Believing

It’s easy, I’ve heard, to be a non-believer—to scoff at the notion of fate or destiny or some omnipotent power. It is easy some to laugh off the notion of a curse or a ghost, to mock to something which is simply inexplicable. The worst non-believer though, is the one who doesn’t believe in acupuncture. And I know, I was one at one point. Shocked maybe, that this is where I’m taking this statement? Yes, I understand the presence of religion in our country and around the world and good and bad it causes, but that is not what I am here to talk about. Today, I would like to stand up for acupuncture and the stab of disbelief if receives.

You see, I was a non-believer once – you’re telling me, someone poked needles into you and ta-da! you feel great? I laughed at those I knew who went for weekly, monthly or seasonal tune-ups. And then, one day as my knee was throbbing with pain and my eyes tired from sleepless nights my mother decided it was time to turn me into an acupuncture aficionado.

I was hesitant at first. I sat down before some acupuncturist who went through my entire medical history which I believed was entirely unnecessary, and quietly mumbled one word answers to her prodding questions. Eventually I was told to take off my shoes and lay down on a fancy, hippy massage like table. She stood and held my hand, closing her eyes with her fingers tightly pressed up against my wrists, moving in odd patterns. She was checking my ‘pulses’. I smiled and nodded unconvinced.

There were a number of odd, acupuncture “ish” practices that went on in my first appointment, there were flames and some incense type thing which warmed my skin and supposedly had some fantastic healing effect. The appointment was over and she assured me my pulses felt better and ushered me off to face the world.

I climbed in the car certain I felt just the same as before and carried on with my daily, knee pain filled, sleep deprived world. It wasn’t until a few months later that I began to realize the difference acupuncture was making. Rather then climbing onto the acupuncture table and feeling like I should fall asleep for the rest of time, I would get poked with needles and warmed with who knows what and suddenly would realize I was more awake and energized then ever before, knee pain had subsided and the world looked a little brighter. (Okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration)

I suppose the most important thing I’ve gotten out of acupuncture besides it’s profound and undeniable healing effects is that I wasted an unnecessary amount of energy not believing in it, to even bother giving it a chance. I wont argue that you should believe everything, which may seem foreign and insane (because some things are truly insane) but it can’t hurt to give it a chance right? Imagine the implications, even on the smallest scale. In learning about something odd perhaps even unbelievable, you are opening your mind. After all, isn’t that all we need, the non-believers and cynics of the world to just give someone else’s thoughts a chance and a place in our world as well.

Cheers,
Hannah