New Year Resolutions for Herbalists

Follow me this month while I try to clear out my own chaos and get a few tips on how to get your herb cabinet and/or business back in order! January is a perfect time for reflection and planning, but also, we have time for getting things done since the rush of garden season is still a few months away, the snow keeps us at home a bit more....as does the promise of a warm house and hot cup of tea. Each day, I am going to tackle something that needs constant care or attention, but that is often left to become dysfunctional as the year goes on. Will this be the year, I actually keep on top of things? Who knows...but if not, I will repost next year!

January 8 ~

But...Don't Read Too Much, Too Fast!! 

So I did read many chapters of less than favorite books yesterday, and 2-3 magazines of my huge back log....and I finished the "Walking Dead "Compendium"--Volumn ll --just to keep myself well rounded.

I did learn a thing or two and do understand the points of view, but they are simply not where I came from--or am coming from. I can only be true to my instincts--which are based not only on what you have formally learned from teachers and books, but also on personal experiences...and personlity type. Equally valid styles speak to different people.

If you are an avid reader and consumer of anything written about plants, herbal medicine, organic gardening, environmentalism, cooking....than you may also have subscriptions to 20  or so magazines on top of the books you buy. I have stacks of dogeared magazines--for the purpose of revisiting particular articles for a new project/craft/class. Some have every other page dog eared. Some have only one or two--so I rip out the article and apologetically give the remaing magazine away. So I have stacks of magazines and stacks of stapled articles...all great information....that I simply must get to....someday???? It will be impossible.  So I often find myself ready to teach or come up with some creative idea....and then stop myself and think maybe I should first refer back to a good article I read.  So, now I begin to doubt my ability to relay the information in my own way, or that someone else already did it--so why bother? Can I do it as well? It really gets self-defeating. The purpose of knowledge should be to use it ...not fear it or get overwhelmed by it. So I am becoming much more deliberate in my magazine subscription choices and reading much more slowly.  Slow reading will allow me to really assess if it is simply a good article with interesting ideas as opposed to one where I really see myself incorporating it into a class or the website.

Back to instincts. They are cultivated by information and a steady use. Nobody can know everything--you do not need to--but you do need to know what you do know--WELL and be able to use it nimbly....and then to know when to seek more information elsewhere. So don't overpower yourself with all the available info coming at you in your mailbox or on Facebook.Take the time to savor, use what seems in tune with your own sensibilities....and never wonder why you should bother re-teaching information already available. Tradition is simply re-teaching. We need more tradition. And...most people are not as steeped in herbal literature as we are and they don't know some things you take for granted. Read slow, take it in, integrate it into your herbal soul...and then, pass it on.