Finding Pleasure Amidst Grief with Pinklady
A Soft & Delicate Herbal Ally for Challenging Times
During the uncertainty that has arisen in the past weeks, we are reminded of the simple pleasures in life. The feeling of sunbeams on our faces, the warm embrace of a loved one, the importance of finding softness, space, and stillness.
It’s a very peculiar and interesting place to be. Floating in this place of humilty and humanity where compassion meets suffering and community meets isolation.
In our yearning for connection, our collective and individual grieving must be done alone. The darkness within us rises to the surface free of the shackles of the coping mechanisms we’ve carefully constructed since childhood. The salve of the full google calendars that we’ve placed on our wounds has melted away to reveal our deepest fears and inadequecies.
It’s edgy. It’s messy and it’s unprecendented. We are very clearly at a tipping point collectively. How we choose to proceed only time will tell.
Pink Evening Primrose Flower Essence
Pink Evening Primrose (or “pinklady” as it’s also referred to) is an herbal ally that can help soften the heaviness and intensity during this time.
Her medicine has the ability to connect us to our heart and ground us in our wombs and inutition as we get quiet and still for the first time in a long time.
There will always be grief. There will always be aspects of life that are out of our control. But she asks us to examine what we can do to soften our heart and how can we mother ourselves as we move through a time of intense change and uncertainty.
She assists us to see the beauty in the mundane. She guides us through the darkness not by avoiding it, but by helping us to be present with whatever it is that we need to observe and process. She does this within a loving, compssionate container while holding vigil over us with her lightness and ease of flow.
Why Flower Essences?
In herbalism we use a variety of techniques to administer plant medicine depending on the outcomes we are trying to achieve. Some of these include teas, tinctures, pills, capsules, powder, essences, and various topicals.
Just like people, plants are made up of various components and we often use different parts of the same plant to achieve specific therapeutic effects.
Typically we use the lighter, less physically-dense parts of the plant like the leaves and flowers to work with the less-dense aspects of the human body such as the spiritual, emotional, and energetic. On the flipside, when there are issues of function with physically dense parts of the body like the organs and viscera, we look to denser herbs like shells, roots, and heavy minerals.
Flower Essences are one of the most subtle and light forms of herbal medicine. They are often utilized if a patient is having issues in the emotional, psychospiritual, or energetic realms of their body. We administer this in “drop dosing” or “spirit dosing” which means it is given at a dosage that is well below the standard therapeutic dose. Essences work within the framework of “less is sometimes more”.
During this time of collective grief, fear, and anxiety it is crucial to acknowledge and care for these more subtle aspects of our body. Having our most basic securities and needs threatened and facing our vulnerability and mortality to this degree will inevitably affect our mental, emotional, and spiritual well- being.
By working with these more subtle medicines during this time, we can help our bodies process the trauma as it occurs rather than allowing it to pile up to be dealt with later. Think of it as preventative medicine for your mind and spirit.
Musings on my own Pinklady Experience
I felt drawn to go foraging on a sunny April day that was exceptionally hot even by Texas standards. With Nina Simone in my ear buds, I basked in the radiance of the Libra full supermoon/pink moon.
Often when working with plants, certain guides and spirits become more present in my space to support and guide the process. Pinklady had a pretty legit support system present, some of which included: Mary, Mary Magdalene, Anna Grandmother of Jesus, Isis, Kuan Yin, and Dumbledore. (Dumbledore is a vibe! Straight up!)
I waited to actually take this essence until the time felt right and when it did, the days unfolded in to this beautiful mix of nostalgia, laughter, tears, and friendship. Let me take you on a short journey in a day with pinklady.
Some of the Highlights…..
- A “hike” which really meant walking through suburban neighborhoods and taking pictures while posing in front of cute houses and laughing hysterically.
2. Sorting through years of old polaroids of my time in Austin and crying while listening to Al Green and Travis Scott. For some eargasms, hop over to spotify for a specially-curated Pinklady playlist here.
3. A perfect (and extremely rare!) 75 degree balmy & breezy Texas sunset on a balcony.
Mother Earth you are so loved. Thank you pinklady for your medicine. xx
