ZenView
Mary Layton
A Simpler Life
There once was a time, long ago, when people dealt with common problems differently.
They relied on home remedies, on common sense, tricks of the trade, and natural cures for common ailments, like colds, headaches, dizzy spells, stomach problems or aching feet. Have we forgotten all about these wonderful simple cures? For depression and anxiety people used herbs and special concoctions that they made themselves. Or maybe they turned to find help from a clergy man or a nun. Today we get on the internet and google about advice on anything that ails us. We believe the written word. For example, there is a machine that stretches your calves in the opposite way. The cost: only $15. We think we got a deal. Because the machine isn’t expensive we feel that we can buy some other ones, and pretty soon we have lots of healing robot friends sitting in our closet. New products are continuously being produced and are brought to market. We can order the ultimate solution to any problem, be it the best shoe or the best bed. Or the best supplement that promises to keep us young and healthy. The choices are overwhelming.
Maybe the time has come to remember things we used to know. When I was a child, my mother would lower a fever by wrapping cold towels around my calves. It felt soothing and actually helped. When we had the flu my mother would boil a pot with chamomile flowers and we would inhale the herbs by putting our heads over the pot, a towel placed over our heads which created a private mini – steam room. I remember that after this simple treatment I could breathe again. I have a lot of respect for the old healing arts, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Acupressure and Massage. The good old “hands-on” experience. You can also do a lot on your own. Massage your feet and hands. Eat well, take a walk, have good thoughts, do good things. Like our ancestors, we can learn how to heal ourselves. My idea is: Keep your life simple. Slow down. I think it’s cool to be able to bring comfort to yourself in a more simple way. We all know what is good to eat and what isn’t and that we need to get enough rest. It’s time that we look to using knowledge that’s been there all along.
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