The Gift of Sight
“It’s the beauty within us that makes it possible for us to recognize the beauty around us.
The question is not what you look at but what you see."
-Henry David Thoreau
May I Introduce You to Lucy the Lamb?
...and Lucy's caretaker, Addy.
Little Lucy was recently born without feet.
Addy chose to be Lucy's feet.
In exchange, Lucy has a place in Addy's bed each night and in her heart.
Addy Saw Lucy
And, allowed Lucy to teach her.
Compassion
Love
For "the last and the least"
In my rural, agrarian community, such stories are rare.
"Sight" is limited to strong, healthy.
What I love about Addy is that her "sight" was wide-eyed.
She teaches me...
The Gift of Sight
May I Invite You to Join Me?
...for a walk into my herbal tea field.
I want you to look.
And see.
What I see.
As I harvest, I am always amazed when I look with "wider eyes" as Addy does.
When I slow down... To Taste... To Smell... To Listen...
And especially... To See. Slowly.
A gift we give not only to ourselves, but also to that which we behold.
Beholding
"Someone who is truly beholding is, first of all, silenced with the utter gratuity of a thing, a tree, a bird, even and insect.
You find yourself giving it voice, allowing it to have inherent dignity, you let it give you a leap of joy in the heart and in the eye."
-Richard Rohr, Just This
I'm always amazed with the abundance of life in my fields.
Not just growing herbs, but an astounding variety of animals.
In bloom at this moment: echinacea.
And it teems.
In his book, Awe, Dacher Keltner explains that when we see things that inspire awe,
"Our thinking is energized.
Tidepools... pollinating bees...
Can open our minds, in wonder, to the systems of life...
and our small part in them."
Stargazing
"If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years, how man would marvel and stare."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Above my herbs, berries and flowers,
every single night,
the cosmos shine down.
look up + grow up
under the gaze of billions of stars.
And sometimes, I remember to look up.
When I do, I realize:
I, too, am growing up under the same celestial ceiling.
The Sistine Chapel pales in comparison to what you + I + my plants can see every night.
Looking Into Flowers
"When we look deeply into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everyting else in the cosmos in it."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
In each teacup, our customers may sip:
Hibiscus
Echinacea
Chamomile
Anise
Lavender
Yarrow
The flowers that grow in my field.
Take a closer look. You will see:
Sunrises
Pollinator Kisses
Raindrops
The Farmer's (my) Gaze of Admiration
They're all there.
"There is something to learn. Everywhere. All the time. And sometimes you become aware of it."
-Gary Zukov
Dear Retail Partner,
Thank you for your generous support of my business.
As you do, I hope your Gift of Sight reveals the vast beauty we offer with each sip.
As always:
Thank you
I'm honored to be your herbal tea farmer.
Be well,
Shannon