Valentine Memories

The thought of Valentine’s Day brings smiles and warmth to young and old. Memories of cutting little Valentine’s cards and writing them to friends, events and hoopla with red and pink ribbon abounding, and chocolate everywhere! Ah, warms the heart it does - and that’s a good thing this time of year…

Maybe you’re lucky enough to have a few warm memories tucked away that include your horses and other companion animals. Frosty breath in the snappy air, bareback rides oh so toasty on the legs, and the dogs running alongside playing flip-the-snow with their noses all funny and wrinkled. Long walks – all bundled up and oohing and aahing over the branches and twigs wearing their magical diamond coats and shining their sunlit smiles. Unique tracks in the snow that stop you in your own, to ask yourself, who goes there? Perhaps you are blessed enough to have children around you to share your wonder with and to make stories together.

Well, whatever your memories are, it’s a sure bet that nature is included in them in some fashion!

Love has so many faces. Love is the Hollywood tale – yes indeed. But Valentine’s Day is about any one and any way of loving! It’s the dad showing his child how to strap on some cross country skis and laugh during the ups and downs (literally!) of learning. It’s the mom humming to her baby – pure love the sound. It’s the sweet dog licking her puppies and the cat purring and the tiny bird standing fast in the cold wind. It’s the skiffing sound of the wind on the dry snow and the late afternoon shadows of the sun warming the land. It’s kind and gentle music or a soft word and compassionate glance.

The Natural Gait

The Healing Garden

The garden as a vehicle of nature’s perfection and harmony is indeed a rich image. Throughout history and in the mythology of many countries, the image of the garden as a wellspring of spiritual and physical healing power emerges repeatedly. Realizing that herbal and healing gardens have been with us always, since when mankind was young, lends richness and depth to our connection with gardens and healing plants today. The garden was a place of innocence and knowledge. The garden was seen as a place of complete, natural harmony of body and mind. In the Old Testament, the garden of Eden is described as a place where boundless peace prevailed. Sweet smells filled the air and brilliant flowers shone like precious gems. The story of the Buddha and the “cosmic tree” offers an example of the Eastern view of the garden as a place one could attain deep peace and understanding. In Tibetan mythology, the goddess of healing brought fragrant healing plants to the world. The gardens she planted were capable of healing those who simply saw them or spent some time in them. Around 600 B.C. a famous king, Nebuchadnezzar created three acres of every type of tree, shrub, and flower for his Queen, a visual extravaganza. It became one of the seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. From Persia, the gardeners of medieval Europe learned to infuse the garden place with an expansiveness that nourished the spirit. The Japanese learned to use nature as a way to evoke various responses or moods in the viewer. Stones, tiny bonsai trees and shrubs, lanterns with the gentle light of candles were all part of their garden, which brought the understanding bond between the environment and well-being. I have gardened most of my life and there is no other place that I feel more at peace. If you need healing in your life, plant a garden. When you see the beauty in the garden, you will see it everywhere.
Jerry Hinton of The Natural Gait.
Sources: Growing and Using The Healing Herbs, by Gaea and Shandor Weiss. A wonderful book and guide for any interested in healing with herbs.
The Natural Gait