Italia!!

Buongiorno! Wow...I'm in Italy! So, I have been here for quattro going on cinque days and so many stories to tell!! Already! From learning the bus system inside and out in turino, (out of neccessaity as a solo traveler) to cruising the streets on a sweet old school bicycle. Scaling a stone monastary wall at 1 in the am and landing in their garden only to finally find the one unlocked door of where i was staying, which happened to be the arts and crafts room of the monastary, led to a night of laughter! That night an old jacket found and a piece of cardboard served as the sleeping pad while a roll of toilet paper served as a pillow!! this all after hanging out at the corner pub, dancing to italian style reggae, in a little town @ 20km from the french border in the mist of the italian/french alps!! I have so much to write about, though only 2 more minutes on this computer, so i will continue to write my thoughts and reflections on the scraps of paper i come across and share with you as i can!!

diggin' roots

so...this past week has been filled with diggin in the dirt. codonopsis, echinacea, elecampagne, marshmallow, and pleurisy roots all rich with medicine and all yielding to my supple, respectful hands. roots teach us patience, instinct, humility, strength and well, i could go on...they also teach ya how good it is to get your hands really dirty! your fingernails filled with what feels like inches of dirt, soil, sod, you name it. your digging so deep that your fingers are numb from motion, from action. the smell in the air is pungent...the codonopsis is sweetness and the pleurisy diffuse while echinacea tingles through the air. this is medicine to me. a woman by the name of Laurel Luddite, also a student of the amazing herbalist Michael Moore, wrote an essay called "This is Anarcho Herbalism". check it out! http://swsbm.com/homepage/anarcho-herbalism.html an excellent summation, written over 5 years ago, never not relevant.

let's get it started!

living roots wise is about living life passionately, consciously and with spirit and integrity. the idea stemmed from a desire to kick myself in the butt to do all of those things! i currently own and solely operate an herbal business called Roots Wise Herbals, of which i have dedicated about 10 years to. over the years the biz has taken various shapes and utilized various outlets to serve it's purpose and keep it alive. i have to say that in the last 2 years in particular, i've been in a rut with it regarding what i really want to see stem from it. Roots Wise Herbals has been an incredibly creative outlet for me over the years, keeping me busy and continuously scheming up new avenues with which to walk it down. it has been a tool that has led me to meet some incredible people and communities. it has opened me up to being more comfortable socially, spiritually and physically. and it's given me something to sink into over the years! i am a creature of thriving on keeping busy, hands always in one project or another. body and mind enthused by new challenges and new people. hence the blog...an outlet for me to share the changing shape of Roots Wise, the thoughts that go along with that metamorphosis, and for the people who have supported me and my business over the years...to keep up to date where they can continue to buy tea, extracts, oils or whatever. living roots wise, over time, will consist of a forum for info about health, nutrition, herbs and what's going on around you...how you can connect with people and events that are inspiring, passionate and digging into their roots! oh and travel! (hoping to use this forum as an outlet to have to go a travelin'). a huge kick for this blog has been all the incredible people i know doing incredible things! i hope to help spread their word and happenings and inspire people to live each day as fully as they can in that moment, by passing on what does it for me!