I’ve always had a judgement about using anything outside myself to feel better.
My inner critic loves calling me lazy when I don’t get happy all by myself.
But aren’t we always looking ‘outside’ for some nurturing?
Would I deny myself a massage because it involves hands other than my own?
How about a loving relationship? Or a salad?
I went through a dark night of the soul in 2014 when I became a single parent.
I was guided to something, the ground up leaves of a tree, that helped me feel better. It became an integral part of my support system. My guidance was to enjoy it two days a week.
Those two days were the best days of my week emotionally, and also in terms of productivity.
The tree grows wild in Indonesia. Most people in the United States have not heard of it.
Here’s what I like about it.
1. It improves my mood significantly without making me ungrounded, spacey, or ‘high’.
2. It’s a social lubricant and a heart opener. I’ve had very healing conversations with everyone from my mother to my ex, with a little help from this friend. And when I was in my grieving cave there were at least two days a week where I was willing to get out and connect with people. That brought me joy.
3. It offers extremely effective pain relief, a viable holistic alternative to prescription drugs for pain management.
4. It’s a great anti-procrastination tool. Much more so than coffee, which it’s a relative of. It motivates me to knock things off my to do list that I had been putting off. Yet there are no jitters like caffeine. It’s mild energy boost is also accompanied by relaxation and a reduction in anxiety.
If you have read this far and feel a curiosity to find out more, email me at scott@scottsongs.com
Warmly,
Scott
