Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
“Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.”
Three important quotes in life that will tell you about yourself and about people.
DO YOU FEEL VULNERABLE TODAY? Who wants to reach out to anyone for comfort or help. We all want to do it ourselves. Did you know that the Latin word for vulernable means 'wound'? Sometimes we each have to take ourselves out of circulation for a while. Lick our wounds, heal, retreat, gather ourselves, and start all over again. It is sort of like the Frank Sinatra song, "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, and Start all over again."
There also is the possibility that your urge to isolate yourself is derived more from fear than anything else. Fear that you will NOT be understood or worse, rejected should you bare your wounds and sorrows. Be careful who you bare your sorrows and wounds to. There are those 'out there' who are jealous, vicious and manipulators. You have been there for your family and friends. I know I have. Chances are that you have forgotten how many people you have touched in your life over the years. I often reflect on that thought--I cry, smile, and laugh. I often went out of my way to help someone . That is my nature and my GOD chosen profession.
And at the same time, others have been there for me as well. Few have. This happens to all of us. My address book is filled with possibilities - acquaintances; actually many addresses and phone numbers. As the end of the month is today--it is time to clean my address book. There are chances that some addresses may contain forgotten and untapped resources. On the other hand there might be some names that need to forgotten. Forgive them, and move on. Let go and move on. I urge you to take this opportunity to clean house- update and remove contacts. This is the time to purge your system of individuals who are no longer a desired part of your life.
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” Walter Winchell said it better than anyone I know - “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
Another plant that contains a lot of mucilage used in respiratory conditions is Mullein (Verbascum). In additon to mucilage, the mullein flower contains saponin and some volatile oils. I like mullein flowers because when collected and cultivated they can be used also as an expectorant. So it is a flower with two properties - muculent and expectorant. It is used in many cough preparations. I have seen it combined with ginger as well. Mullein is often referred to as Verbascum Thapsus, The family is Scrophulariaceae. This is the same family as foxglove (digitalis). Other names might include Aaron’s Rod, Lady’s Foxglove, Donkey’s Ears, Bunny’s Ears, Candlewick, Feltwort, Flannel Leaf, and Jacob’s Staff. To be honest I have only heard it used as either Lady's Foxglove or Donkey's Ears. I thought this herb would be mentioned in Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible, but it did not appear.
Mullein is a biennial that grows upright to 6 feet tall. The furry leaves form rosettes that alternate and overlap each other. Mullein leaves are large, grayish-green, and lance shaped. Bright yellow flowers bloom along the single spike that comes from the center of the plant. Each flower has five petals. You have probably seen it along roadsides or construction areas. I first saw this plant on the roadsides in Ithaca, New York. Leaves are harvested in the late spring to summer. The uses of mullein are quite long. I have only used it for bronchitis, earaches, and as a cough expectorant. Its uses have been in anemia , arthritis, asthma, colds, earache, hay fever, hemorrhoids, tonsillitis and many other respiratory diseases. Mullein soothes, lubricates, and tones the respiratory system and aides in expectoration by stimulating fluid production. Mullein is sometimes used with other herbs such as white horehound, lobelia, elder, and red clover. The iridoid glycosides stimulate secretion of uric acid from the kidneys.
Mullein as seen below can be used as a tea, as an oil, as a compress and freshly chopped herb.
1. Mullein leaves and/or flowers for infusion tea for respiratory disorders
2. Mullein infused oil from flowers for ear infections, hemorrhoids, and skin disorders
3. Mullein leaf poultice applied to topical boils, sores, ulcers and tumors
4. Mullein tea from fresh chopped leaves filtered through a coffee filter provide a variety of vitamins and other nutrients
5. Mullein compress to relieve swelling
For those of you who are animal lovers: Spencer, our King Charles Cavalier has an ear infection with a fungal rash. He is always scratching his big floppy ears. I have used mullein oil to help ease his ears with great success. I had the advantage of being able to look in his ears first. Ask your vet.
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