robert-zunikoff-2iL4Xqmxocs-unsplash.jpg
PLANT MEDICINE SECTION
Harvesting and Empowering Health
A
by J. Garnet
cross the country, millions of people are involved in harvesting crops this month. Whether the crops are coming from acres of land, a backyard garden or small pots of herbs on a windowsill, there’s something about harvesting that nurtures the soul. It’s the reward after weeks and months of nurturing nature. Also, there is nothing much better than eating something freshly picked or right off a tree, vine or pulled from the earth. Autumn brings cooler temperatures, a new season and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Living in the Sonoran Desert has numerous benefits. One of the biggest advantages of living in the southwest is that there are multiple growing seasons. Fruits and vegetables can be planted and harvested a couple of times per year. Becoming involved in 32
Tucson Edition
planting, cultivating and harvesting produce is one of the best ways to remain healthy in body, mind and spirit. It is perhaps the best self-help activity that can be done. There are countless self-help books, classes, seminars, videos and conferences available for people to turn to when the desire for change is strong. Over the last six months, millions of people have had hours, days, weeks and months of idle time. Losing a job, or being limited as to where one can go, can lead some people to a state of extreme boredom, stagnation or lack of motivation to do much of anything. With stay-at-home orders still in effect in many places, being quarantined in one’s house can lead to some positive things, rather than just free time not knowing what to do. SA lot of people have found themselves
NaturalTucson.com
doing some soul searching and evaluation of beliefs, actions and even the meaning of life. Change has taken place for millions of people as they come to realize that there is more to life than just following the same routine for years without any real gain, growth or enlightenment. Perhaps in the future, people will view 2020 as the year of self-empowerment—a time in history when people took stock of what’s really important—and in this worldwide pandemic, health is on the forefront of our mind. As one of the themes for this month’s issue, self-empowerment is an important topic, vital even, for a healthy lifestyle. Selfempowerment is a process that someone goes through where greater exertion is taken to make positive changes. Sometimes a new skill set will be learned, other times a change in ideology may occur. No matter the means, the end result usually brings about new perspectives, a greater sense of self and focused direction in life. Health, whether it be spiritual, mental or physical, or all three, is usually always improved after a self-help process has been worked through. There is a difference in feeling selfempowered, however, and actually being self-empowered. Anyone can feel empowered after attending a high energy lecture or workshop, but unfortunately after the experience, a lot of people slide back into the same old routine and the excitement fizzles. Being self-empowered takes action, it takes making a choice to take charge of one’s life. It’s a difficult process, but one that has countless benefits. Perhaps the first step in taking control of one’s life is to become selfaware. Taking an honest inventory of one’s actions, goals and desires is a necessary step in order to bring about positive change. People’s stream of consciousness has changed over these weeks and months. The 40 million people out of work don’t have
Plant Medicine Section Sponsored by Earth’s Healing
