I wish I could take you on a street food tour in the night markets to savor sweet egg-ball waffles, curry fish-balls on a stick, chung-fan (steaming hot rice noodle rolls doused in savory soy and sesame, with plum, and chili sauces), don’t forget the cooling tofu-shan with ginger syrup (Jake said it was “like panna cotta”), and the drool worthy scallion pancakes!  I’m not sure what is better, devouring the deliciousness myself or sharing it all with the next generation of foodies. 

Sharing these experiences with loved ones expands my inner sense of hope.  Our family is spread out over the globe so any time any of us can get together is a treasured treat.  Getting to be with Suzy and Jake for this trip felt so special to me because as we traversed the familiar streets of our childhood, I was reminded of our own growing up years in Hong Kong.  There were moments when I felt as if I was seeing multiple decades of our lives all at once:

• My mom holding our little girl hands crossing the streets as we walked to playgroup,

• Suzy in knee high socks in our school uniforms, with our back packs and lunch boxes waiting for the bus,

• Suzy with a mullet haircut and braces in neon 80s fashion,

• Me also with a mullet haircut and trying so hard (and failing) to be fashionable like my sisters,

• Flashes of a thousand more phases and then…

Here, now, seeing my strong, smart, sophisticated sister love and launch her child into his own adventure in our beloved home. 

I am a romantic, but I am no fool.  I know that life is not all unicorns and rainbows.  It pained me greatly to be away from Hong Kong for the almost three and half years.  Each member of my family (and I’m guessing yours too) has faced real challenges in recent years.  Hong Kong is coming through a deeply rough period and like everywhere else in the world it has a long road of recovery ahead.  And yet, I felt something awaken in me when I was home.  The almost eight million people who are the life blood of this world city inspire me.  They inspire hope.

Thanks to jet lag I was awake before dawn every day I was home.  Rather than a yoga asana practice on a mat, I chose a walking meditation practice through the city.  During these long walks in the wee hours of the morning, I maintained my focus on steady, spacious breath as I bore witness to a city that never sleeps preparing for the coming day.

• People making their way home from a night shift or night out,

• People using hand trucks to navigate narrow entry ways to deliver bundles of newspapers, baskets of colorful produce, crates of fresh noodles and bread to shops and restaurants,

• Groups of elders gathering under the trees in Kowloon Park to flow in slow motion through their Tai Chi practice,

• Joggers along the waterfront, and yes (even in winter) swimmers in the Hong Kong harbor.

Certainly, sunrise can bring a sense of renewal each day.  I love dawn for exactly that reason.  Each morning I felt something deeper, like a vibration in my heart that was resonating with the pulse of the city.  It was a gathering of unseen energies, as if the mountains, the city, the water, the people, past, present, and future, were ALL on the same wavelength.  A vibration of hope. 

The late Irish poet, playwright, and Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney offered the world these wise words around hope,

"Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for."

I can feel this conviction in my home city, the people of Hong Kong. I feel it in myself.  I bring my hometown hope with me wherever I go.

On my last day in Hong Kong, I saw my sister prepare to say goodbye to her son and head home to Australia.  I watched my mom prepare to say goodbye to her girls and send us off to the North and South.  I thought of the thousands of times my mom has helped launch each of us into our next phase and realized it is no wonder Suzy knows how to do this with such grace for Jake.  Some see the ability to love your child and encourage them to forge their own path as evidence of the superpower of parenting.  I also see these steps as courageous acts of hope. 

May the year of the Rabbit inspire us all to root in hope as we follow the Rabbit on a path towards peace.  You are invited to hop (like a bunny) into movement practices with us in February.  Let us set an intention for peace and use our breath and movement to amplify our inner vibration, practice conviction, and embody peace.

February 2023