Passing On the Torch – Reflection of the Touch for Health Training Workshop
Conrad Ho, Hong Kong, China, Jun. 24, 2015
The paternal ancestors in the genealogy of Conrad Ho could be traced back to nearly 600 years ago in the Hangzhou area. At that time, my ancestors were officials of the imperial court (probably major officials). They had to flee for life within a short time because of political persecution. The big clan was split up in several branches in moving. My branch of the clan went south from central China, and eventually settled in Nanhai of Guangdong. Regarding the history of my maternal ancestors, my mother has been reticent about it. Based on what my late grandfather said, the ancestors of my mother were well educated. Many of them did well in the imperial examination and were qualified either as scholars or first degree scholars. My grandfather was also a learned person. He led an honest life with no regret and that was why he was full of energy and confidence, speaking with a resonant voice. Reflecting on the words and deeds of my grandfather, he probably was a qualified scholar during the late Qing dynasty. However, this could not be verified as he did not want to dwell on the past and thus would not talk about it.
Possibly because of such family background, me and my four sisters and brothers all bear a temperament similar to that of scholars and officials though we have different paths in our lives. We are people of dedication with a pure heart (it could also be said that we are a bit simple-minded and are easily deceived, being unaware of the risk in life!). Since my university days, I have come across modern Chinese history and even people relating to the history. I cared about what happened in the past 100 years, noting that Chinese people had met with a lot of hazard and misfortune. I also noted the resilience of Chinese people and the characteristics of Chinese culture. I wanted to do something in this respect when I was young. At first, I did not have much money and could only make one-time donation in fund raising activities for disasters. When I grew older and had better economic ability, I started to make regular donations. However, I still felt that my contribution was not direct enough.
Not until I met and communicated directly with Dr. John Thie, the founder of Touch of Health, could I understand the reasoning behind his design of Touch for Health (not only read in written words). I felt that he had romanticized the idea of barefoot doctor in China. However, his design was a realistic, perfectly viable self-help health care program. He visualized that the entire population would become their own barefoot doctors through learning the techniques of Touch for Health, which would not have much danger or side effect in operation, but could raise the self awareness of well being, returning the power to individuals. Furthermore, since these techniques involved face to face direct coaching and stimulating various reflex points by direct touching, I found them straight-forward and “satisfying”!
Yesterday was the last day of the Touch for Health Training Workshop. The last thing we did before ending the lesson was the “passing on the torch ” ceremony. Faculty Amy Choi and Instructor Trainer Conrad Ho were the first ones to light the candles in their hands, and then they let the to-be-instructors to lean over to lit up their candles. In this way, the flame was passed on. When I saw the flame spreading from one to another in darkness, I was moved deep down inside. Another group of registered instructors would soon be “ready”. This represented another step in implementing John Thie’s concept of training the entire population to become barefoot doctors.
