"We must not simply visit this world"

I have just come across a lovely poem by the American poet, Mary Oliver, called "When Death Comes", and this is its last stanza:

..."When it's over I don't want to wonder

If I have made of my life something particular and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,

or full of argument.

 

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."

 

I love the thought that none of us should "end up simply having visited this world".  Sadly, perhaps, too many of us do, and so few, the rare ones, can say at the moment of death that their life has been more than just a mere "visit", but added something, gave something back.

 

I have been thinking deeply about this, and realise that I see one of the aims of my work as a five element acupuncturist has been to help patients transform a life which may be being lived at a quite superficial level, that of the "visit" described by Mary Oliver, into one which adds significance and depth to that visit, in other words gives us the ability to recognize that each life has a purpose to fulfil.  I always remember the thrill I felt when I first heard JR Worsley say that we should always try to visualize for ourselves a fulfilled life for each patient, and that we should hope that this can be achieved through the treatment we offer.

 

The implication here is that a patient's guardian element should become the focal point for this fulfilment, enabling a patient to find the means within themselves not just to "visit" the world, but to add something significant to the world.  I have always found that a lovely thought, which has inspired me in my practice and my teaching.