08/12/2022
A couple of days ago I finally visited the United Plant Savers sanctuary in southern Ohio after years of loving their work and wanting to visit. Predictably, and in proportion to my excitement, I took far too many photos! Perhaps I will share more at a later date, but here are two favorites.
In addition to just being super cute, these photos are favorites because they capture a sliver of something that was both extremely apparent at the UPS sanctuary and often written out of the human-centric herbal medicine practice in which I find myself most often steeped: medicinal plants are far more than just their use to humans. Obvious? Yes, of course, but it took me a long time to settle into the implications of that, and it still sometimes strikes me as it did during this visit.
For me, one of the biggest implications of that is how our experience of abundance can shift when, instead of just asking what we need, we also ask how big our tended spaces can be. What is my capacity for care, not just in my human community, but also in my ecological community? When we consider ourselves as one small but active part of a vibrant living community rather than consumers of a static and dwindling resource, we grant agency to the other members of that community, we can engage in agreements and compromise, and we can develop mutual trust and mutual care. Don't you already feel more at ease? I know I do.
It's hard work, but every day it feels more worth it. 💚
