Beijing is built on a scale of greatness. No one should ever underestimate the Chinese. Beijing is said to be 100 miles by 112 miles. It is massive. I was dropped of at the Temple of Heaven which is by the Hiongchiao pearl market- and we walked what looked like a few blocks on the map which actually turned out to be miles.
We went from the Temple of Heaven through Tiananmen square and right up to the Forbidden City. Great names huh? Mao is everywhere-on money and billboards. The place is enormous! Every building is like a huge monument. When the Chinese do something they do it BIG. The national museum makes the Metropolitan look like a shack. And everything is so spread out that you walk for miles. My feet were killing me-so I did find the Dragonfly and had a two hour massage for about $60. The session started with an hour foot massage while another rubbed my head and neck. I am not sure if that was all reflexology or what, but I have never had those specific parts massaged and- I could feel a difference in my whole body ALL night long. I could feel the connections to my internal organs. I still am recovering from the foot massage. I may never be the same again. No, according to Chinese philosophy I am sure never to be the same again. Everything is always changing.
The story told about why Lao tze wrote the Tao te Ching is that Lao tze was leaving the country of Chou as he was witnessing its decline and the guard at the border simply asked, “Since you are going away, Sir, could you write a book to teach me the art of living?” And he did. So I am going to take to heart the Tao te Ching and see if I can follow its teachings so I can live the art. So I can allow change to happen, expect change to happen. So I can live.
After all, I am in a place where I care about different things than I had ever thought of- a typhoon hits Taiwan, finally I care about things on the other side of the world. Finally I care about the Eastern hemisphere, because I am here. I am trying to learn Chinese and it is hard. My head hurts from even trying. There are sounds and details in tone I can’t imagine ever mastering. Even counting to ten is an ordeal. And I am good at languages. How many of us have completely ignored those sounds, have never tried, have no idea? If this is not the unknown, I don’t know what is. When I realize where I am I can’t believe it. So much has happened in a week.
The most amazing thing is that my favorite flowers, oriental lilies, are really inexpensive here. For twelve stems I pay under $10- just 60 kuai. Kuai is “bucks” for yuan. In the states they cost 12 dollars a stem. Perhaps when you allow the tides of time to take you, you may find what is most pleasing. The flower lady at school comes every Monday for orders. I am going to get a dozen oriental lilies a week. Flowers and foot massages are my greatest indulgences. And I save so much money in every other aspect of my living that I can really enjoy them.
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