When it seems impossible to carry on

 When it seems impossible to carry on

Which tree is this?  Here’s a clue, it is standing in a graveyard.  The Bach remedy from this tree is the one to take when we’re in such a state of anguish, maybe because a loved one has died, that we have no idea how to carry on living without them.  There is nothing but pain in our life.

Sweet Chestnut is in the Despair Group.  Unlike Gorse, which is in the Uncertainty Group, those needing Sweet Chestnut feel they are in a black pit of despair with no way out.  All light in their life is extinguished.

In the Despair and Despondency Group seven of the eight remedies are from trees.  What does that tell us?  That trees have a strength, a might, that can only do us good.  All the flower remedies restore us to emotional balance but trees do it with their own particular brand of resilience and resourcefulness.  The woody element in them is fortified with a substance called lignin – it allows them to grow tall and upright, which prevents them from ‘weeping’. 

Trees have a lot to teach us about endurance and survival, about giving of ourselves and renewal.  In the Welsh language there is a phrase ‘dod yn ôl fy nghoed’. It means to return to a balanced state of mind, but translates literally as ‘to return to my trees’.  When we are bowed down with sorrow and despair and have no idea how to get through each day, the tree remedies will provide us with a reason to live optimistically again.

 

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

Losing Confidence?

Are you finding that your confidence has slipped during this long period of lockdown and self-isolation?  Maybe you feel hesitant about certain commitments now, eg doing a face-to-face presentation after all this time on zoom.   These last 12+ months have changed our lifestyles so completely that it’s only natural to feel we are ‘out of practice’ with some of the activities we used to take for granted¸ and only natural we feel a bit anxious or doubtful about taking them up again.

Larch is the flower remedy which can help with sagging confidence levels.  When we know that we can probably do what is required but feel the risk of failing is too great, Larch restores our self-esteem.    If the anxiety is a fear, for example being with strangers in a confined space, then the remedy to choose would be Mimulus.  The Larch concern is different, it’s the feeling that one will automatically fail and therefore it’s not worth accepting the challenge.   That’s why it is in the Despondency Group, someone needing it becomes despondent because they can see a golden opportunity passing them by, maybe a chance to progress or make a mark in the world, but they despair of being able ‘to make the grade’.

Comparing Larch to Hornbeam, the latter procrastinates owing to an uncertainty that they have enough energy or strength.  Larch is not procrastinating but declining because of believing they’re not good enough, or will make a mess of it.  “In effect, you live life with the brakes on.” ~ Lynn MacWhinnie.

Taking Larch will help us to seize the opportunity and ensure that, win or lose, we won’t be discouraged by the results, because we will have learnt from the experience and expanded our understanding of our role in the world.

 

Photo: Mike Cassidy

“There is freedom waiting for you,

On the breezes of the sky,

And you ask ‘What if I fall?’

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?”

~ Erin Hanson

 

Love and Understanding

At this time when there seems to be so much malice, hostility, cruelty and anger, the content of this post* makes very welcome reading, and some of the inspiration from Thich Nhat Hanh is quoted below.

We may hear the word anger and automatically think of Holly, but as you’ll see in the article linked below, our first step needs to be to look at our understanding.  And to include in that understanding not only the suffering of others, but our own suffering which may be something we’ve never really examined closely before. 

“Understanding is love’s other name.” 

Every one of the flower remedies works to increase our self-knowledge and understanding, our self-compassion and thus understanding and compassion for others. 

Image by @LovePlantlife

Agrimony is just the first remedy to spring to mind regarding suffering.  The caption to this @LovePlantlife picture tells us that it was a fairy’s wand, used to ward off goblins.  What are goblins if not those demons of fear, guilt or unworthiness; or a lack of self-love or confidence which colour our every waking thought and affect our relationships with others?

“Your understanding of your own suffering helps your loved one to suffer less.”

Agrimony is needed when we hide, even from ourselves, how much we are suffering.  Others are not allowed to see beyond our mask of cheerfulness as we can’t bear anyone to ‘touch’ the pain inside.  We keep our pain (and other people) at arm’s length by jollity, lively chat and social activity, and consequently we cannot love them as they deserve to be loved because there is all this body-armour keeping our hearts apart.  Agrimony helps us to face our pain courageously and give it love and understanding so that we can love and understand others.

“The more you understand the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.”

Taking whichever flower remedies we currently need helps us to develop our ability to listen deeply to others.  ‘Understanding’ means literally to stand beneath – we then become a foundation stone for others, and use our love to support them in how they build their lives, their hopes, and their dreams.

 

* Brain pickings on How to Love: https://bit.ly/3tk5xmz)  which provided the quotes in this blog, all by Thich Nhat Hanh.