Wednesday, February 09, 2005

The Year of the Rooster

Happy Chinese New Year! The Lunar Year of the Rooster has begun. Now, granted my family and I are not even remotely Chinese, but we still get a thrill out of exploring cultures.

The Chinese are a superstitious bunch. And just to be on the safe side, here are a few tips...

Don't cry today. If you cry on the first day of the New Year, you will cry all year long.

Don't use any foul language today. Negative terms and the word "four" (Ssu, which sounds like the word for death) are completely taboo today.

Make no references to the previous year. No looking back. All focus should be on a new beginning.

Do not wash your hair today. You wash away good luck if you do...

Our daughter is obsessed with all things Asian at the moment. I think tonight we will give her lai see, a little red envelope containing a crisp one dollar bill for good fortune. This way she can feel a bit more part of the holiday.

2005 is the year of the Wood Rooster (Yi You). The year of the Yin Rooster teaches the lessons of order, scrutiny and strategic planning. The sage advice of Sun-Zi which is still taught in modern military circles, advises one to "achieve psychological advantage over the adversary and use force only as a last resort."

During Rooster years, we also see the improvising of difficult situations. Rooster years straighten-up and put life back into order, including re-building, reconstructing and beginning from scratch. This could not better apply to my life right now as EH and I move to rebuild our marriage and begin a new life...potentially relocating. Through this year we are encouraged to seek emotional solace by surrounding ourself with nature and the natural beauty of the Earth. A year when it is especially important to exercise tolerance, channel inner energies into creativity and release our souls of any resentments or bitterness...I know you're all thinking how well this also applies to me, right? I'll do my best. No promises.

I think the proverb that says it best is "Don't shout at the darkness, put on the light".

And, finally - Chinese fables are most intriguing...

I leave you with a Chinese tale today, in the hopes that you find that person who has the same red fairy cord wound 'round their ankle. I am confident that I have found mine in EH.


"KNOW YOURSELF AND KNOW THE OTHER SIDE, THEN YOU WILL WIN EVERY TIME."
Sun-Zi,
Famous Chinese military strategist,
from Ping-Fa the "Act of War"

Posted by Red :: 9:44 AM :: | ---------------------------------------