BREATHE!

I’ve been in Beijing for two weeks now, but besides not understanding the language, today was the first day that was any different from a day in a big city anywhere. Apart from nearly two weeks of grey skies that is. I’ve seen grey skies in Seattle that went on for weeks, but not in July, and not with air so bad that mothers monitor the pollution index and frequently keep their children indoors.  I have been so grateful the last two days to see blue sky and sun again with just a familiar smoggy haze on the horizon.  I am blessed to have a Bikram Yoga Studio in the basement of the expat apartment complex where I am living!  I was able to resume classes last week for the first time since I broke my leg just about a year ago – salvation both for my leg and my lungs!  

 In my corner(s) of the universe 2008 has seen VOG in Hawaii, wildfire smoke in Northern California, and the Beijing air quality issue made famous by the Olympics, but reported to me as daunting by a friend who traveled here in 1978. I can easily imagine that in the future, many people will remember 2008 as “the year the air became unbreathable.”  

 Most relationship issues appear insignificant when compared with the possibility of not being able to breathe without filtering the air. Who cares whether your beloved did or said something inconsiderate, or your partner lied to you, when simply breathing the air is damaging your lungs? We’ve come to assume that untreated water is too polluted to drink safely, and many people filter their water to remove toxic chemicals and heavy metals.  Most of us still expect to find an unlimited supply of clean, or clean enough, air where ever we go; but this may not continue.

 Not surprisingly, the illusion of separation is the root cause of both interpersonal and environmental problems. We imagine that we have an existence separate from the air and the water which sustain all life, we imagine that actions which degrade the natural world in one part of the planet will not impact systems worldwide, and we imagine that what we do to another will not return to us threefold.

 These are momentous times here in China, and all over the globe!  Humanity is experiencing an accelerated learning curve, and the rate of change in China may be the fastest in the world. I watched the total solar eclipse on the internet through a telescope in Western China as people gather in Beijing for the start of the Olympics this week. My daughter took me to an upscale spa where we had “Chinese Massage” and I distinctly felt a sensation of being reborn into a new life.  Today we visited a park where I didn’t see any other Western people and then went to a children’s birthday party at the local MacDonalds. The birthday girl had just arrived in Beijing from the Bay Area, where she was born, but her parents hail from Singapore so are fluent in Chinese.  I wish I was! The people here feel very friendly, open, and curious and I’m sad that I am unable to talk with them. Relative to most places I’ve traveled very few people speak English. My five year old granddaughter chats away with her Ayi (nanny) and even the two year old knows more Chinese than I do, so it’s a very humbling experience.

 Under these conditions, my ability to read energy and thoughts is heightened, and I find it fascinating just to observe. One thing I’ve noticed is that although Beijing is a big, modern city with skyscrapers, shopping malls, smooth highways filled with big new cars, and lots of taxis, people (except for the taxi drivers) move very slowly. No one seems to be in a rush. It can take ten minutes for a shot of fresh wheat grass to be juiced or a week to get a gym pass processed.

 Another thing is that people are much more relaxed about bodies and bodily functions. Babies wear split leg pants which are open at the crotch with nothing underneath.  My daughter explains it’s a different approach to potty training. Awareness rather than control is emphasized. Seems like a good idea to me and no expensive disposable diapers piling up in landfills (except for those worn by expat babies, and most likely upper class locals.) 

Much love and aloha,

Deborah Taj Anapol