mug by Tamara Bryan
I think about gathering- In late August early September when the elderberry is hanging off in giant clusters. After the first frost gathering the rosehips. Getting the echinacea in the ground so that by next years bloom I will have my echinacea stores full. All this for healing the body.
Over the winter months drawing on those stores for..
Elderberry syrup with rosehip, cinnamon, clove, star anise, fresh lemon, raw honey, with a dash of cardamom (because I love it) all to fight off the winter colds.
Rosehip oil for skin nourishing.
And eventually echinacea for infections.
I am not just healing the body, but the mindset that this body isn't worth the time, it's to be used up with no thought of the future.
Gathering is all about future (even though for me the act of gathering is also healing). I take time in the NOW to take care of myself in the future.
Our mental and emotional healing is much the same. Sometimes it feels like forever until we see the fruit of our self-care labor. Therapy Meditation Mindfulness Yoga Spiritual practice Silence and solitude
Woods walking
Etc.
And then one day we realize we have some distance from the pain. We are able to say No. We can breathe. The monkey mind has less control. We love ourselves much more than we thought possible.
My stores are not just about the winter months. My stores are my tiny acts of rebellion to the status quo that says-
Use yourself up
Starve yourself
Punish what you can't change
You're not worth it
You're unlovable
You are not enough
You will never be healed
Healthy
Or whole
I will not believe this! It goes against the voice rising in me that is saying
be gentle
be loving
be kind
All that we are is worth loving! Truely loving is going against the status quo!