Natural medicines are more than just 'fixes' for what ails us, in the way a paracetamol might be. They contain stories of who we are - our ancestors, our culture, and our core selves are linked to the healing we choose and use. Some of us can't use plant medicine without thinking of a grandmother who used that plant in some way when they were small. Some of us meditate with stories of Kali or Durga or Sarawati in the centre of our third eye, Hindu goddesses that guide us through difficult times. Some stories are stories of suffering and hardship - a rose planted on a grave, a twig of rosemary to remember the fallen. Some stories are new stories, ones that we ourselves might tell our children - the magical hawthorn planted over the placenta planted after their birth, a lesson about the calming affects of lavender as they go to sleep at night, the tree that their parents kissed under for the first time.
Sometimes it's the stories themselves that lead us to the medicine.
Sometimes stories inspire us to get well.
Sometimes the story is still being told, as we learn, grow and heal through our medicine pathways.
This challenge asks you to write about the topic:
Medicine Story
It doesn't have to be your story, although we'd dearly love to read yours. Some other ideas might be:
- Write about the mythology associated with a particular plant or practice
- Research and write about the appearance of herbs in certain literature
- Explore the story of a Goddess or a God in a particular culture and the healing lessons she might bring
- Explore your ancestral stories about plant or other natural medicines
- Write a creative story or a poem that tells a natural medicine story
- Write about your own natural medicine story
A few guidelines
- Please use the tag #naturalmedicine
- Comment with a link to your posts in the comments below so we don't miss it
- Original writing and photos please - if no original photos, please source them
- Resteem this post if you can - let's fill the Steem blockchain with stories