Hello and Happy Holidays!

Hoping everyone’s holiday season was warm and joyful!  I am spending the last few days of 2018 pondering  all thats happened this year;  my accomplishments, struggles, triumphs and goals met and those still on my list.  I so very much love this last bit of reflection of the past year and all the new energy I want to bring to hopes and goals for a fresh new year.

This year carried a LOT of depth of heart and hard work and I am left feeling a lot of pride of one SURVIVING it (har) but also accomplishing much needed closure on old energies and reviving dreams yet unmet.  My heart has grieved much and expanded more.  So to that I say Thank You to the Universe and all the powers that be for what has been added to my life, what has been discarded, what has been accepted, what has been forgiven and what has been learned.  I feel nothing but gratitude and to me there is no better way to end a challenging year.

Acknowledging that this was not how I meant to begin this post, I will simply say moving on to the real topic… my thoughts on living a plant based life.

This sounds like a post on Vegetarianism; it’s not :).

As an Aromatherapist I not only contemplate how the essences of plants and their healing oils can help keep our minds and bodies healthy, I also spend much of my time and thought on how I can eliminate chemicals, toxins, and waste from my body, home and life.  My educational journey has only emphasized in my heart a stronger conviction to further my stand on eliminating, replacing and minimizing all the chemicals our bodies and environment are exposed to.

It’s literally mind boggling to me what is added into soaps, and lotions, and household cleaners, hair goops and makeup; literally most EVERYTHING you buy off a shelf!   I will talk more on the topic of fragrance and its role in marketing and in our lives.  Becoming more educated and diligent to being aware of  what is put into the products we eat, wear, smell, clean with, and are exposed too is critical, I feel, to how we age, the physical ailments we see in society today, how we heal from illness, our mental health and the quality of our lives.

I think when I first embarked on my education as an Herbalist and my nutrition studies, I felt I would learn that green tea is full of antioxidants and that Passion flower is good for calm; and I did.  But that was only the tip of the ice berg.  My education and life experiences have continued to deepen my appreciation and respect  the intelligence of nature, the powers of our thoughts, the potency of plants medicinally, mentally, and globally.   We are not only stewards of our selves, our children, our jobs, homes, loved ones, but our environment and that is a large responsibility; and one that I have a largely renewed respect for.

I am excited to grow my knowledge and begin my career as a Holistic Health Practicioner.  As a therapist I ponder what will be my main focus of healing.  I wonder sometimes what direction my career will take me, however I do know for certain that my already strong roots in plant based, simpler living will only further deepen and grow.

The day has come to “open shop” as it were, and begin.  Realizing there is no manual and acknowledging I feel a little lost as to where to start, I feel alive with possibilities.  Its time to go out there and be of service, in a different way then ever before.  I am excited to continue my own personal education, along with being an advocate for courageously living an honest, healthy and full life; so to that I say lets roll up our sleeves and get started, shall we?

Yes! Let’s!!

~In health and happiness, Ann