Witnessing gradual change

As an herbalist, I am often a witness of gradual change. While it’s true that there are herbs for which the effects are felt within moments of ingesting or applying, it’s much more often the case that I work with plants that enact continuous change over time. Sometimes this is disheartening for people, especially as we live in a time where the quickness of results and the promise of immediacy are ideas that are quite literally embedded into the code of consumer behavior - we are used to being persuaded by how small of an amount of time something will take us. There are some changes, though, that just have to be waited on.

I think of the process of healing wounds as one of these gradual change instances.

This past week an arborist came to our property to look at some trees on our land. He pointed out some dead limbs on a beautiful alligator juniper behind our house and recommended that these limbs be cut close to the tree. He explained how the bark of the tree will have an easier time enveloping the cut if the incision is made close to the trunk. As he was talking through this, I thought about how slow the healing of the cut on the tree is. I had no idea how long that actually takes, but I recognized there are very few ways (maybe only one - the close cut) to expedite that healing process. I can think of some examples in my own life and in the lives of clients where this has also been the case, especially in the realm of emotional health and healing.

In many health journeys, there is nothing that can be swapped or exchanged for time, but there are many ways to optimize the time so that a season of healing can be cultivated rather than waited out begrudgingly, experienced with dread, or even extended with harmful behaviors. Lots of herbs can be safely worked with over a long time series. Nutritive herbs in particular tend to be more like food than medicine (if we think of these as separate things), and Chinese herbal medicine comprises lots of elegantly designed formulas that allow some of the stronger, more intense herbs to be balanced by the harmonizing qualities of gentler herbs in the formulation. Herbal medicine also has the capacity to simultaneously strengthen and tonify multiple parts of the body over the time course of the process of healing. For example, a given formula may have the key aim to strengthen digestion by supporting the spleen and stomach, but may also have the capacity to build blood, help with sleep, and ease emotional upheaval at the same time.

Feel welcome to send me a response to this email, leave a comment, or check out some of my other writings if you’re starting to get curious about how herbs can be folded into your life along whatever kind of path you’re headed down. I’m always happy to talk or point you toward more resources.

Warmly,

Artemisia

innervillagehealth.com

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