts here. I don’t know if going back to school is the right thing for me. In the meantime, I continue my hunt for a new job in SF city limits (I plan on posting later about commuting). Even if it pays less, so what? I spend countless hours in the car/on the bus commuting and plenty of moo-lah on that commute. Maybe I find a new job that inspires me and fulfills this desire for a more rewarding job. Maybe I don’t. My plan (because yes ladies & gentlemen, I must always have a plan) is to take a public class from this college starting in January. It’s six weeks long and meets once per week for 2 hours. Manageable. My acupuncturist, who started recruiting me to the field to begin with, invited me to sit in on a class that she teaches at this same college I visited today. Ok, I’ll go. And then, on the side, I’ll do a money saving project. See if I can, over the next 6 months, save a chunk of change, just to see what life is like without this extra cash I’m so used to having. And then, ta-da!, I hope that in 4-6 months I’ll have my answer. We shall wait and see! All I know is that I cannot continue living how I live with my current career. I commute 1.5-2.5 hours per day (depends on if I drive or take the bus), I sigh every Sunday night knowing that I’ll have to go to work the next day. I say “happy almost Friday” every Thursday to my coworkers. And I look for any excuse to bail work early. This has got to change. And it will. Because it has to.

View of the sunset from my kitchen with the Eye of Mordor. Beautiful.

And now for a healing recipe. It’s my favorite. Should you be feeling like you’re coming down with a cold, have nausea, upset stomach, or just feel plain chilly on these lovely autumn nights or afternoons, I leave you with one of my most recommended and loved remedies: Ginger Tea.

Ginger Tea
-6-8 slices of organic fresh ginger (cut into 1/8 inch thick rounds)
-4 cups cold water
-Optional: stick of cinnamon or add ground cinnamon after the tea is done (this is great if your stomach is really, really upset; I used it recently for food poisoning and had great results)

Place the ginger in a pot (I use enameled cast iron, but stainless steel will work just fine), optional cinnamon stick and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes. Strain and enjoy plain or with raw, unfiltered honey from a local provider or farmer’s market.

A few words on ginger tea- I drink this all the time during the fall and winter (minus the cinnamon) as I’m always quite cold. Should you always feel warm, all the time during this time of year, limit taking this tea only for when you feel unwell. This tea takes some getting used to! Start with a few slices of ginger and just add boiling water in a cup and let stand for 10 minutes. Then drink. You can then work your way up to the recipe above as it is much, much stronger!

Be well. Be inspired. Be hungry and be foolish.