I know that the last time I wrote in this blog, I wrote about taking a writing break until summer.  Still, the mind changes.

Sunlit at midnight my plane lifts.

Journey of 8000 miles

slides beneath stepless feet.

Short sojourn turning homeward.

I reset my watch sitting in the plane at OHare Airport.  It was 12:30 PM in Chicago, but I set the watch to 1:30 AM the next day.  That was the time in China at the moment.  It is the time my body clock needs to readjust to.

In just three weeks I will be doing the reverse; setting my watch to Chicago time while sitting in the plane in Shanghai.  And my body clock will again groan loudly as it begins the next time/space shift.

 On the plane coming back to Chongqing, I again was reminded of those Taoist dragons that have become the root metaphor for my life this semester in China.  I find the Chinese dragon to be an excellent descriptor for the powerful, erratic, and unpredictable flow of life.

As I sat on the plane and thought more about the dragon-as-symbol, I began to experience the presence of the dragon.  Letting my reverie unfold I could imagine myself in a dark, foggy space.  I could hear the slow breathing of something near me.  Could feel the occasional touch of something dry and scaly brushing a leg or my back.  Could sense the rise within my body of the fight or flight emotions.

It was a great chance to get in touch with what I conceive of as my gut-mind, my emotional mind.  That mind sometimes communicates with me through dream-like images, and when I puzzle through those images I find they are good, visual metaphors for the situation I am in.  For example, returning to Chongqing.

Chongqing is not in the zone of earthquake devastation centered in the Sichuan Province, but it is near enough to experience many of the powerful aftershocks.  Returning to Chongqing is quite a bit like walking into the misty lair of a powerful dragon.  One cannot be completely confident in the hand-made concrete and steel buildings of Chongqing that a powerful aftershock would not bring the whole edifice down.

It is also impressive to me how well my gut-mind could animate the metaphorical image.  It is a lifelike experience of walking cautiously through a dark space inhabited by a powerful, wild animal.  Great fun! 

I am reminded of my old guru’s description of riding the waves of life like a surf boarder, not just enduring the vicissitudes of life but really enjoying the ride.