Mastership Studies

This essay was written in Massage School in 2005-2006: It was for a class in the study of Acupressure.

“One day in Spring”
It was a fine spring day and all the creatures were out and about foraging for food. But as the
day wore on the wind began to blow as it often does in this time of the year. A young fox who
had strayed too far from his den ran into the forest to seek refuge. He found the forest to be a
frightening place with branches and leaves rustling about and making a great noise. This drove
him deeper and deeper into the forest until he came to the center of the forest where a great
tree lived with enormous roots, and that is where the fox took refuge.
Now the tree was very old and wise, in fact it was thought that he was one of the first trees
around since the time of creation. The tree noticed the fox shivering and huddled at his feet and
asked the fox if he was cold. The fox replied that no he was not cold but was afraid of the
wind. This amused the old tree, so he decided to tell the young fox the story of how he had
fought the wind and did not need to fear it, because he had beaten the wind many eons ago.
“In the earliest days the god of wind was taking a brisk walkabout in a spring day much like
this. He was brash and full of energy. He delighted in his powers and blew the grasses flat.
Then he blew the leaves high into the sky. He even blew the clouds and scattered them to the
ends of the earth. As he continued on his walk he came upon me and decided he would blow me
down. Well, he gave out a mighty breath and I just bent with the breeze. And when he stopped
I righted myself and said to the wind, “why thank you, I needed to clear off some of this dust
and moss”. This angered the young god who told the tree,”you dare challenge me? the master
of the winds, I’ll make splinters of you!” And then the wind let out a great breath, like none
other seen before or since. It bend me back nearly to the ground, but as you can see I have
strong roots and the wind in his impatience and rashness underestimated me. He assumed that
I was only what he could see and did not consider that half of me was far underground a that
the biggest and strongest of my roots was wrapped around a huge boulder. This foiled the
efforts of the wind and he gasped as all the air left his lungs. He left in disgust and defeat and
offered these last words. “you may have won this day, tree, but I am off to see the world and
you are bound to this place. I am free to move about and seek adventure while you are stuck
and rigid. I would hate to be confined like you”. And with that he was gone.
“Now young Fox, on spring days like today, the wind remembers his contest with me and it still angers him how he lost. So in his anger he huffs and buffs and bullies small creatures like
you so that he can feel like he is still a lord of something. Just remember that the wind will always grow weak and tired as his anger dissipates and if you want to defeat him do as you did
today and as I did many eons ago; seek the strong roots”.

Wood is the only element that like us is alive and so my gift today is this cane. Wood is a living element that is a true gift of the gods. It gives us shelter as do the limbs of the tree or as the rafters of the house. Wood is our partner in our journey through life and self discovery. In a desert the sight of wood will lead us to an oasis, for where there is wood we will find water.

Wood fuels the fires that gives warmth and cooks our food. Those same fires that helped us use and shape metal, so wood is the father of all our technological advances. Wood protects us
and our property as the fences and corrals where we stake out our spot in the world to own
and have dominion over. And when we are weak from injury or age the wood is there to
support us on our journey that never ends, the cane that helps us reach the end of the road.
NOTE: I am aware that this story did not include many of the health indicators and I had
thought of including such things as.”as the tree grew older his branches (joints) became
stiffer and he could not bend as he did when young” or “the wind blew so hard that his
vision became blurry”. I made a decision to keep the story simple and uncomplicated to
mirror the style of a Chinese myth or an Aesop’s fable. I hope you recognize this and
accept that I know the difference. Lastly, I want to thank you for allowing me to exercise the
creative part of myself. It’s something that has been on the bookshelf for many years and
needed to be taken down and given a good dusting. It made this exercise much more
enjoyable for me and I hope it was for you as well.

Michael Forrest-Nevada School of Massage Therapy 2005-2006

#chinese, #essays, #fables, #mythology, #mystic, #spirituality