Chinese New Year

Today is the last day of the Year of the Sheep and tomorrow we begin the Year of the Monkey. Chinese New Year is a significant spiritual event for me. Yes, there is the inevitable reminder to begin anew. My daily practice has me striving to begin anew every moment and to recognize the infinite possibilities that are found in each moment. Yet the lunar new year brings an even stronger call to action. Unlike the solar new year whose big change is the increment of a single digit, the lunar new year brings a change of rhythm and vibe that, real or not, carry a significance for me. My awareness of this change in rhythm serves as a reminder of the impermanence of all things. Everything is changing, it is the nature of all things. On an intellectual level, I know this. On a spiritual level, I understand this. Learning to let go is simply a matter of understanding that what I am fighting so hard to hold on to, is no longer that which it was.

This Chinese New Year is a noteworthy one. The upcoming Year of the Monkey will mark the complete cycle of Silent River Kung Fu’s Chinese New Year Banquet. Our first banquet was held in the last Year of the Monkey in 2004. Twelve years go by fast. The present Year of the Sheep marked the 12 year anniversary of the passing of Grandmaster Stan Lee. He passed away in April of 2003, the previous Year of the Sheep. This great man’s engagement and compassion had a profound effect on my life. There has not been a day that I do not think of him with love and gratitude.

To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.” - William Blake (1757 - 1827)