I'm More Than Joyful, I'm Nuts

“April is the cruelest month, T.S. Eliot wrote, by which I think he meant (among other things) that springtime makes people crazy. We expect too much, the world burgeons with promises it can't keep, all passion is really a setup, and we're doomed to get our hearts broken yet again. I agree, and would further add: Who cares? Every spring I go out there anyway, around the bend, unconditionally. ... Come the end of the dark days, I am more than joyful. I'm nuts. ”

― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Dearest Rising Wildflowers,

I am not sure if it is all the extra restriction we felt in the last year that has lent itself to a particularly explosive spring energy, but wow, it has been exuberant. Every night leading up to this recent new moon, the coyotes have been running their midnight seances, cackling and celebrating with glee. The peepers, the pond frogs, the songbirds, know nothing about lockdowns and quarantines but they too seem to be singing exactly Barbara Kingsolver’s sentiment: “I am more than joyful. I’m nuts.” 

Walking down to the pond last night, the sound from the emerging creatures was deafening. Who needs crystal singing bowls when you can stand right in the center of this spring melee of vibration? The sound ricocheted through my ears and then bounced through my inner expanses and the bold wood energy seemed to exclaim “Rise up and out!” 

As this effusive wood elemental force is flowing out of the earth, it is also flowing through us, filling us with a faster, more abundant energy. But there can always be too much of a good thing. One of the consequences of this rising flow is a lot of energy swirling up in our heads, creating a sense of mental overwhelm and showing up as insomnia in many. And the trouble is that when we are not sleeping, we are not replenishing and when we are not dreaming, we are not connecting with our soul’s messages. 

So I thought I would highlight an acupuncture point that many of you may be familiar with already, called Tai Chong, Supreme Rushing, or Liver 3. This point is located in a depression just beyond the junction of your first and second toe bones. Like its name suggests, the energy here truly is a supreme rushing, flowing like a waterfall and acting as a key gateway for enthusiastic wood energy. The thing that is particularly great about this point is that it is adaptogenic, in other words, it inherently knows what is needed. All acupuncture points work this way to some degree but Supreme Rushing in particular can be used to sedate, cool, or calm us down, or it can nourish, warm, or motivate us according to what we need at that time.

This point is a powerful ally, especially when there is a “supreme rushing” from the ground, or when we might be overwhelmed with frustration or have a sense of impediment in taking the necessary leap into the next phase on our journey. This time of year you can make a short practice out of it, taking 5-8 minutes before bed to rub this space between the bones of your first and second toes, especially with an essential oil that soothes wood energy, such as Bergamot or Blue Tansy.

I am grateful for the push of this wood energy as I am opening an in-person acupuncture practice again after many months of germination and reflection. In May I will open my office at All Souls in Shelburne, Vermont, which is an amazing retreat center, purposely built on a leyline. The setting overlooks the great mother lake and honestly it could not get more gorgeous and healing. If you are in Vermont, I would be honored to have you come visit me here!

May this spring exuberance inspire you to push to your edges while also tempering and nourishing yourself with appropriate amounts of deep rest.

With lively bird song,

Kendra

(April 2021 Newsletter)