SKIN FOOD: CHICKEN SOUP WITH TRADITIONAL CHINESE HERBS
I’ll also be sharing a list of my favourite, most effective skin foods that promote elasticity, clarity, moisture, and radiance. Until then, below is a recipe to my skin food ‘secret’: Taiwanese-style herbal chicken soup. It provides necessary nutrients, but also considers core TCM elements that look beyond the physiology of the skin and into the spirit. Everyone in my household drinks at least a bowl (often more) a day, regardless of time of the year. I may adjust the herbs, but the recipe below is an evergreen one. It functions as a stand alone or a versatile base, such as adding some cooked noodles or veggies to a bowl of the soup.
HOW I DO THINGS (HINT THERE IS NO SECRET)
Don’t know how; try it anyway.Never went to school for it; give it a shot anyway.Didn’t fit the specs and profile; do it anyway.Lack the experience; learn it anyway.Didn’t fundraise; risk anyway.They might say no; ask anyway.Left or right— no idea; turn anyway.Fall hard; get up anyway.Have no community; create it anyway.Doubt yourself; believe anyway.
UNDER THE NEW MOON: DECOLONIZING, GROWTH, MANIFESTING
Sometimes, my own fears and irrational habits surprise myself. I have internalized oppression of general Chinese/Taiwanese culture (not to mention cultural purging that modern China has experienced) and Christian patriarchy; being a female in a white-centric worldview also adds nuanced complexity. So many painful and limiting layers. So much living small and self-oppression. But I'm hopeful. I think the first step is awareness, then release, and lots and lots of patience and self-love. I find using shamanic and ritual-based practices effective in identifying the limitations as well as work through them. (For those who know me and my work, I’m all about integrating the spiritual with practical, everyday life. Spirituality without real-life application is lip service).