Daruma-san

I wanted to introduce you to my little Daruma. Many of you recall Carrie, my office manager at CRVH. She has a wonderful family that includes one of her daughter's, Courtney. Courtney gave me my Daruma to help me through chemo. Below is his picture. Purple is particular appropriate as it is a color of healing.

Darumas have a design that is rich in symbolism and are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement among the Japanese. Darumas are still usually made of papier-mâché, have a round shape, are hollow, and weighted at the bottom in a way that it will always return to an upright position when tilted over. You remember... weebles wobble but they don't fall down! This characteristic has come to symbolize the ability to have success, overcome adversity, and recover from misfortune. When I'm having a bad day, I flick my Daruma and watch him roll back up just to remind me that I can, and will, do the same.

The eyes of Daruma are blank when sold. The recipient of the doll fills in one eye upon setting a goal, then the other upon fulfilling it. In this way, every time one see the one-eyed Daruma, they recall the goal. One explanation how this custom started says that in order to motivate Daruma-san to grant your wish, you promise to give him full sight once the goal is accomplished. This practice might also have something to do with the "enlightenment", the ideal attainment of Buddhism. This custom has led to a phrase in Japanese translated as "Both Eyes Open". Referencing to ‘opening’ the second eye, it expresses the realization of a goal.

Daruma’s facial hair is a symbolic representation of the animals well known in Asian culture to embody longevity, the crane and the tortoise. The eyebrows are in the shape of a crane, while the cheek hair resembles the shell of the tortoise. In this way, Daruma was designed to match the Japanese proverb "The crane lives 1000 years, the tortoise 10,000 years." Pretty powerful stuff. If you are in need of your own Daruma, I'm told you can purchase them at Uwajimaya.

One of my avid blod readers told me about a TV report regarding "Organic" products. Some products state that they are Organic but they are from China or some other country that doesn't have the same stringent requirements of the U.S. regarding Organics. I don't know about all the specific regulations but it is true that all Organics are not created equal. My understanding is that the Organic requirements in the U.S., Canada and Australia are the most stringent. So be sure to check the label as to where your Organic product comes from, then find out what that means if it isn't from our country.

I have noticed that my taste buds have been affected by the chemo. First they were numbed and now I've had several people bring veggie-like foods that actually tasted good. How cool would that be if my taste buds changed so that I liked veggies?! Not so cool for Tapwe.  The other day a kind soul delivered a vegetarian lasagna to die for! A delectible delite as it were. 

Paula brought me an outstanding bread by Franz of all companies. It's organic, heavy and nutty. Fabulously flavorful. I thought some of you may want to check it out so here's a picture of it.