Without Nature we do not have our health.

I had always been told that Blackberries and Raspberries “boosted blood” and gave us energy. I absorbed the family lore and have built upon it. I now know that these two berries are power-packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and are nature’s antibiotics. These facts actually back up the “blood boosting” capabilities accepted and known by the older family members.

I look back at the older generation and recognize their innate knowing and understanding of Nature and its relationship to our health. Without Nature we did not have health. They may not have known about antioxidants and minerals and vitamins and how they all relate to cellular function but they did know that iron (among other elements) is found in these two berries and that it offered us energy and health. I have been thinking about this and know that iron is necessary to attract oxygen from the air, food and water to stimulate the body’s metabolism and boost energy levels. When this happens, the tissues can slough off the accumulated toxins much easier. This is the perfection of Nature and the timing of the growth of various fruits and vegetables. Everything works together in harmony. To step away from Nature is to be out of harmony and this produces a toxic load for our body to deal with. This means the body becomes to acidic and ripe for imbalance and disease to take root.

The older generation may not have known the chemical components and what each element did but they did know that nature has wisdom and to eat in rhythm with Nature offered health. They were wise enough to know that the foods that came available according to season and weather were what the body required. An example of this was to have cucumbers and tomatoes ready to eat in early summer. They were placed in a bowl of malt vinegar and were used as raw foods. This was said to stimulate the liver and clean up the body. I have learned that this dish acts as a “detoxer” and is a perfect salad dish after the heavier warming foods of winter. This is yet another example of living their wisdom. My aunt is 86 years old and is living on her own in New Zealand. She still maintains a large garden and I feel has a strong constitution because of it. She would say it is common sense to have your own garden…and I agree with her!

Another memory of axioms heard in regard to healing was, “you often get worse before you get better.” I have been thinking about this and what it means to me. I know we do not develop serious illness or toxic tissue over night and therefore we are not going to heal over night. Just as we do not become 50 pounds heavier over night, we will not wake up the next morning to be wearing a svelte figure again. If we get sick and are carrying a large toxic load we have to be patient with ourselves and work in harmony with Mother Nature and allow natural law to reverse the damage to our body.

I feel the body returns to health by back-tracking through the illness or weight gain until it can finds its pattern of health. I think of getting lost while driving and attempt to reverse my course until I find familiar roads again. This pattern makes “sense” to me and allows my mind to expand on the memories of expressions passed down through the family.