Barbarea vulgaris - very early growth wintercress
Following through the stages of plant growth is enlightening in many ways. Watching growth in ANY living thing requires patience and persistence. Growing takes time. Healing takes time. There will be detours and even roadblocks along the way, but persistence pays.
This fledgling wintercress is part of the mustard family and will be quite tall with yellow flowers when it is mature. The principles of holistic wellness embrace the ideas of patience and persistence.
It can be challenging to wait, especially in a society bent on instant gratification. Yet, much of life progresses as it has since Creation, plants begin as seeds, they need certain conditions to be met for germination. They eventually grow, and if they thrive, they will flower and produce more seed. But, this process is never instant. It is never overnight.
Rosmaranis officinalis - fresh cuttings to propogate
Holistic health is not instant, it is not overnight. Foundations (nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, including spiritual and mental growth) need certain requirements to be met in order for sprouting to occur. Then, the tender new growth will still need outside help (this is where herbal medicine and nutritional supplementation and various holistic techniques come into play). At maturity, we still need to address specific acute issues that arise, like droughts, mildew, and slugs (in our metaphor these are the "big guns" of aromatherapy, trigger point massage, and clinical herbalism).
Holistic wellness is much like Advent as well - it begins with HOPE. Advent means "coming", and it starts with hope. In our quest for better health, we have hope that improvement will be forthcoming. Keeping the eye focused clearly on the goal, and not becoming discouraged along the way is the crux of holistic health.
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