Whiplash

How’s the fall out from the holidays going for you?

Are you feeling invigorated by the new year?  (Gosh I hope so.)  Or are you feeling like  a dull pencil, worn out from the celebrations, the scribblings, and too much togetherness?  Maybe too many cookies?  I must say it all sounds familiar…

I wanted to do something nice for you to help transition the calendar year, and all of the accompanying thoughts and beliefs that come along with this time.   We are prone to such highs and lows after the holidays.  They are in fact over, and we are the same mostly.  But we have some different feelings too.  Different ambitions and thoughts.

If you live in Northern California, the weather is a handy example.  The endless days of warm sunshine keep us feeling hopeful (the high part),  but the evenings are even colder than we are used to with the clear dry weather (the low bit).   We want the endless sun of course (it makes us feel so good), but we desperately need the rain and are headed straight for a serious drought if we don’t get it.   You mean it can’t just be sunny forever?  No, I guess not.

I must confess,  my personal tendency has been not to think about it too hard–to just enjoy the warm sun, this beautiful weather.   I don’t want to think about our lack of rain…the dark side of all that light.  Things are getting darn right crispy out there, organisms are struggling to survive.

But I know that if I can practice keeping both tendencies (light/dark, high/low)  in mind, I can stay more balanced because I can accept the existence and the interplay of these two extremes.   It will rain again eventually, and we’ll get to feel all that come with that too:  the cold water on our  skin, the difficulties in getting around, the confused traffic, and the collective relief that the green things will feel around us.

We are the same, but we are a work in progress too.  The sun and the rain are mirror elements of our personal work.  Sometimes we are on top, filled with the possibilities of change.  And sometimes we are so stuck change seems like a distant speck on the horizon.  We are human after all, and this is a very human cycle that we all go through.  Extremes are a part of living.

And so in the spirit of this New Year transitional duality, I am wanting to offer you…

 A Reiki 2-fer:
Two 50 minute reiki sessions for the price of one.  Gift one to a friend or keep both for you!  Unstick the stuck. $95

Herbal chai, a “clean house” tea:  burdock, elderberry, fennel seed, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, star anise.  A wonderful tea for helping to stay on track with that New Year’s Revolution–spicy, sweet, with a “built-in” tea ritual to help you stay rooted.  $15

Message in a Bottle:  let’s chat on the phone and talk about your health goals for 2014 (emotional, spiritual, physical).  Then I will customize a herbal extract for you, $25 for 2 oz.

It’s a good time to renovate the temple…xoxo, kt

(Get in touch if you’d like to order:  415.613.7010, wiseleafherbal@gmail.com)

And the Wind Blew…

It’s spring again, and whew are gardeners busy.  We are so consumed with thinking about plant needs (everybody’s different!) that we forget to find a moment’s peace to reflect on just how dang cool it all is.  Stuff is growing, literally popping before our very eyes.  Buds are whispering.  Blossoms are singing either operas or Billy Holiday songs.   The bees and other buzzers are back.  When we stop a moment to take in all that wonderment, there is no gladder heart than a spring time gardener’s.

Spring means that I shed my skin and become a baseball widow once more

And so, in homage to the insistent wind, the much-needed spring rains, and all that glorious green, here is a pictorial love letter.  (Bloggettes, double click on the pictures to make them bigger…i know I need a new blog style that shows off the photos, but i am apparently not done with this sweet, intimate one just yet.)

Yarrow for days…

Brand new Maidenhair fern frond

One of the Nuccio’s Camellias

I love you dirt.  I love you brand new frond.  I love you Sun.  You  sustain us all so well.   Thank you.

The very special blood root