凱元參加演講比賽

Hi everyone. On Monday, I participated in a speech contest sponsored by the Ministry of Health. The theme was health, so my teacher, Gao Laoshi said, "Hey, you're a Chinese doctor, you should partipate." I thought it would be a good way for me to practice my Chinese.

I wrote my speech about how Chinese Medicine can help students take care of their health, and decided to teach them a little about Five Elements theory. Most Taiwanese people have heard about the five elements, but they all know a lot more about computers, business, and KTV than they do about these old theories.

I wrote my speech in English first, and then translated it into Chinese. Of course, I asked a few of my Taiwanese friends to look at what I wrote so that they could help me correct my many mistakes.

Finally, two weeks before the contest, I had my speech written. But, then last monday, my teacher told me the speech was in a week, not in two weeks. I had gotten confused about the date.

So, I had a week to memorize my five minute speech. It was hard, but I did it.

The day of the contest arrived, and I thought the speech was clearly impressed upon my brain, but when I got up on stage, I had to pause because I got a little nervous. I usually don't get nervous when giving speeches.

Despite this, I still got second place. Fortunately, I guess, other students were also nervous, too. As I mentioned in a previous post, as I get older, Rumi's Lame Goat is has become my hero.

You know, worldly "wisdom" says "Be Number One." Spiritual wisdom says the lame goat, lagging behind, leads the herd home.

Here's my speech, if you can read Chinese.

中醫對學生健康的好處

各位評審老師,各位同學,大家好.我是姚凱元,我是一位美籍的中醫師.今天我要演講的題目是中醫對學生健康的好處.

中醫的歷史很悠久並且充滿智慧。因此,在短短五分鐘之內我沒有辦法給你們很完整的介紹,但我可以給你們一些以中醫為基礎的生活建議.

中醫說人的身體是外在世界的反映.中國古代的大師都發現世界有五個最基本的元素:金,木,水,火,土.這個理論就叫做五行.

五行對我們的生活有什麼幫助呢?我們的身體如何反映五行呢?讓我來告訴你們.

哪一個器官反映土呢? 就是你的脾臟,代表你的消化系統.

中醫說「脾主五臟」,是說如果你每天三餐吃得營養,身體就會很強壯.我有很多同學不吃早餐,中午也沒有時間可以吃飯,而且晚上都吃麥當勞,然後才抱怨,「為什麼我這麼累? 」 所以飲食很重要,不要忘記三餐都要吃得營養.

中醫也說「脾主思」,思就是思想的思.這對學生來說特別重要.一方面,思考要花力氣,所以一定要吃得營養.另一方面,如果你想太多或是念太多的書,都會對你的消化系統有不好的影響.所以念書的時候,每一兩個小時,就要休息一下.不要一邊看書一邊吃飯.而且,吃飯的時候不要急.

哪一個器官反映木呢? 就是你的肝.

中醫說「怒傷肝」,怒就是生氣的意思.我們都有過沒有辦法達成目標的經驗,然後覺得很挫折.這個情緒就會傷害你的肝.如何發洩自己的情緒呢?你可以跟朋友傾訴你的感覺.運動是個好辦法.罵妳的男朋友也是個不錯的主意(開玩笑!).

中醫也說「肝為血海」,這對女生特別重要.女生如果嘴唇蒼白,就表示血液中的營養不夠,我建議妳可以多吃肉,也要看醫生.

哪一個器官反映火呢? 就是你的心.

中醫說「心主神明」也說「心惡熱」.為什麼心臟會熱呢?喝咖啡,喝酒,和抽菸都是很常見的原因.如果病人一直都很緊張或睡不好,我馬上就會想到是因為喝咖啡,喝酒,和抽菸.

哪一個器官反映金呢? 就是你的肺臟.

中醫說「肺主外表」,外表是指免疫系統.容易感冒的人要怎麼強化免疫系統呢?第一,他們要吃的營養.第二,他們必須減少壓力.雖然冬天在診所裡常常看到很多感冒的病患,可是身體很強壯的醫師還是不會被傳染,是因為他們的肺功能很好.

哪一個器官反映最後的水呢?就是你的腎臟.

中醫說「腎主五臟的精」,精就是精華的意思.所以我們可以說腎臟是最根本的器官也是最重要的.

在診所,我們常看到很多老年人抱怨他們的腰很痛.中醫說「腰為腎之府」也說「久病及腎」.所以如果你年輕的時候不保養,老了以後就得到診所來找我.

希望我給你們的建議可以提醒你們注意到你們身體的健康.我的演講到此結束.謝謝各位.祝你們健康快樂!