Feeling the Support of Our Oldest Relations

 

Cluster of Heal-All plants, Simcoe Country Forest

Last summer, I encountered numerous groupings of Heal-All (Prunella vulgaris lanceolata) plants in the forest that I walk in.  Once they were flowering, I was surprised to find more and more clusters in a few areas of the forest.  I was delighted and formed a relationship with this plant, drying leaves and flowers for tea and making a flower essence.  My friend made even more flower essences and I have been using the Heal-All one daily for the past year to help deal with all the change that is going on as well as ancestral traumas rising.  Heal-All has become of my biggest supporters during these turbulent times.

And so, I looked forward to meeting the plants again this summer.  I watched carefully for the leaves to emerge and found plants that I hadn’t seen the previous year until I discovered that Wild Basil (Satureja vulgaris) had very similar leaves.  It wasn’t until they both flowered that I could tell the difference.  My disappointment didn’t last long because once the Heal-All went into full flower, I discovered hundreds of plants all over the forest at the edge of the trails where it is happiest.  Everywhere I walked, there they were, their beautiful purple flowers cheering me on and cheering me up.  I felt their support as I walked by. 

This made me think about the saying that “what we focus on gets magnified.”  I take this to mean that if we focus on negative things, then these take up more space in our minds.  We notice all the negative things around us, the world feels more and more dangerous and we feel more and more powerless.  Likewise, if we focus on positive things with a gratitude practice then our mind is filled with those things instead – they are magnified in our attention. 

So, what did it mean that this year, I am seeing Heal-All in more places?  Did I just not notice them last year?  Did they suddenly spread everywhere? Or has my relationship with them made me more aware of their presence?  And if that is true, then what other supports are all around me that I am not aware of?

As I learn more about healing ancestral or intergenerational traumas, I am finding out that paying attention to the body is important.  When my body tightens up, constricts for no apparent reason I am learning to soothe my nervous system by taking a deep breath, walking in the woods, singing or swimming in the lake.  When I look at the history of my ancestors and the fact that life was often very dangerous and uncertain, then it makes sense that my nervous system is highly attuned to anything different that could be threatening.  It makes sense that I am on alert even when there seems no reason to be that way.  And so, feeling the support of plant and trees may very well be a part of healing the intergenerational trauma that I carry.  As I am walking past the Heal-All plants that border the trail, I am trying to soften my body and feel their support.  I am learning about this kind of healing and the plants are my oldest relations.  They have been on Earth much longer than people and they know about adapting, healing and flourishing.  I am grateful for their teachings and support.