Herbs, Roots, Connection

This new year has started off with a bang here in the U.S. and it has me thinking about my passion for herbs, herbal crafting, and sharing with others. My training has been focused on clinical herbalism but that is never what I wanted to do for various reasons, but mostly because what I treasure about herbalism is the self-knowledge, self-application, and self-enjoyment of having a relationship with the herbs. I aim to connect people to the earth, their roots, and each other through herbs because herbs and humans have been living entwined lives since the beginning of time. When we engage in cooking, crafting, medicine making, or simply brushing by herbs and smelling their scents, we are engaging in the same activities all of our ancestors did since the very beginning of humanity itself, and we are engaging in activities that bind us to each other all over the world and to the earth herself. For that reason, working and playing with herbs is immensely satisfying, joyful, and scratches an itch like nothing else.

The connection people form when making herbal concoctions together is something truly special to behold. If you have never taken an in-person herbal crafting class, I highly recommend it because it is as high-vibe as it gets. That connection is what I want to see more of in the world, and what I want to be part of creating. Connection to earth, to our roots, and to each other is a driving force of this website, classes I’ve made for online and IRL, and for the books I write and contribute to. Connecting to all kinds of people has always been extremely important to me and is one of the reasons I got an MA in TESOL. I love teaching English as a Second Language because I get to meet people from all over the world and that is truly the best thing ever. When I was in college my roommate once remarked that I must know every exchange student on campus, and she was probably right but I hadn’t even thought about it. Of course I want to connect with those with different lives, different habits, opinions, preconceptions, etc. It is fascinating! Isn’t that why we read books too? It is why I personally love novels…the lives that I haven’t lived are so fabulously ‘other’ and full of insights and experiences that I could never get through my own little corner of the world.

So back to this new year and this same old story of divisiveness. The events of this past week of the insurrection on the nation’s capitol were shocking enough, but the lack of police action was even more shocking after this summer’s displays of brute force and tear gas against peaceful BLM protestors. The disingenuous discourse I have witnessed from those that are uncomfortable with seeing in action what their rhetoric has incited, or even their silence, is just as upsetting. I don’t want to be silent on this and I never thought I’d have to say this, but as much as I treasure connection and I want all people to be seen and heard, this is not a space open to white supremacists, racists, or misogynists. Some have responded to that mob by stating, “This is not who we (as a nation) are,” and others have said, “Yes, this is actually who we are right now and we have to accept that and move towards better,” but I disagree with both those statements. That is not who I am, and I refuse to be part of any community that comes remotely close to what was so arrogantly displayed to the watching world. That is all I have control of and although I hope we as a nation are moving towards ‘better’ and I do believe we will and must, I cannot say that small group is who we are or who we aren’t because they aren’t going to define me, my communities, nor my country. They are they, and they are not we and they are not welcome here. That is all I wanted to say.

Happy New Year!