Seize Your Wellness Journey Today: Embrace Health & Spread Joy

July 29, 2023

Do you ever look back and wish you'd started prioritizing your health sooner? You're not alone! This powerful blog post by Clinical Herbalist Selima Harleston Lust delivers a wake-up call to invest in your well-being and create a life filled with joy.

Key Takeaways:

• Don't Wait for Rock Bottom: Take charge of your health today – it's never too late to make positive changes.
• Healing is a Journey: Embrace a holistic approach to wellness that goes beyond just physical health.
• The Power of Joy: Spreading joy and positivity is a cornerstone of true healing, both for yourself and others.
• Break the Cycle: Invest in your well-being to disrupt negative patterns and inspire future generations.
• Start Today, Reap the Benefits Tomorrow: The sooner you prioritize your health, the sooner you'll experience a life filled with vibrancy and fulfillment.

Embrace Your Potential:

This post is a powerful call to action for anyone seeking a more fulfilling and joyful life. Learn from Selima's inspiring journey and discover how prioritizing your well-being can have a ripple effect on your loved ones and your community.

Ready to embark on your wellness adventure? Visit our website today to learn more about our programs and resources!

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Nobody ever says, “I wish I started my health journey later.”

It’s always the opposite.

I wish I started when I was in my 20’s, 30’s, or 40’s.
I wish I didn’t wait.
I wish I could get that time back.

It’s never too late. Healing is about how we are choosing to live.

I don’t know about you, but I have major plans for this lifetime.

I want to see as many countries and cultures that I can.

I want to see how the world changes.

I want to write bestselling books and speak on big stages.

I want Tami and I to grow gray and wise together and watch Niles as a man fulfilling his mission.

I want to inspire as many people as I can to get well, break cycles, and be better healers because I know from experience that pain holds us back. 

I want to contribute to improving health outcomes for Black people because skinfolk…it ain’t looking good for us. And the change starts with us, in our homes and in our habits, not in hospitals.

But let’s be real…most people are motivated by pain. It’s easier to make a choice to avoid further pain than it is to decide to move toward greater wellbeing and fulfillment. How many times have you heard someone’s “rock bottom” story? Things had to get really bad before they made a change.

Life invites us to change in subtle or drastic ways, though. We can accept and lean into change when the messages are quiet or wait until they are deafening. 

An Herbal Medicine for the Soul student asked me an incredibly profound question this week, “how can we as your students best represent you out in the world?” I have never been asked this, nor had I ever actually considered it. But after taking a breath or two, I knew the answer immediately, and replied, “Joy. Be someone who spreads joy instead of hurt.”

Joy, truly, is at the heart of my work. Because I know what’s it to not have it. I know what it’s like to have so much pain in your body and life that it distracts and robs you of seeing and experiencing the good. 

I know what it’s like to feel like you’re drowning in trauma, and panic because you don’t know if you’ll actually ever feel different, much less better.

I know what it’s like to be doing work that isn’t fulfilling but not have the clarity to pursue what is meant for you.

Pain changes you.

When I tell you all of the misery, confusion, darkness and the physical pains that accompany those things, lifted when I healed, I mean every word of it. And life lit up. Relationships improved, especially the one I had with myself. My purposeful path was illuminated. Pains faded away. And joy arrived. 

With everything going on in the world to be someone who is genuinely happy is rare and odd. But I believe that we have more power and are able to do more good when we feel whole. Instead of hurting people because we’re hurt, we can be people who pass on ease to the next generations. We can be people who encourage and inspire instead of compete and tear down. 

It’s my desire through my work to inspire you to go after the joy that is waiting for you and to not need a rock bottom story in order to get there.

Because you don’t heal just for you.

You heal for those around you too.

Your children will never regret having a parent who does the work.

Your community will never regret having you as a skilled resource they can turn to.

It’s never too late. Next year, because it’s coming round the corner quick…you’ll wish you had started today.

Today’s plant ally on the Path of Possibility is Mimosa. Mimosa is dear to my heart. It has supported me through a very recent difficult season. I still carry it my bag daily. Mimosa offers us the kind of support we need, that nervous system calm and spaciousness that allows us to reach for the light, the good, the possibility of better times ahead. When we are able to quiet some of the anxiety and fear then we can be reminded of our capability and our ability to process and rise above any obstacle, learning lump, or unpredictable event that we will face on our paths.

Mimosa is used to improve our moods from the grips of anxiety, worry, depression, fear, PTSD, broken heart, insomnia, grief, sadness, bad dreams, irritability, anger, and even poor memory that’s related to emotional repression.

Think about how when we as children experience traumatic events and we cut ourselves off from the memory of it to survive. Well, that can develop into a habit of “forgetting” that we carry into our adult lives. We’re not safe, but our nervous systems still operate as if we’re under threat.

When we begin healing, Mimosa helps us to break that habit and develop new neural pathways so that we don’t respond to life by cutting ourselves off from it. It gives us greater access to the richness that is now occurring in our lives.

Mimosa gives us the capacity to face deep emotional suppression, to process the things that we find difficult to remember, talk about, sit with and reflect on. When our spirits have been disturbed and shaken, Mimosa relaxes us so that we can see the light that’s always illuminating the path out of the darkness. Here's our longer video on the gifts of Mimosa if you’re interested.

With joy,

Selima & Tami

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