an exerpt from "The Mindscape of Alan Moore"

"Quitting my day job and starting my life as a writer certainly was a tremendous risk.
It was a fool's leap, a shot in the dark.
But anything of value in our lives- whether it be a career, a work of art, a relationship- will always start with such a leap. And in order to be able to make it, you have to put aside the fear of failing and the desire of succeeding. You have to do these things completely purely without fear, without desire.
Because things that we do without lust or result, are the purest actions that we shall ever undertake."


Monday, November 17, 2008

A full night's sleep!

After almost two weeks of living with an annoying cough I was able to dream sweet dreams straight through the night. I have been drinking loads of my ginger-honey brew which took care of my cold in every way but for my nagging little cough. Feeling tired and cranky, I decided to seek out some more help and found my way to Thuna, a 100 year old herbal dispensary on the Danforth. As soon as I entered, I knew I was in the right place...it smelled like health, and I told the beautiful old lady behind the desk that I thought so.

I truly felt like I had stepped back in time: the interior is wooden, uneven and worn, and glass jars containing mysterious medicines, too numerous to count, line the walls from top to bottom.

I began to tell her of my symptoms and how I had been treating them with my natural home-made remedy. As she listened to me, her wise eyes peering into mine, it felt as though she was looking beneath the surface in an effort to understand my particular ailment. Without hesitation, she began selecting various jars and carried them over to her gorgeous antique scale. As she proceeded to weigh out an ounce of each herb, lovely aromas wafted to my nose while I answered the many questions she asked me about myself. This woman had no need to refer to any one of her many herbal texts for direction. She simply knew what I needed and I simply trusted her. Completely.

I can't help but compare this experience with the few rare times I have visited with a doctor at a walk-in clinic. The last time I went to one was when I had been horribly sick for 3 days with what I presumed to be food poisoning. But I needed some reassurance from someone in the know and for someone to tell me I was going to be fine.

I waited for the doctor in the impersonally too bright-white room for 15 minutes and once he came in, he never looked up from his prescription pad. He didn't look at me once. Not once. I swear- it was the weirdest thing. Like a robot, he listened to me describe my symptoms and then, right on cue, offered me some kind of drug that would do something or other to me while it kept him in line with his pharmaceutical paypals. I left feeling better in the knowledge that I would be fine, but feeling worse that this poor man was so deadened. Here was an opportunity to help another human by just being humane and he missed it.

Anyway, back to the positive! It took her about 10 minutes to concoct an herbal tea for me that would rid me of my cold. I paid $14.45 for a big bag of medicine. I felt like giving her more for such a priceless gift of an experience. I had one cup of tea at about 5 pm and slept through the night, without coughing. WOW. Here is the magical recipe:

Throat and Cough Tea

* coltsfoot
* yarrow
* marshmallow root
* thyme
* lemon peel

Besides tasting like earthy goodness and creating no side effects whatsoever, I now have a big jar of medicine to keep in my apothecary for the future. Unlike with prescription drugs, there is no expiration date and my money has supported this important establishment. I cannot recommend a visit to Thuna highly enough.

Enjoy your day! I am enjoying mine, cough-free...:)

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