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One of the dynamics that pollen reminds me of, and teaches me about each year, is the fundamental relationality of life.
Matthew Segall, in a talk on Alfred North Whitehead's Organismic or Process philosophy, noted that ecology, rather than physics, is the foundational form of scientific inquiry.
Ecology is often defined as, the branch of science that studies relationships of organisms to each other and their environments.
Segall is riffing on the idea that what we think of as "things", one of the primary domains of physics, are relational processes rather than static material objects. When we orient to relationship, that which is between and connects, rather than objects, it opens up a space for us to see and feel into the inherent dynamism of our world, and this continually changing universe in which it moves.
Even what we think of as inert matter is a continuous dance of becoming. Stones appear static to the naked eye, and us short lived creatures, yet with enough magnification, and/or a long enough temporal view, we begin to see their movements and changes.
With living systems the dance is at a pace we can, at least in part, observe. This is one of the reasons I often say, “There are no things in Chinese medicine.”
If there are no things, what are there?
Processual dynamic relationships all the way down.
Ok. But, what does all this have to do with pollen?
Oxford Languages defines pollen as:
A fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of a flower or from a male cone. Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize the female ovule, to which pollen is transported by the wind, insects, or other animals.
Springtime pollen saturation is the reproductive relational process enacted on a level of breadth that encompasses all of us.
A robust and direct teacher!
The practice of medicine is first and foremost relational. Through presence and listening we come into relationship with what is arising and expressing at a given moment. We seek to hear what the innate wisdom of the complex web of contexts and relationships we call the self is asking for, and to provide it to the best of our capacity and skill. Our orientation within this practice is that this request is being made so that the ecology of self may receive needed support to foster the emergence of coherence. We call that emergent coherence health.
The role of the physician is to support this emergence.
If there is anything I can do to support you, please don't hesitate to reach out.
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