Sweet Shinto Peaches

The Peach Orchard:
    When we were first given this blog assignment, there was something familiar about the title of the film she was talking about. I realized when I started watching the clip that I had previously seen this film with my boyfriend some time last semester. I really enjoyed the film then because of the concepts it illustrated and the poetic way they were portrayed. I chose to watch "The Peach Orchard" section and compare it to the themes in Shinto. This was not too hard to do as some of the themes were quite obvious.
    The little boy chases this mysterious woman into what used to be a peach orchard before his family chopped it down. Upon arrivng, he is met with some hostility by the nature spirits who resisded in the peach orcahrd. The belief in kami residing in nature and being embodied in nature is a core belief in Shinto. These nature spirits profess their disgust at his families actions and the boy weeps. It is thought that desecrating a shrine or a sacred place (in this case the peach orchard) is one of the worst offenses one can commit in Shinto because it causes the spirits to be angered and to leave. This almost happens until the boy expresses his love of the orchard as it was.
    The boy asks where one can buy an entire orchard in bloom and says that he loved the orchard, not just the peaches. Having a deep love of and appreciation for nature in its pure form is a key belief of Shinto. This religion is focused on nature and maintaing a good relationship with nature and the kami embodied in it. The little boy is able to restore the peach orchard just a little bit (the single tree at the end) by his belief, but the rest of it is lost.

Tao of Pooh

Tao of Pooh

I really enjoyed reading the Tao of Pooh. It had been on my list of books I want to read for a long time, but I never got around to reading it before this class, so I was very excited to see it on the list of required readings. I don’t usually get excited about required texts, so this was a first. I brought the book with me to a research assessment I had to run in which I basically sat quietly for two hours and I read the entire book in that time span. I could not stop reading it. Every page I read, I would think “Wow, that’s so simple, but it makes so much sense.” I also realized while reading that I was a “Busy Backson.” Not a happy realization.

I have been busy planning for my future since I entered middle school, just like most people. In middle school they start telling you that you have to start thinking about what you want for a profession and trying to get into a good high school. In Henrico, this meant a specialty center at a high school (I went to the Humanities center). Then in high school, I worked my butt off both in class and at a part-time job in order to prepare for college. I missed a lot of social events in high school and never had time for extracurricular activities. Now that I am in college, I am breaking my back with classes, research, and a job trying to reach graduate school. Then finally, I will have the job I have been working my entire life towards, but at what cost? I have been working so hard that I have already had an ulcer, developed anxiety issues, and am stressed more times than relaxed. After reading about “Busy Backsons” I realized that Taoism is what I have been searching for so long. I have been trying to plan everything from such a young age that it has done more harm than good. My boyfriend has taken the Taoist approach to life. He makes good decisions for his future, but he isn’t actively planning it. He values spontaneity, learning through experience (including mistakes), and maintaining a sense of child-like appreciation and wonder for the world. I have envied him for this, not realizing I could be the same way if I just tried, or rather don’t try (Wu Wei). I have let go of planning every detail of my future, have reduced my hours at work and stopped signing up to do so much research in order to give myself some time to rest. Honestly, I have been a lot happier and feel so much less stressed.

I don’t think that everyone has to instantly adopt the title of Taoist, start meditating, and throw caution to the wind. I do, however, think that a lot of Americans need to learn how NOT to plan everything. We get taught our whole lives that if we don’t make airtight plans, our future will slip through the cracks and we’ll end up poor and living under a bridge. I think that the reason so many people have nervous breakdowns and develop depression or anxiety is because their carrying this weight around all the time that if they don’t watch out, life will get away from them and they’ll be ruined. What a burden to carry. We need to learn to trust our heart and not always rely on our head. Anyway, I guess I should stop ranting now considering this blog is almost double the length it’s supposed to be. Go Taoism!