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Woolgathering & Wildcrafting

Woolgathering & Wildcrafting

Tag Archives: destiny

Introducing: One Willow Apothecaries

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Asia in Earth Medicine, Inspirations

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

business, calling, destiny, fate, flower essences, honeys, launch, new beginnings, one willow apothecaries, smoking blends, teas, tinctures

LOGO_MDToday is one of those days that will stick out, alive and vibrant, in my mind forever. After over a year of writing, developing, photographing, and exploring I have pushed collection- tincture formulasmy small boat out into the harbor– One Willow Apothecaries has launched!

One Willow Apothecaries is a small herbal business based out of Asheville, NC. My online shop is replete with tintures, teas, flower essences, honeys, smoking blends, and more love than I can express. One Willow Apothecaries is, plain and simple, the realization of a dream.

Over a year ago, the idea first appeared in the high meadows of my imagination. From the beginning it seemed like an exotic seed drifted from some unknown place. It felt, quite plainly, like something that came from somewhere else– a divine insistence to sit up and chase a fast flicker on the horizon. I never thought I would start an herbal business. My love of plants grew from long hours of solitary sifting of garden soil and scaling tall trees to examine their lichens. But One Willow was insistent. The idea, at first just a single wave far out in the ocean– soon delivered itself in a veritable tidal wave of inspiration. I was simply swept away.

california poppy basket

What does fate look like when it comes knocking your door? To be honest with you, I’m not sure. But I can tell you what it feels like: One Willow has been like a small bee, honeysescaping into the walls of my mind and setting up an incredibly intricate residence. Since it arrived it has filled these walls, quickly, tirelessly, with ever more of itself. Ideas upon ideas, whole nests of intention and purpose that literally shake me at times. Over this past year I could hear One Willow‘s demand for existence like you can hear a whole hive of hornets thriving in your roof. I could hear it, but still…I knew I was the one that had to give it shape.

It’s a tall order– trying to fulfill one’s dreams, continue the natural path of your life, and keep one ear, always, to the unknown ground of destiny. But it’s been a common theme in my life that when the time comes for a big life change, I arrive at the crossroads and the decision seems to have already been made. I feel lucky to have rhododendron in hand photohad such paths cleared so early, so unmistakably.

I am proud to have given this dream, something I honor and respect as an entity unto itself, a space to exist in the world. I welcome One Willow Apothecaries into existence and am so excited to see how it continues to blossom.

– Visit the Store – 

www.onewillowapothecaries.com

tea photokitchen windows & tulsi


biden and fawn     mimosa photo

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Practicing Relaxing

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by Asia in Inspirations

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

american culture, being, buddha, destiny, doing, in the moment, intuition, metaphysical, peaceful, relaxing, zen

It’s been over a month since I last posted. There are always a million reasons why you let something fall by the wayside. Most of the time, though, it boils down to this: I was too busy. This past month, however, I’ve been trying to rewrite that old tale. I have been busy, of course. I wove a pack basket, blanched buckets of green beans, and read Fifty Shades of Gray in about three days (I admit it!). But really, I have been practicing relaxing.

Rhododendrons excel at "just being"

Rhododendrons excelling at “just being”

I say practicing because it is not easy to relax! For years I have been creating an existence of “doing.” It’s insidious…and addictive. (If you have ever found yourself bemoaning all that you hadn’t done at the end of a long day, you too have fallen into the exquisite and subtle trap of “doing”) Honestly, I have been operating at a pace that has left me feeling malnourished and tired for years… and i’m not alone.

At my core, I am a “be-er.” My idea of bliss is sitting with my hands in a creek and just thinking, listening, existing. Unfortunately, our society doesn’t tolerant a whole lot of being. In America, “doing” reigns supreme. From a young age, I internalized this cultural pressure. I remember the distinct moment that I decided to pour myself from the wide pitcher in which I floated into a tight fitting mold of purpose. It was the beginning of high school. Grades now “counted,” and if I wanted to enter that mythical kingdom called college, I better steel myself to the best, most accomplished, most productive version of myself. It felt like sawing against the grain with a pocket knife. But it was only temporary…right?

Turns out, once you hop the “doing” train you can’t just step off. You have to jump. The more you do, the more there is to do, and the faster your life will just whiz on by. It’s a quick-moving paradox and, if you don’t catch yourself, a coursing river of to-do lists will sweep you swiftly into the rapids.

Thyme in the Garden, Woodfin NC.

So here’s how to reverse the agonizing treadmill: Do what you want to do, when you want to do it. I’m serious. This idea scares people. I’ve had more than one conversation with a devil’s advocate who could not see beyond some doomsday vision of a worldwide lazy-person apocalypse fueled by fast food and reality TV. But I disagree– most of us are pretty motivated people. Given the chance, the majority of us wouldn’t just check out on living. The key is to let our joys, our desires, and our intuitions guide our actions. Besides…isn’t this “doomsday” already so many peoples “todays”?

Our intuition is a powerful tool. Those small-voiced instincts aren’t just random, they are the magic of knowing something before your mind has time to reason it out. Haven’t you ever been called to do something completely random, like heading for a different check out lane or taking the long way home? Was there ever a time that that split second decision led to something life changing? Next time you have a “free” moment– put down the to-do list and just check in with yourself. What are you yearning to do? Lie down in the sun? Do it. Clean our your car? Do it. Make strange noises with your mouth and think about star trek? Do it.

When we feed these profoundly individual desires we learn, ever so slowly, how to be free. We better understand the subtleties of ourselves– who we are and what we dream of. We can begin to accept the whims of life like a kite, catching and sailing through each moment, buoyed by a profound faith in ourselves…even if we know the fair breeze is only temporary. When we really listen to these momentary inspirations, we have a chance to discover something truly brilliant– why are we here?

This whole journey definitely hasn’t been a cakewalk for me but, each day that I practice relaxing, I find that I feel just the slightest bit lighter, more centered, happy.  Relaxing may not be easy but, if there’s anything in this life worth working for, it must be this.

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Defined

[wool-gath-er-ing] v.
daydreaming, the gathering of thoughts and dreams as one might collect fallen tufts of wool

[wild-craft-ing] v.
the harvesting of herb, root, flower or inspiration from the wilds

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