May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
To all of my Asian brothers and sisters, may you take this month to nourish your soul and to honor all of your ancestors who helped you to arrive at where you are right now. I am grateful for my ancestors who worked so hard to survive so that I could enjoy my life. Without them, I could not be a resilient woman and a competent therapist. I am grateful that I have touched the lives of so many Asian Americans in California and witnessed their growth to do good work out in the world.
I am grateful that I watched the world premiere of Simple Mexican Pleasures at New Conservatory theater in San Francisco. I was given a glimpse of talented actors who played ancestors. One of them was of Chinese descent. Watching him tell the audience, “Of course I would want the best food for myself” made me realize that heroism and self-sacrifice dominates the immigrant experience. There is a dance between claiming your nectar of life and giving away the nectar to let your love ones have it instead of you.
You can derive pleasure from seeing the pleasure of your love ones enjoying the nectar of life, but there is a time and place when you need to take control of your own life and experience the pleasure yourself. Otherwise, a build up on resentment occurs and then, no one gets to be happy.
In another scene, the ancestors tell the other ancestors what traits were passed on in the current generation. All three were cheering for the living family member to overcome his fear of being “too much” and embrace his true self. The truth is you are never “too much” when you have found your own aliveness and joy in life. It takes courage to live the kind of life you can ever dream of. Step into it.
I left the theater being uplifted that my identity of being an Asian in America includes being a story teller. My passion to tell stories comes forth in my sessions with my clients. I am happy that they take joy in the way I tell my stories to illustrate that I am human as well and suffer from disappointments. The way I bounce back is to know that every hurt and pain is making me stronger and giving me the opportunity to help others to heal their pain by turning my experience into a lesson to grow.
As we celebrate Asian American month, I am honored to be part of a culture that is about harmony and celebration for family bonding through shared food.