We are living in a time where we as humans ideally have the most access and connectedness than ever before in the history of our existence. And everything is virtually at our fingertips from food to transportation, to entertainment. We are able to visualize and enact purposeful change in seconds that before would have taken weeks, if not months in some cases. And the benefits of these advancements stretch far and wide and we are forever changed as a result.
The question I have is, are we truly better off? Have we truly achieved a better quality of life? Or have we just adjusted and adapted over time to the new normal of our current existence and have forgotten what it was like to be without our current technological fixations?
In all of our modern folly, I sometimes feel we diminish our rejuvenating and healing connection with nature. I feel that this is still such an important part of who we are as beings. I find it increasingly strange that often times, many of our health related issues are swiftly remedied by a re-communing with nature, but we continuously give credit to the practice of medicine. We act as though nature does not exist in that realm.
Along the walk
I remember as a child my brother and I walked through the swampy brush of Florida with my grandfather. So, the destination was a remote cat fishing hole deep in the woods. It was hot and sticky and obviously a dangerous place. My grandfather was what is known as a Seminole Indian. He knew the land very well so there was nothing to fear, but it was still obviously a dangerous place. At the time, I had no idea that the lessons I’d learn that day would stick with me forever.
I can still here the first thing he said to us as we begin our decent into the dense foliage; “Walk exactly where I walk, step exactly where I step” he said. So my brother and I did just that. We walked for what seemed to be an hour, with every step getting further away from civilization. The mosquitos alone were enough to strike fear in the hearts of men but we pushed on. Our feet followed a narrow path the whole way that only served as an imaginary barrier between us and the countless swamp creatures that lurked on either side. We moved swiftly but periodically my grandfather would pause to allow things to cross our path uninterrupted. He would explicitly tell us what those things were in great detail. Snakes, boar, you name it, we saw it that day!
The Leaches
We arrived at a muddy clearing at the foot of a small pond. My grandfather took out an old kerosene packet lighter and strategically removed the tiny leaches that had hitched a ride on our forearms along the way. While he scorched away the leeches, he explained to us how they can be used to fight infection. That somehow made the whole experience manageable. Even though my brother and I were surrounded by the unfamiliar ecosystem of the swamp, we had never felt more free and alive. My grandfather explain how every plant and animal benefited our existence.
He shifted our attention to a patch of plants growing among the wild. What he said at that moment would later be a defining moment in my understanding of modern medicine. He said; “every cure to every sickness that plagues man can be found right out here in these woods. You just have to know what does what. Don’t forget what does what.” Then he proceeded to teach us what plants had what healing properties. We caught an abundance of fish that day. We later scaled, cooked, and ate those fish. Over time, I’ve come to understand however that the real bounty of the day was in what we learned along the walk through the swampy woods.
Healing Power
We have the power to heal ourselves. Physically, and emotionally. It is a natural occurrence, the same as eating and sleeping. However, our current modern enlightened self is constantly at odds with this understanding. We willingly introduce toxins of every kind into our bodies as a norm. Then we buy treatments to suppress the side effects of those toxins as a normal practice. We must wake up from this behavior to truly re-align ourselves with our healing powers. I challenge you to remember who you are and take control of your well-being with these steps:
- Naturally Fight Sickness: Inevitably we all get sick or fall ill from time-to-time. Before it happens again to you, research what the active ingredients are in the medicines you’ve taken in the past while ill. You may find that they are simply plants and or herbs that you can find or grow easily yourself. Also, finding and using the natural herbs that exist in nature to combat illness is a good way to reprogram your body to fight-off harmful toxins naturally. Often times the medicines we buy in stores, add preservatives and other properties that have adverse effects long-term.
- Learn Your Sun System: Weather you believe it or not, many have come to understand that we all have an individual rhythm with the sun. This rhythm is governed primarily through the layers of the skin. Depending on the ratios of your skin properties such as melanin, more or less sun exposure is needed to promote good health. This can be seen and proven through the basic study of the suns effects on a variety of plant types over time. Also, understanding how much sun you need and routinely aligning yourself with the proper amount has been proven to have tremendous health benefits. The opposite is also true; not getting enough, or your proper amount of sun can cause damage to your health. Again, everyone is different in this regard. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this. Understand what is needed by listening to your body.
- Submerge Yourself in Water: I know most of us are constantly in and out of water for various reasons. Mainly for bathing or swimming-if you are lucky to have a pool nearby and enjoy swimming. However, there is another important function of water. Did you know that submerging yourself in water slows aging? Wait. Before you go off the deep-end with this, and or shake your head, hear me out.Oxygen causes the skin of living things to age. Just like pealing an apple, it begins to decompose in the oxygen filled air. However if you submerge a pealed apple in water, the process slows down due to the scientific properties of water. No, we are not apples but our skin ages similarly just over a longer period of time. Routinely and purposefully submerging yourself in a body of water can increase your chances of slowing the appearance of aging, and re-align you with your natural self. In this regard the “fountain of youth” does in fact exist. I digress.
Don’t get me wrong, I am defiantly for modern advancements. Especially in medicine and where history has proven the benefits time and again. I just question our knee jerk decisions to not think naturally for ourselves in some instances. Simply put, sometimes we need to remember who we are and what we are truly capable of as it relates to our own well-being and happiness.
If you have other ways for us to remember who we are and re-align ourselves with our positive natural abilities for wellness and freedom, let me know your thoughts in the reply box below. Also, share this. Thank you for your time!