For thousands of years storytelling has been an essential part of humankind. To keep tradition and history alive, information was shared from person to person until we found a way to keep record of our experiences by writing them down. My purpose in being a writer is to tell a story. Not just a story of one person’s life, but narratives of human experience. As individuals, we each hold within us a memory, a life-span of perspectives and experiences, something to share that is our story. In communicating our stories and perspectives, we are participating in this significant tradition of sharing. As the information is passed on and continues to be of importance today, we can see the value of human connection. One simple example of this extremely broad attribute of culture can be understood through a history of the plant we know as Chamomile.
In communicating our stories and perspectives, we are participating in this significant tradition of sharing. As the information is passed on and continues to be of importance today, we can see the value of human connection.
Chamomile is a tea my mother often brewed for me on a late night when falling asleep felt utterly unattainable. I never knew if it worked, questioning the science of the actual chemical process. I was too young to know that many teas, herbs and foods have medicinal properties. But as the steam rose out of the cup and enveloped my face with soft, warm hints of earth, I always felt better. Throughout my childhood, my mom reinforced herbal remedies over rushing to the doctor with every pain or complaint. Everyone says that their mom is the best, but mine really is and to this day when she makes me a sandwich I can’t help but realize that hers always taste perfect in a ‘my mom made this’ sort of way. I believed that chamomile worked because it was my mom who encouraged it. Later down the line, I did some research for myself and began to follow in my mother’s footsteps, looking into herbs, plants and eating as a way to take care of myself. The chamomile plant, chamomilla recutita, is most commonly known in the form of tea, used as a remedy for sleepless nights and relaxation after a long day, but some less known properties of chamomile are its use for muscle tension relief, indigestion, hemorrhoids, acidity, and cramps. Chamomile soothes inflammation, sores, eczema, ulcers, rashes, and can be applied as a poultice or an essential oil directly on the skin. As a mild sedative, it even helps soothe anxiety and stress. In terms of living a good life, this flower is the mommy of plants. It nurtures you in every way you might need at a moment’s notice.
Chamomile is a very old herbal remedy, being interwoven into the stories of many different cultures. From Ancient Egypt, in which the people dedicated this herb to the gods because it was a cure for a serious fever known as “Ague” all the way to Anglo-Saxons in the Middle Ages, who ranked it to be a part of the “Nine Sacred Herbs”, varying cultures have held it in high esteem. It was even used as a bittering agent in beer at this time before the introduction of hops. People from all different periods have used this plant for various reasons. It began as something in nature that surprisingly helped with certain ailments. But the reason we are now talking about chamomile is because of its continued historic use over time. People have shown us that this herb is essential because with time it was used and passed down as a remedy to others, eventually attaining new knowledge for usage and application. As something becomes relevant to many people, more people begin to hear about it and use it. Habit becomes culture and culture becomes the way you and I are able to connect to the decisions and discoveries made in the past, taking them forward into new discoveries and continued use in the future. Monks during the middle ages developing gardens used this plant frequently, even noticing its property of being beneficial to surrounding plants that are sick, healing them by proximity. Often it is called “The Plant’s Physician” for this reason. Without this continued usage, would my mom have prepared this tea for me as a child? To phrase that differently, think about how the repetitive actions that have come before us and are happening around us now affect the world that we understand and live in. Much of this knowledge is passed down to us through the sharing of knowledge between people.
Some ideas for how to use chamomile:
-Boil a pot of water, put your chamomile into a tea bag or cheesecloth and let brew for 2-3 minutes. Take bags out of water and let cool slightly. Place on tired or sore eyes, irritated or inflamed skin.
-Repeat the previous steps and drink as tea to access it’s relaxing properties.
-Make a chamomile bath. Sit in it. Steep. Relax.
-Steep a bunch of fresh grated ginger in with your chamomile for increased circulation to hands and feet and a zesty kick to your tea.
Take a moment to connect with this plant: its history, its healing abilities, and its role as a helper in people’s lives for thousands of years. How many people have felt the comfort of chamomile? How many people know about this awesome plant that we could be using in so many areas of our life from gardens, to personal relaxation, to maintaining good health? What other knowledge that was passed on by those who came before us is being taken for granted? What knowledge should we pass on and how do we decide what to carry forward and what to leave behind? Our stories carry more weight than we give them credit for. Our advice, remedies, and knowledge get passed on to the next generation and become a part of the pool of knowledge available to humanity. This is the power of sharing our stories and our human experience with each other.
