As children, we are free of labels, judgements, and preconceptions and do not have the conditioning yet. This allows our senses to stay open to the mysteries of life, and we live in a state of innocent perception. However, as we grow older, we become conditioned to the perceived view of being an adult. We are told what is right, wrong, good, bad and more. This conditioning draws us away from our inner child.
This conditioning is not a bad thing per se, but we as adults can start to take life too seriously with all the responsibilities we carry; mortgages, families, work and more. As we progress into adulthood, we can forget how to play, relax or even enjoy our lives. This is where lemon balm is fantastic. It opens up the playfulness of our inner child once again. Something about the spirit of this plant assists us in letting go of our adulterations. To reflect upon ourselves and separate the true from the false, seek out the inner child, reparent it, comfort it, and allow it to enter our daily life so we can see the truth again.
Lemon Balm helps reclaim the inner child for the adult who is too adult and needs to relax, let loose, play and learn to be happy. Comparing this plant to chamomile is very different as chamomile is for childish adults, and Lemon balm is for the too-serious adult. This is an important distinction.
Taking apart the concept that happiness results from fulfilling our desires needs to be examined. We can enjoy our lives by being present in each moment and stop the day-to-day reaching for most things out of reach and, in most cases, do not really matter in the grand scheme of life.
The herbalist Sajah Popham says it very well in this quote 'This is how tension and stress is ultimately created! We are not living in a place of grace and acceptance of exactly what is right in front of us. There's a resistance. A thought of "it shouldn't be this way, it should be that way," or "I didn't want that, I wanted this."
Some people have stress and tension because they dwell in the past tense, while others have it because they dwell in the future tense. We have tenses of time and mind, and both are tugging on the present moment, which we miss if we are in the past or future tense. Some get anxious about it. Others get stressed. Others are depressed. Either way, it pulls away from our inner capacity to live in a place of happiness'. Sajah Popham
Happiness is not outside us but is available to everyone in the next breath and each new moment!
(c) Wendy Murdoch- July 25/23
