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 (Photo by Kenneth E. Norton)

Scent of Light Episode

by Ken Norton

Tao of a Stalk of Wheat

Broadcast July 8, 2018

The audio file above is the spoken word recording without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine with host Andre' Marc.

Transcript

I am glad to join you and our listeners for Today's Radio Magazine, Andre. My name is Ken Norton and on this 5-minute segment of the Radio Magazine I will share my discerning of a stalk of wheat. Two years ago in early June my friend Philipp introduced me to his Tai Chi Chuan master David Chung, who teaches in the upper room at the Snoopy Ice Arena on Saturday mornings. I have been practicing, first haltingly, but eventually my individual choppy moves became more flowing. It helped me to meet with Paul, a more experienced student in the class, during the week to help me remember the sequence of the moves. I saw how rapid my progress was at this rate of practice of twice a week, so I then made another arrangement to meet with another Tai Chi group in Healdsburg led by the master Josepha Eveleigh on another day of the week. Eventually I was able to remember the moves sufficiently enough to practice Tai Chi Chuan daily.

Last October David Chung challenged me as he held inn his hand before the class some stalks of wheat that bent and recovered with his movements: "Ken, you have your degrees from Stanford in Material Science, describe the Tao of a wheat stalk in 100 words." I replied that I would work on it.

That night of the assignment, I heard of the passing of my friend Lee, and my attention went to grieving that loss, grateful for our time together, grateful for my wife Elaine at my side. Some days passed and I remembered David's stalks of wheat and decided to devote my time to the description the following morning, taking my Mom's advice "to sleep on it."

I begin my day with meditation, and as the timer went off indicating the end of the meditation, the general idea of my approach to the poem came to me. I took out my tablet and open the memo app and dictated my description of the Tao of the Stalk of Wheat. I drew not only upon my material science studies but also my love of gardening and hiking in nature, as well as the death of my friend and the awareness gained from my Tai Chi practice. I would also benefit from the influences through the mentoring by a poet whose poems I would help him finalize to print. The word count of my first draft came to over 120 words, so I used some word smithing to whittle the poem to 100 words. The experience of writing this poem help me to trust the creative process and the wisdom gained from my past, and to have patience in the timing for the parts of the process to occur in their requisite order. The Tai Chi moves have their requisite order, too, and involve all the body cells from foot and hand to head.

I  will read you now my poem: 

100 words to describe the Tao of a stalk of wheat

One wheat seed is hard to the touch.
A drop of water softens it.
Life's journey for this grass spirals up and down,
shoot and root;
atoms lured to join molecules
from seed, soil, air and moon drawn water
with photonic sparks of the Sun
arcing east to west,
weaving with shades
from dark to light
and back again.
As the seed's Earth spins
and tilts
and rotates around the Sun,
shoot and root grow long,
spinning atom upon atom,
spiraling fibers from root to shoot,
quivering with wind,
young and small,
ripe and tall,
for its flower to seed.

I have posted this poem on my website www.kennethenorton.com. You can contact me through this site. This is Ken Norton, thanks for listening.

               About the Author and Producer

Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and conscionable choices.

Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes on the Scent of Light. Ken lives in Santa Rosa with his life partner Elaine and their little dog Rosey.

Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan

 2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz

I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit.  All the shows are archived on the website.

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I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my mentor.

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Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*

                    Kenneth E. Norton

* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy