The Year of the Ox

by Elisa Behnk, AAAOM-SO Vice President of Communications

Align Yourself with the Sign of the Times

On January 23, 2009 by western calendars we entered the Chinese Year of the Ox. About that same time I heard a radio segment about Chinese New Year in the U.S. that referenced President Barack Obama, born in 1961, as an ox, specifically a metal ox. The double-ox coincidence piqued my interest, but it was the recent AAAOM Action Corps announcement and the call to “work together in teams” that served as the tipping point to explore the Ox as the sign of our times.

Wikipedia identifies the Year of the Ox as “prime,” usually appearing on the first page of the Chinese Almanac, denoting the start of things, the “ground floor.” It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the essential energy of the ox is earth. By ancient calculations, 2009 is an earth ox year and so we now are in a time of earth-energy squared. Interestingly, CNN.com’s post-election analysis of the successful Obama campaign credits much of his victory to an “overwhelming ground game”—literally a “groundswell” of fundraising support and teamwork.

The ox is the paragon of hard work, fortitude and, eventually, prosperity. This is no easy button, no quick fix. All About China defines the ox and earth energetic as stable, slow and steady—an interesting counter-balance to the turbulence of the rat year. By contrast, oxen shoulder the job working side-by-side. In this light, the yoke is miscast as an image of burdened servitude. A well-fashioned yoke makes light work of an otherwise heavy task.

Now is the golden hour—a rare opportunity to work together in teams with practitioners to drive forward the AAAOM Agenda. This is your chance to:

• Work with top leaders in the AOM profession on projects essential to the field.
• Take a pragmatic role in shaping the future of the profession.
• Develop leadership experience that translates into future leadership roles.
• Author works that contribute meaningfully to the AOM field while also building your professional profile.
• Earn your AAAOM professional or student membership for the duration of active Action Corps participation.

Consider serving on the:

• Action Corps Legal Research Team, which will research and generate data on favorable acupuncture and herbal legislative bills, regulation, lobbying, and education efforts to promote AOM’s seat at the table for healthcare reform.
• Action Corps Insurance Team, which will research and identify contemporary insurance challenges, and forge AOM initiatives in response to those challenges.
• Action Corps Membership Team, which will analyze current membership benefits and membership fees available within each AOM state organization.
• Action Corps Media Research Team, which will identify, collect links, and categorize all significant articles and AOM research that demonstrates the efficacy of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Action Corps team slots are limited and will be filled by application to the AAAOM and AAAOM-SO boards. For further information, contact Doug Newton at dnewton@aaaomonline.org. To apply for the AAAOM Action Corps, please use the following interactive form: http://www.aaaomonline.org/interactive.asp?ID=41.

Applications will be accepted through Monday, March 16, 2009. Candidates will be notified of their status by Friday April 10. All selected Action Corps participants will be invited to meet at the AAAOM conference in Sacramento, CA, April 23 through 26.