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STORY OF THE CRANE SYMBOL
There is in all visible things... a hidden wholeness.
-- Thomas Merton
Cranes have been long revered by many cultures. For example, in Japan, cranes
--especially 1000 of them-- are a symbol of hope. In North America, the Whooping
Crane is gradually making its way back from extinction. These birds, which nest
north of Alberta, have only one flyway to Texas in the winter. To create a
second flyway, some scientists put Whooper eggs in Sandhill Cranes' nests in
Montana. While the Whoopers hatched and followed the Sandhills south, when it
came to mating time, the Whooper population failed to reproduce. They never
learned their own language nor could they understand that of the Sandhills.
The story of the Whooping Crane provides us with two messages to ponder
concerning complementary and conventional therapies. First, communication is
critical. You can place complementary and conventional therapies under one roof,
but this arrangement will not bear fruit without good communication. Second,
placement of Whooper eggs in Sandhill nests was carried out not to intermingle
genes, but rather to create a second pathway to an end. Is it not possible that
by integrating complementary and conventional approaches, we can create a new
"flyway"…
-- contributed by Dr. Louise Horstman
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