We’re well into Bunuru. It’s the hottest and driest season and the locals moved close to the coast and estauries and ate seafood. It is a season of white flowers. We recent arrivals seem to spend as much time at the beach as we can, and shuttle between air-conditioned homes, workplaces, and gyms in our air-conditioned cars.
I’ve realised that I don’t often do posts about summer or Bunuru, and I guess it’s because I’m merely surviving and hoping for Autumn or at least “Final Heat“处暑.That’s come, and it has cooled down a bit.
Even when just getting through it, summer is the season of Joy. Find some.
And try to get out of the aircon. Get outdoors when it’s not like Dubai, minimise the use of AC at home and instead make the most of any cooling breezes in the evening, and try to avoid the direct icy blast of the refrigerated air.
A foundational text of diagnosing and treating respiratory and epidemic disease is literally about Cold Damage (伤寒论 Shang Han Lun). Later theories of Warm Diseases (温病 Wen Bing) developed. But even during Perth’s five months of warm and hot weather we see more cases of Cold Damage than Warm Disease because of the exposure to artificial unseasonal cold, and from exposure to breezes, slipstreams and draughts while sweaty and uncovered.
Don’t keep smashing frozen fruit smoothies, salads, icy cold beverages. Just eat one slice of water-melon, it’s enough sweet coolness, more taxes the digestion. Overworking the digestion with too much cold food can affect its performance and even lead to diarrhoea. The body may even react to too much cold food by producing more heat, but this can be wildfire that makes our face red, cause rashes or headaches, or anger; rather than the gentle warmth of proper metabolism.
Summer wilts us though, and Autumn is the time to remoisten. I’ll be more prompt with my post.