health, meditation

The Eighth Day of Christmas: Eight Maids a-Milking

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Milk maids have been a motif in art for centuries, reaching a status normally reserved for unicorns and other mythical beings. They were used to show health and beauty and wholesomeness, which is probably why they are the first human in the song. Some people theorize that it’s a transference of the purity of the milk onto the gatherer. Others argue that it’s because milk maids weren’t ravaged by the pox diseases that afflicted the rest of the population, a feat almost magical when observed at the time, but has since revolutionized our world.

Everyone who worked closely with cows understood that if they had caught the mild cow pox, they would not need to fear small pox outbreaks. Eventually, Western doctors caught on as well, and vaccines became available (vaccine after the Latin for cow).

On the sixth day, I thought about defenses and how they can hurt us instead of helping us. Today, I am thinking of inoculations against bad habits and that old saw ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.

It’s easy to put things off until they become urgent, or a ‘fire’ that needs immediate attention. It’s easy to see a rotting porch stair and use it daily thinking ‘that’s going to need to be replaced’ and not actually do anything until it finally breaks and you have no choice but to fix it right away. Or to ignore a car trouble because you don’t have the time or money at the moment, so you end up stranded with more time and money issues than if you had scheduled an appointment. We can ‘vaccinate’ against these issues by recognizing them and doing the small thing we want to avoid now when we can  to avoid being forced to do the large thing at it’s chosen time later.

So, when I think of milk maids milking, I will think of those annoying things I could put off until I have no choice, and see if I can stop avoiding them and fit them in now.

 

 

 

Back to introduction.
Forward to Nine.

Note Bene: The Chinese have a published report from 1549 mentioning that they had discovered a small pox vaccination. It was common practice in the Middle East as well. Neither mentions milk maids.

 

health, meditation

The Seventh Day of Christmas: Seven Swans a-Swimming

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The other day, I was driving our son through a nice Christmas snow so he could volunteer at the museum, and he said, ‘you know, mom, everything is pretty with snow on it.’

I agreed. The world is so beautiful when covered with snow. And I have to think that the last bird mentioned in the twelve days of Christmas is the most beautiful of them all. And I want to be reminded to look for the beauty that surrounds us, like in the snow.

It could be easy to look at the snow and only see needing to shovel it or how hard it is to drive in it. But it also makes everything look so pretty, and it makes the world glow. It’s such a common thing, and it’s everywhere, but it is beautiful.

We have a pair of cardinals that like to sit in the tree outside our window. The male is such a vivid color, especially against the snow and the bark of the bare tree. The female is the same shape and just as graceful, just s beautiful. Together they will make another generation of cardinals that will flit in the tree in years to come. I don’t know how many generations I have already watched.

We have old windows, and on nights when it is cold and damp enough, we can wake up to feathers of frost blooming on them. I dread ever getting new windows because they don’t have that little bit of beauty anymore.

When my mother was living with us before she died, she had a teddy bear she loved dearly. She was so beautiful when cuddling it.

Every where we turn, our lives are surrounded by beauty. If we define beauty too narrowly, however, we will miss it. Defining it broadly— sun glinting off ice, a brown bird with the promise of more, an old woman’s smile— and our lives are full of beauty.

And the world certainly needs more of it.

So when I remember the swans-a-swimming, I will think of beauty and try to remember to look for it everywhere, even where I don’t expect to find it.

Back to introduction.
Forward to Eight.

health, meditation

The Sixth Day of Christmas: Six Geese a-Laying

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My mother would tell me a story of how the Romans used geese instead of dogs to guard their cities and soldiers. I am not sure how widespread through out Rome this actually was, but there is historical evidence that the Romans and many many others have relied on these birds to sounds an alarm and defend them or their property from intruders. So on this sixth day of Christmas, I am thinking about defense.

I am thinking about the defenses we set up that actually hurt us, the ones that our animal brains put into place to deal with hurts when we don’t have the tools to deal with them in a healthy manner. You probably can name a couple of your own right now, and know exactly what I mean. I have been under a great deal of stress over the past few years, and have learned some needed but not healthy ways of defending my psyche. Now that the stress is loosening up, I need to remember to shift from non productive defenses to productive ones.

For example, I have a procrastinator’s habit of doing busy work: when you keep moving and get things done but they are not the things that will actually move your life forward. Yes, the refrigerator needs to be cleaned and dinner needs to be cooked, but that looming bill needs to be paid and that dreadful task needs to be done as well. But by busying myself with other tasks, I can keep pushing off what needs to be done, working hard, and still feeling guilt, stress and not moving forward.

So when I hear this line, I will think of defenses that are good and ones that are dangerous and will remember to work against the ones that will not help me in the long run, even if they make me feel better in the short run.

Back to introduction.
Forward to Seven.

Surviving independently in a city.