It's time for me to once again read my favorite macrobiotic book, Zen Macrobiotics, by George Ohsawa. This is the first book I ever saw about macrobiotics. I was in a grocery store in Santa Cruz, California, browsing through the small collection of books they had for sale. At the time, I was starting to get into eating healthy, vegetarian food. I had been hearing the word "macrobiotics" for a long time, but I had no idea what it was about. So, when the title of this book jumped out in front of me, I grabbed it. And I've been glad that I did ever since!
It is a small book, 207 pages long, and cost me only $9.95. But it is now the most valuable book I own. I re-read it about once every one or two years, and each time I read it again, I am inspired, reaffirmed, and encouraged to go forward. I think that it has been called "the bible of macrobiotics" or the "macrobiotics primer." Well, it has been that for me, and it is certainly the best of all the books that George Ohsawa or any others have written about macrobiotics.
The reason I say this is because in just a few short pages, this book has handed me the tools to work with for the rest of my life. If an answer is not here, it inspires me to go look for it. I can't say that it is a "How To" book, unless it is only to tell me that I have to learn "how to" do it all by myself. George Ohsawa is not going to tell me.
I have always been a firm believer that in order for me to really learn something, I have to do it myself, see it for myself, experience it for myself. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted that — I remember once having a philosophical conversation with my dad about something he didn't want me to do. He said to me (in order to prove a point he was trying to make), "If I told you to not put your hand on the top of the stove because you'll burn yourself, would you do it anyway?" I emphatically replied, "Yes!" He just shook his head. (I was a hopeless case.)
Anyway, this little book, Zen Macrobiotics, points out to me a new way to measure how healthy I am, and how I can improve my health.
The only criticism I ever had of this book is that it doesn't have an index. But does it really need one? Without an index, I'm forced to really know the contents, and to figure out the answers on my own. (Incidentally, I HAVE started writing an index anyway — it might come in handy when I want to quickly cross-reference a home-care remedy or a certain ingredient in one of his recipes.)
This book is available from the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, still for only $9.95.
