The following is a great quote for the 1st day of a new month
"BE patient with yourself if you are not where you want to be or think you should be. Remember life is a process." I would add be happy as well as patient with yourself. All of us think we should be at a different place than we are or at least we know people who think that. I was one of those people. I was never happy where my life was at the time. I wanted something different. I should be more successful, or have more money, or have this or that. A lot of what I wanted was materialistic. This was early on in sobriety. I believe it was due to the friends/partner I had at that time in my life. I was never a label person. I had to be careful of my success and money early on.
My dad always said I had the pockets of a sailor. He should have known as he served in WWII on the USS Monterey. I always spent every last dollar I had in those early times. I wanted to please people. I bought lavish gifts for people. I had a low self esteem. I was trying to "buy love" I believe there are 'givers' and 'takers' I was a 'money giver' I was buying friendships. How sad to think of this. But life is a process. I am a better man today for what I have gone through. No matter where I am in life I know it is just where I am supposed to be. GOD is the bandleader of the orchestra for me. Whether GOD wants to be Harry James, Tommy Dorsey or Glenn Miller I am just where I am supposed to be.
I know and believe that. I am a 'giver' but I give to whom I want with no expectations. I do not buy love any longer. The difference is while I give to others I also give to myself. I cannot help anyone if I cannot help myself first.
I loved writing about chocolate yesterday. Rick reminded me of another film with chocolate: Like Water for Chocolate.
I was reading my First Aid list and glanced at the tinctures that are needed. One is Chaparal - Larrea species. I will not find a chapparrel bush in the Northeast and certainly not in Cherry Grove, Fire Island.
Larrea tridentata, known as creosote bush (or chaparral when used as a medicinal herb) and "Gobernadora" in Mexico (Spanish for "Governess", because of its ability to inhibit the growing of other plants around it), is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. It is a prominent species in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts of western North America, including portions of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, western Texas in the United States, and northern Chihuahua in Mexico. It is closely related to the South American Larrea divaricata and was formerly treated as the same species.
The medicinal uses of the chaparral bush are for fever, influenza, colds, upset stomach, gas gout, arthritis, sinusitis, anemia, and fungus infections. Creosote also has antimicrobial properties, making it a useful first aid. It is also beneficial in the treatment of allergies, autoimmunity diseases, and Premenstrual Syndrome. Creosote serves as an analgesic, antidiarrheal, diuretic, and emetic. The FDA has issued a warning regarding ingesting the leaves. It can cause kidney and liver damage if not used properly. I have heard that it can be used for herpes, tubercolosis and other sexually transmitted diseases.
I have seen it used in the field (in a desert). The smell of the plant being used gives me nausea. I know the Native Americans have used it for snake bites. I do not think I could tolerate the smell.
Tomorrow I will discuss some Fire Island plants...
Until tomorrow...
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