Herbs for Staying with the Trouble

by Janet Kent Peach Blossom Elixir Deep, long sigh. The heat is on. All kinds of heat with no end in sight. For future readers, I am writing this in late June of 2022. Here in Southern Appalachia we just experienced two back to back heat waves, the kind of heat that happens once in …

Everything Matters: Why this is No Time for Cynicism

by Janet Kent Voices of cynicism under the guise of “reason” inundate us early in life. By cynicism I mean not only the assumption that individuals are acting out of self-interest, but also the belittling of the impact of individual and collective action. When we are children, mostly well-meaning adults advise us not to get …

Emergency! Herbs for Overwhelm and Freakout

                                                              by Janet Kent Big Box Meltdown A few days ago I had to spend a while in a big box store. I do this from time to time without much hassle but this time, no such luck. Something about the bright, bright fluorescent lights and the crowded aisles of holiday shoppers put me in …

Earthwork Part Two: Herbs for Grounding

by Janet Kent. We talk a lot on this blog about reconnection, the potential for healing of individual, society and environment when we reconnect to the more-than –human world. Here, I want to talk about a kind of reconnection possible wherever we are, the medicine of presence. In this culture of over-stimulation and information overload, …

Earthwork, Part One: Staying Grounded in Tumultuous Times

by Janet Kent. Our world has become increasingly chaotic. Uncertainty is the rule. For many who live subject to the whims of the current administration, fear and powerlessness have become the dominant emotions.  Arbitrary and cruel executive orders come down from the oligarchs daily, sending shock waves through an already stunned public. News of the …

Herbs for Resistance

by Janet Kent It’s mid-December, 2016. I write that for future readers who may not know the context and urgency of this post. I hope these future readers are on the other side of the fight against the forces of hate and domination. But for now, I write this to you, and you know exactly …

Winter Reverie and Rant (and why its a good time for Hawthorn)

by Janet Kent  One of the great joys of living in the woods year round is watching the seasonal changes of the plants and landscape. While fall and spring in the Southern Appalachian Mountains are famously beautiful, winter receives less acclaim, except when the hills and trees are covered with snow. Though the snowy landscape …