In Act II, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare writes:
“What’s in a name?
That which we call a rose,
by any other name would smell as sweet.”
 
Juliet is alone on the balcony, after meeting Romeo and falling in love with him without realizing that he is a member of the Montague family, the age-old enemy of her family, the Capulets. She questions the meaning of names and if this would even change the substance of an object/ person it is suppose to define, if it were to be called a different name. As a teenager in school, I read Romeo and Juliet. One would think that Romeo and Juliet is simply a tragic love story. However, when you really read it, as with many of Shakespeare’s works, apply it to things and events in the modern day, you will see what deep meaning as well as critique of society’s norms, Shakespeare invokes through his words.

I often ponder on the above quote when dealing with cars. I have male children, who somehow or another without impulses from myself or my husband, at some point in their childhood began admiring cars for their speed and shiny, exterior forms. Sometimes when I am on the road walking or driving with my young men, they mention their admiration for a car by describing what the maximum speed, the shape, the color, the price of a car and that the person driving must have wealth. I am often simply unimpressed and I express this to them. I look at cars for their function, that this vehicle will bring me from point A to B safely without utilizing too much fossil fuel, if any at all for that matter, and is comfortable as well as capable enough to carry people and objects. Basically, for me a car should be practical, safe, reliable and making as little pollution as possible. This is however not the case when one looks on the road or in a parking lot. Many cars are bought for purposes other than for transporting people and objects, such as to display wealth and status, or even to impress/ convince others that the driver of the car is more virile by the way his car looks or sounds. Talk about society making life complicated, by attaching all sorts of value to something as clear and simple as a manner of transportation. People actually spend lots of their resources, which they sometimes do not even have, to buy cars that would show off a trait that they might not even possess. Or even for something that I find extremely sad - to be respected, accepted and loved by people. Are we so superficial a society that we have to drive a certain kind of vehicle in order to be respected, accepted and loved?

The shiny vehicle is just a shell, as are clothes, cosmetics, names, etc. I was brought up to look past the surface, to find what substance exists on the inside. If the deep core is virtuous, then it would manifest and shape the being/ object as a whole. If the core was empty or even corrupted, then it would at some point reveal itself externally, and all the shiny adornments and make-up would not be able to hide this. Time often reveals the true essence of things, whether we like it or not. A car that is moving and transporting its passengers to the place they need to get to, even if it’s not shiny or costs 10-years salary of a normal person, is far more valuable than a car that is shiny and flashy but is sitting in a garage, as it doesn’t run or it is deemed too valuable to be used for regular transportation.  

Like the words and ideas of Shakespeare, in this case in the voice of Juliet, which has prevailed through time being read, quoted and performed time and time again. Maybe this story is so beloved and has touched our hearts so deeply over hundreds of years, crossing cultural barriers, because we know its truth within ourselves; a name and its value is what we have assigned to it. Maybe we can simply just accept things and people for their true nature, without putting any fluff, make-up, or monetary value on their exterior.    
 
 

Image by josch13 on pixabay

​A few days ago, I looked into a book that was passed on to me and extremely invaluable as I attended university in the 1990s - an English dictionary. Since my last post about Sweet Potatoes and Roots, I have been contemplating this word "Root." So I looked in to find the definition of Root and I find 12 different possibilities as a noun and as a verb. Most of them have something to do with having a "base" or "core" or "source," whether referring to human, plant, language or mathematics, and even to encourage. Fascinating, isn't it? 
 
Many of the Herbal Medicines in the Chinese Materia Medica are Roots. One that particularly stands out is Ginger and is listed in a few different forms. They are fresh Ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜 Shēng Jīang), Ginger peel (Cortex Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜皮 Shēng Jīang Pí), dried Ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis Officinalis, 干姜 Gān Jīang) and quick-fried Ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparata, 炮姜Páo Jīang).
 
In its fresh form, just like we get them here in the normal grocery store, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜 Shēng Jīang, is a food-grade herb. As such, one can cook it with other ingredients to enhance the taste of that particular food, like fish, meat or vegetables. In some Asian supermarkets, you may find young ginger, that which is yellowish in color with a green stem protruding out of the rhizome. This form is a little less warming than the older brown version. Herbal decoctions regularly containing multiple Herbs, prescribed by a Chinese medical practitioner, often includes Ginger to harmonize the Herbal Formula combinations; aiding better absorption of the Herbs into the body and to prevent possible toxic side-effects from other potent Herbs. In fact, I have read that Ginger can be used as a remedy for food poisoning, and in fact is cooked with fish in order to neutralize toxins in many traditions. 
 
In the everyday, we can grate it, make an Herbal infusion out of it just by adding hot water and letting it steep for 10 minutes just as a beverage. This can be very helpful too if you had symptoms like chills and/or fever caused by the common cold virus. In fact, making a foot-bath or a whole-body-bath with this infusion till one gets warm and sweaty would also help expel what we call "Wind-Cold Invasion" in Chinese Medicine. If you wanted to enhance the digestive effect of Ginger, then you can throw in a couple of slices of Ginger into a pot with water and cook it for at least 15 minutes. This infusion would be less spicy but more warming for the Stomach, good for stopping nausea and vomiting in pregnancy or otherwise, help relieve bloating and digestive distress. Shēng Jīang enters the Lung, Spleen and Stomach, is spicy and warm. In contrast, Shēng Jīang Pí, Ginger Peel is spicy-cool and is good for edema and promoting urination. 
 
As with anything, too much of a good thing transforms it to a hindrance. If you tend to heat in your system, then too much Ginger will overheat you. A spicy flavor will circulate Qi and too much circulation will dry out the body. Use moderately or speak with your practitioner, if Ginger is appropriate for you. I find that this is one of the many simple Herbal foods that I almost always have at home or with me when I travel. One of our favorite meals is rice with chicken, cooked with Ginger, soya sauce and Sesame oil; a simple but scrumptious recipe passed down to me from my mother. Like so much around the world, people have used food as medicine since time in memorial. It is only us modern urban-dwelling, city-folk, who are often times disconnected from nature, who question the validity of food as being able to affect our health or never really realizing that what we put into our bodies might affect who we are. Just because something doesn't come in a form of a pill, doesn't make it less potent. In fact, it is this that I challenge; something in its purest form, like the Ginger Root, may be the strongest medicine as it is whole. In its wholeness, it helps us to find unity in ourselves, to reconnect us to our source, to our core. 
 
 
 
 
Image Ginger Root by Engin Akyurt on pexels.com