The Shamanic concept that everything we are consciously aware of in our lives offers some kind of medicine or healing is a keystone of The Soulistic Journey and is a notion that continues to deepen my life experiences.
Three years ago in February 2018 the UK experienced an unusually deep anticyclone that culminated in a weather system some called 'The Beast from the East'. It decimated many plants in my garden, including a particularly beautiful bi-coloured agapanthus which I treasured. At the same time that the earth was blasted with bitter winds and icy temperatures, I was undergoing radiotherapy, a different but equally devastating blast.
As the winter progressed to spring and then to summer, I found some tiny green shoots of recovery around the withered roots of the agapanthus, and I began to nurture them tenderly. By the end of the summer they were robust enough to dig up and pot on into a small container that I could take into the shelter of the greenhouse should another beast rear its head.
A year later, it had grown more leaves, but showed no flower buds, which didn't surprise me. Meanwhile, I had begun to rebuild my own life, undertaking a journey of transformation – the Soulistic Journey – that forever changed me. Even so, the old saboteurs of 'should, ought and must' jabbed at my consciousness, telling me it was time to get back to work, time to earn a living and be productive.
Two years later, I found myself busy again, but tiredness would sometimes fell me and I had to admit I could no longer physically do some of the things I'd once taken for granted. Meanwhile agapanthus resurrectus as she'd now been named continued to grow, but still no flowers appeared.
And then, three years after the Beast, in the late spring of this year, five flower buds appeared and I was overjoyed to see them, knowing that she had now truly recovered her energy and vitality. And then it hit me – the plant medicine she was offering. Why had I expected my body to recover from trauma so quickly? Why was I unable to allow the healing of time to take place without becoming impatient and expecting more of myself? This humble plant taught me that patience in all we do is key to a balanced and healthful life, and that if we put energy into our wellbeing, rather than achieving (sometimes unattainable) goals, then we will blossom in the most unexpected ways, when the timing is right.
Plant medicine is at the heart of healing – even synthetic drugs are originally based on phytomolecules – and yet plants also offer metaphysical medicine if only we have eyes to see. Everything really is medicine. It just depends how you look.
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