Mellow Lemonbalm und Zärtlichkeit

in my garden so much tenderness– so viel Zärtlichkeit – and medicine

 

We all need allies. Mine are my wild friends growing on Karinaland’s hill. Especially three of them. A sprawling meadow of beautiful Plantain plants (considered a weed by many), now spread out all over the garden, bushy, high, with delicate blooms. From their leaves, stems and flowers, I make a skin-healing oil. The milky seeds of my Wild Oats, harvested at the right time, infused in cognac for my Milky Oats tincture, becomes a gentle nervous system soother. And under the old plum tree my small meadow of Lemon Balm. All three are my tender allies, beloved balms. As oil, tincture and tea, they calm, nourish and soothe skin, nerves, mood and mind. In Germany exists Klosterfrau Melissengeist, an old classic remedy for all kinds of un-wellbeing – Unwohlsein. Each year, I used to bring a small bottle back to America. Nuns in monasteries knew how to prepare this medicinal infusion in alcohol of thirteen herbs. A few drops on a sugar cube, when life has strayed, is out of sorts, aaahh....

 

The other morning, I know it’s high time for lemon balm – höchste Zeit für Melisse.  I make an infusion. The ritual of harvesting an abundance of the fragrant herb, stuffing it in the glass pot, perhaps including fresh spearmint and dried oat straw. Pouring hot water, and letting it brew. Waiting. Adding a tiny bit of honey to highlight the taste. Contemplating the balm of this healing herb. The balm of spacious time. Softly tingling sensations open hands and heart. The green liquid in my glass, inhaling its lemon fragrance. Tasting. On soft paws, the word mellow sneaks up.

Like the mystical morning fog on a recent visit to the beach. The grey-turquoise-green milky mood of ocean-scape. Sky and water, one melting into the other. No sun, yet bare feet massaged by the warm grains of fine sand. My paws in the whirl of sensing pure delight. The word mellow erupts in my mouth, exploring its quality. It slips over and under my tongue, rolls around in mouth, caresses teeth, and slides down my throat. Slow and deliberate. Mellow. Weich. Mild. Sanft. Geschmeidig. Wie eine Melodie – gefühlvoll. Leise heiter. Lieblich warm. Subtle feeling tones emerge, resonating in my chest and belly as I contemplate Mellow. What a feast. Die Zeit steht still. Time stands still, or rather it is slowing. And stretches into an elastic wondrous space where everything has its place, nothing is excluded. Fury, sorrow, grief. Fright – Angst. My tender gratitude, firm resolve and open questioning alike. The elements are working on me. Sculpting me, eliciting sounds and melodies. Soft gaze and clear vision. Breathing rhythmically, lazy waves are chiming in. A surprising celebration, time and space are one. Simple medicine. At sea or at home.

 

Back to Karinaland. The fog is lifting late this morning, the air still infused with mellowness. Lemon balm tea, try it out. Follow my recipe, or come by for a cup of Melissentee. Mellow is one of those words whose meaning one can guess just from its sound. Like meadow – Wiese – mellow allows us to linger in slow motion. Decades ago, I named my T’ai Chi teaching “The Art of Slowing Down.” Fully awake and present, we flow.  All of us need mellow interludes, as chaos and unpredictability have been ramped up now. We might be frazzled, enraged, frozen with bouts of fear and anxiety. More often than usual, we might be overriding our need for soothing with compulsive activities. In times like these we yearn for mellllooow – expansion of time and space to fortify our spirit. To please our soul. To remember the preciousness of being alive in this body, on this earth, in this moment. Here, I am. Yes, you are. We play, arrive. Alive, Alive. Sharing, caring….

With a cup of lemon balm, the inner secret cosmic smile radiates out, ripples further, carries us, mellow…. With each step on supple sand our presence is affirmed, in soft balance, with open heart.  With each savoring sip, or sensitive touch, we turn a bit smoother. Like the pebble in our palm that desires to be caressed, we ripen into fullness. Mellow, mellow… Our energy gathered, as in T’ai Chi, merged with cosmic chi, activated, circulated. Infusing and freeing us. The altered state of mind, invited by our lemon balm ally – Zitronenmelisse – is our birthright. Balm of healing. The alchemy of soothing, softening, smoothing. Serene, and yet so brightly alive to all that is the world – with all its troubles of snatching, kidnapping, disappearing, stripping. With all its deaths, births, transformations. Its tender joys and merciful gifts to be tasted. We might be vulnerable, ready for simple medicine….

 

May we be swayed into tenderness – Zärtlichkeit

remember our medicine in those times when

mellow Zärtlichkeit is most needed

 

Happy Birthday, Mama

(July 21, 1928 – 2016)