Today I did something very uncharacteristic of my Type-A
full-steam-ahead personality. After finishing cleaning the kitchen, I took my
lunch, sat down by the fire and thought to myself, “Wow, I just cleaned the
kitchen.” Then I took a break.
This is unlike me for two reasons:
1] When I have a to-do list, generally I feel the
insane urge to plow through. Only upon completion do I allow myself a tiny
moment of relief it’s over. Then I add another item to the list and bam! moment
vanishes and off I go. Rarely does cleaning the kitchen feel like an effort
worth pause and celebration.
2] The idea of sitting quietly and enjoying myself
for a moment mid-day a few times over has, until fairly recently, been a
foreign concept – one that tends to make me twitch. I’m inclined to bow down to
accomplishment and success in the work I do yet never allow myself to fully embrace
the “after” of such work. My mantra [I’m sorry to say] has been “What else
needs to be done?” My answer? Everything.
And then today, with the help of a little divine
intervention, I actually sat down. Not in the “well, I’m practicing mindfulness
and being present so I should” sort of way but in an “I really want to just be
for a minute so I’m going to” manner.
Let me make this clear – I am not giving anyone an excuse to
be sluggish and lazy. With a world full of good, life-giving work there is no
room for sitting on your laurels with the TV on, eating another microwave dinner, and repeating this charade day in and day out. If that’s you, this is your wake up call. Get
up, the world waits! As important as it is to have rest with work, it is
equally as important to have ample work with rest.
On the other hand, I do support the practice of putting
accomplishment in its proper place understanding I can achieve many things and still refrain from letting accomplishment define who I am - it is not my God. Achievement
does not own me - defining my mood, my energy level, my personality. By taking
a moment to sit in the present and consider the thing I just did [whatever it
was], I am allowing myself to feel the pleasure and gift of hard work. I compare
it to savansana after an intense yoga class or long day. It’s natural for me to
give everything to my practice or day but even more innate, if I allow it, is to
sink into the rest that comes after.
When we live in the
present and give ourselves fully to something, there can be no other response
to the act but to be still.
Of course we can push through, railroading any form of rest
and reflection on the way. But in yoga this is where injury happens to our bodies.
In life this is where damage happens to relationships with self, others, the
earth, and with God.
If we don’t take the time necessary to reflect on our
decisions made and actions taken, how can we possibly make well thought out
choices that will benefit the people and world around us?
As we enter this new year swelling with both promise and
challenge, may we take intentional time each day to recognize that our
accomplishments, the things we do, cannot define who we are.
It’s the spaces in between the doing that truly form us into our best selves.
Now, if you’re not convinced to rest amid bouts of
work simply because it’s awesome for your body, your spirit, and actually
allows you to be more productive overall, then maybe adding an immunity boost
to sweeten the deal will get you. That’s right, rest [both mental and physical] is
bar none the most important thing you can do to prevent illness. I’m not
messing with you – you can do everything I've listed on the
Colds & Flu Prevention
page [all good things to do regardless], but without giving yourself space to
break, will still be culpable to colds and other illness.
That being said, this is my go-to tea blend in the event a
cold pops up. I drink at least 4 strong cups a day throughout the duration of
the cold and then a cup or two each day in the week or two after as sort of "I mean it!" finale. You can also use this tea as a preventative if you feel something coming on.
This, along with some of
my other tried and true remedies [by
this I mean I have personally tried and found them to be true], ensures any illness
will be short-lived.
Oh, and did I mention? This recipe is as simple as they get. This means you can combine the herbs while the water is boiling, steep a cup,
and go rest basking in the accomplishment of just making your own tea blend!
A note about measuring in "parts": "parts" is a general measuring term that can mean any form of measurement. The thing to remember when using parts is if you start with 1 tablespoon equating 1 part then you need to continue that measurement throughout recipe. For example, if 1 tablespoon equals 1 part then 2 parts would be 2 tablespoons and 1/2 part would be 1/2 tablespoon.
[THE RECIPE]
2 parts each:
Yarrow Flower, dried
Elder Flower, dried
1 part each:
Peppermint Leaf, dried
Olive Leaf, dried
Place all of the ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting
lid, leaving at least a two-inch space at the top. Gently shake the jar to mix
herbs.
To use, place 2 - 3 teaspoons of tea mix in a metal tea strainer, tea ball, or unbleached cotton tea bag. Put tea bag in a mug suitable for hot liquids and pour 1 - 1 1/2 cups of boiling water over tea. Steep for at least 10 - 15 minutes to make a bold tea [the stronger the tea the more health benefits you receive]. I like to let my tea steep to room temperature and drink warm rather than hot.
If you're dealing with a sore throat, add a good splash of lemon juice and a bit of honey.
