I was walking and hunting some shade this sunny afternoon. The sun was smashing hot! The old grandpa carob tree protected me with his plump arms and dense leaves. One leaf brushed my face while I was passing by. I felt connected that second. Connected with what? with who? With the only god we have and will ever have. The only mother nature who nurtures us no matter what, no matter what we did and in which path of our lives we're at.
Wherever you travel, wherever you go - you will never feel abandoned, lonely or not understood, when there is a tree, grass, lake, forest, flower around you. Touch it, lay on it, feel it. Nature is welcoming in every part of the world, while we, the children, explore it. This mother is always with us, that is the one constant that never changes.
The connection with nature leads us to the connection with spirit. The fog, stream, fire, wind. How mysterious, sometimes scary, but always teaching.
Nature gives us food, medicine, shelter, company, everything we need and much more. We need to go back to basics, if we want to understand it - then our bodies, mental health can thrive.
One may ask why I used the word 'understand', if we are part of nature? If we are one?
Well, this is the same as to understand your own feelings, your own nature, your own true you. It takes time, but it is easy if we forget the noise.
Sometimes, when we do not understand or care about something, we tend to label things. The best example is ''bad'' weed. This bad weed is just a simple plant which grows wildly, maybe not in a nice pattern and sometimes it doesn't look pretty. What is amazing is that this ''bad weed'' is very beneficial to everyone having a full range of minerals and healing properties. For example horsetail in many cultures is a bad weed, but what about the silica, vitamin C, E, K, iron, zinc and electrolytes it provides?
Once a Lithuanian herbalist 'witch' said a sentence which stuck with me. She said that when we look around us and really see what's happening, we can start understanding nature giving us signs. When she goes to some peoples' homes and observes that certain plants or weeds are thriving and almost forcefully coming close to be grabbed, she asks the owners of the land if they have any health problems related with anything that the weeds/plants can be a remedy to. Almost always the answer is, yes! You see, nature will find a way to get to us and will try to help us in the most amazing ways. Look at me! Pick me up, dry me up and make a tea later. You will feel much better after.
Since our grandparents had more time to be outside, they were naturally more connected with the outside world, with different plants and their properties. Now big pharma wants us to forget all the knowledge our genes have gathered and go straight to pain killers when we feel pain. Do you, reader, know that olive oil has the same properties painkillers have?! Olive oil has a substance called oleocanthal, which acts like a painkilling drug, but without negative side effects.
Not to forget soaps, perfumes, cleaning products, essential oils - everything is there on our doorstep. All these things could be made and used in sync with seasons and without chemicals which are harmful to us and our air. How thrilling!
p.s. one of the things that inspired us to look deeper in the power of plants was a book called Secrets De Plantes. Maybe our french readers will find it inspiring too.
Have a warm and wonderful autumn,
Jura
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