Life through the lens

And so it begins...

I was recently giving this impassioned speech about trees and the person I was sharing the conversation with said they couldn’t agree that plants have souls. To be direct and to the point, I believe all living beings have a soul, even geographic locations and places have an essence or spirit about them. For me, the person who said they didn’t think that all living matter encompasses a soul explains a lot about the state of the world.

Juniperus virginiana, more commonly known as cedarwood in the essential oil crowd, is native to North America and able to live more than one thousand years in age. Do you know that Palo Santo trees growing naturally in the wild, live out their lives in families, sort of like a pride of lions?

Palo Santo families are inclined to have one male living within a group of eight female trees.

The essential oil made from the Palo Santo tree was traditionally taken from the heartwood of the tree. The oil only develops after the tree has died and the wood matures. In order to produce the essential oil, the tree must be felled (lie dead) for years before the heartwood produces the oil. This is sacred, and good reason to promote sustainable efforts for harvesting and accountability from essential oil companies sourcing from non endangered species or over harvested areas. (Eco watch is a source for checking what species of plants and trees are endangered)

If you have ever visited the Sonoran desert and encountered a Saguaro they are the sentient leaders of this low desert scape. Arms positioned in yogic warrior poses, or outstretched as if inviting you to dance or to spar. Yes, this is a good time to scroll back to the top of the page and check out those cactus. My favorite saguaro couple has arms that reach towards each other, and in the spring when the arms bloom, it looks as if one saguaro is offering a bouquet of flowers to the other (Some day I will include a photo of these two).

It is strange to me that we treat our chlorophyll cousins so unethically, because they provide shelter, food, medicine, tools and weapons, even allow us to breathe in the air.

This connection to plants and trees, it’s not just about carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange. I’ve had a long standing love affair with flowers, even pursuing a job focused on floral design as I made my way through a masters in clinical mental health counseling. I grew up watching Bob Ross paint and instead of happy little clouds, I painted happy little flowers...and sometimes less happy ones. When I was in my twenties I decided I would pick up painting again and began carrying around a digital camera to take up close photos of flowers. Except I didn’t really get back into the painting and started to enjoy life through the lens.

The photographs on this website are my own. I began producing a calendar in 2012, when cards started to lose their appeal because no one used the post office any longer. We keep advancing into the digital age. And now, I get feedback about the calendar I produce, how people just don’t buy them any longer. This may be true, and so perhaps in time my photography will also have to shift into a new format. For now, I am happy to share it with you through the website, as well as shamelessly promote the 2019 Calendar that is available to purchase through November 11, 2018. See calendar/photo tab on my home page for more detail.

I have arranged flowers professionally, planted personal gardens, take photos of most anything that grows, sport tattoos with botanical art, and graduated from a natural skincare school to practice how plant molecules and chemicals impact the skin. Skincare and my love for natural products provided the means to explore essential oils more in depth. Somehow my love for the botanical world and the work I want to pursue will all blend together. To date, this website is meant to inspire, educate and share the beauty of this natural world we all live in.

The goal is to introduce you to my work as an aromatherapist, a photographer and an educator.

I host workshops for healing emotional issues of the heart, as well as concrete issues like the history and science behind aromatherapy and safe practice with the oils. I currently teach workshops on Sundays at Beauty Republic, and in September 2018, will begin offering personal aromatherapy sessions. All of what I am doing can be found on this website.

Please know, I am an organic creature striving like my green friends to grow towards the light while remaining rooted in what feeds me. There may be changes in my business, on this website and in my attitude. I reserve the right to maintain my organic nature. There may be things I express in this blog you don’t agree with, and you never have to agree with me, please feel free to be your own kind of flower.

In conclusion thanks for reading this animated attempt at an introduction describing the journey of how I am growing my business and myself.

A big shout out to the two gentleman who assisted me in the heavy lifting and design of this website. Mr Trey Wanamaker is a music blogger and can be found at districtdacapo.com. Mr Jeremy Schofield, is a published fiction author and blogger and can be found at jeremycschofield.com. These two amazing individuals had the patience and fortitude to stick it out as my site designers while I dragged myself kicking and protesting into this digital age. Thank you. If you like my site, please visit theirs.

Botanical References

Jessica McGregor. What Is Palo Santo?, Science Trends, 2018. DOI: 10.31988/SciTrends.25673

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_virginiana

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-thousand-year-old-trees-became-new-ivory-180963365/

https://www.hunker.com/13428864/trees-in-washington-state