The Peach Orchard

The Peach Orchard was about a young boy who brought what appeared to be either soup or rice in a bowl for his sister and her friends.  He brought six bowls but soon realized that there were only five people there, not including him.  He was sure that there were six people so he asked his sister where the other person went and she told him that there wasn't another person present and that he could have the extra bowl. The young boy argued with his sister for a bit because he just knew he had seen six people there.  He then began to search the room and finally spotted the girl but she ran outside so he ran after her.  No one else saw this girl, just the little boy.

She ran up a mountain and then a group of Dolls appeared claiming to be spirits of the Peach Trees that once use to stand that orchard.  These Dolls then told the boy that they would not come to his house because his family members were the ones who cut down the Peach Trees.  The little boy then became sad and began to cry and plea with the Dolls.  He explained to them that he loved the Peach Trees that once stood there and that was the reason why he was crying.  Soon the Dolls realized that the boy was a good boy and didn't have to pay for what his family had done.  The Dolls began to dance in unison and before you knew it little tree stubs appeared and there was one with flowers.  The girl that he was chasing earlier was actually standing behind that one.  He ran up to it and when he arrived, the girl was gone yet again but the tree with blooming flowers was still there.

After watching The Peach Orchard I was mainly curious about the girl that the little boy had chased outside.  Could she possibly have been a spirit as well? Just not a Doll? Because the sister and other friends didn't see her and she appeared again in the end but disappeared.  With these thoughts in mind, I couldn't help but to think about how the Shinto's believe "everything is spiritual and therefore there is a continuity between humanity, nature and the spirits/gods."  Although the Dolls claimed to be the spirits of the Peach Trees I believe that girl was the spirit of the Peach Trees that knew what needed to be done to restore them in that orchard.

The Tao of Pooh

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Tao of Pooh! I grew up on Winnie The Pooh and his friends so I found that this metaphorical approach that Benjamin Hoff took worked in my favor as far as better understanding Taoism.  As I read The Tao of Pooh, I noticed that although it was an extremely easy read, it still caused my mind to think on a deeper level.  I say deeper level because it made me think about certain aspects of my life.  For instance, after reading about the Busy Backson , I started to question would I ever reach a point in my life where I’m truly content? Because I’m living in a society that encourages me to chase my dreams day after day and who knows how long before I obtain this? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing but there are moments where the journey is simply hectic and stressful. I digress but simply put, for such an easy read The Tao of Pooh is definitely thought provoking. 

When Hoff defined and described the Busy Backson he definitely hit the American society on the nail.  Sad to say this is who we are as a society.  So caught up in the chaos of everyday life that some actually believe this is a norm; that it’s normal for life to be over the top and filled with endless To Do Lists.  Confession, I am one of those people.  When people say, “You’re always busy!” I automatically respond, “It’s a good thing because idleness is the Devil’s playground!”  I’ve come to terms with the everyday hustle and bustle that in my mind, it is a good thing to always be active and doing something. Well after reading this, I’m obviously questioning my theory but once again, I digress.

As far as Taoism being a possible solution to the problem of American culture and Americans as individuals, I would say that it’s a possibility.  I don’t want to say that it’s impossible but it would definitely be a challenge considering the mindset of our society as a whole.  Hard work is celebrated and well doing nothing, which could be termed laziness is frowned upon in American society.  It’s as simple as that.  With that said, the only way that I see Taoism being accepted by Americans is by changing everyone’s view and perception on life. This would be a great challenge in itself because it's hard for many to simply neglect what they've been taught to be right.