Lessons from Gathering Rose

I’ve been interested in herbalism for quite a few years. I’ve read books, purchased some tinctures, but as my interest grew I had the itch to get my own hands into the practice. I wanted to gather my own herbs and learn to make my own remedies.

I started gathering rose petals a few months ago. After allowing the petals to dry out I put them in an 8oz jar. Months of the simple work of gathering petals, caring for them while they dry, and putting them in the jar and doing this process over and over again finally culminated in a full jar of rose petals last week.

A realization hit me while I admired the beauty of the dried petals:

This process of learning herbs and bringing them in meaningful ways into my home was going to be a slow process. I mean a snail’s pace. That thought hit my mind and I felt my nervous system wanting to kick up into high gear. “Let’s GO we’ve got shit to DO!” I had to take a deep breath and bring myself back to center and remind myself there is no rushing nature. She moves at her own pace and her pace is s l o w. And why do I need to rush the process?

I’m grateful for the slow-down, for the reset to my hot-wired nervous system. I’m grateful to the rose for teaching me my first lesson in s l o w.

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