Some random thoughts while studying herbals tonight; while reading I ran into some timeless truths.
Hippocrates said:
let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.
He really was a pretty smart man!
Dr. Patrick Jones (one of my favorite herbalists) also said:
Spike your soup with tumeric or garlic and you're a Gourmet. Glaze the fruit cup with goldenseal and you're a Sadist
He is obviously a smart man too!
So herbals can be a lot of work, to force answers from the unknown; or you can approach it as relaxation and fun. I learn more when I am not under stress to learn the 14 thing, in order of efficacy, that herb XYZ can be used for!
It is almost fun to find a new use for an old friend I have used for years! So read and study, Sometimes I even take notes on certain things, because it sets it in my mind, if I re read the note or not.
But every now and then, I run into an herbalist; who is so intense, they are shortening their very life, by the intensity of their dedication! If you add 5 years to your life with herbals, but loose 7 from the stress; is that a good use of your time? Would it not be better to enjoy the study, and add 4 years, while subtracting none?
What could a Man do with the extra six years saved; simply by enjoying life? :)