Foraging. I used to think that was just about seeking / looking for plants and mushrooms, connecting to the green world…
But I have, in the last few years, come to have another way that I use and think about that word.
Now, it means connection to me. Foraging for connection. Connection to the green world AND connection to the human world. Real connection. Not on your phone, or your iPad, but IRL (In real life)…
Foraging IRL = Setting up a date with a friend to sit for a cup of tea, a walk in the woods, or a long hug.
Foraging IRL = time to listen with your heart to another, or allowing someone to vent (for an agreed upon time) without interruption or interpretation.
Oh my I could just go on and on… So many ways to FORAGE…
Did you know that studies show that social media and NOT IRL creates more feelings of loneliness than it does community or connection. A good scroll on facebook might seem just the thing to catch up with a friend, or a family member who lives far away, but it can often overwhelm our senses. And it can become addictive and leave us feeling more inadequate or alone. So when you see a friend posting about depression, instead of scrolling on, use the magical device in your hand and call them up. Talk. IRL. Right?
My whole adult life I have believed and lived the mantra of “when times get hard, gather your good friends close and talk about it”. If you are sad, shocked or grieving, reach out. If you are hurt and angry, Call a friend to chat rather than chatting on messenger or in a text. Forage instead!!
Make time in your planner to have lunch with a friend. Specifically block out time on your calendar to go into the woods with a friend for a “forest bath” (plants are the most healing community I know and are always there to help you ground back in hope). Make a date with your love to walk the dogs, or build a fire, or clean the car out.
FORAGE!
While I love the medicine the plants share and I am grateful to their gift toward our (collective) health and wellness, I have been continually reminded by my own life experiences and by those who I am honored to share friendship with, that real community and relationship is the most important thing for healing. All the medicine in the world will never fix a broken heart. All the medicine in the world will never heal a depressed anxious individual. All the medicine in the world will not heal mental illness or drug addiction. Only IRL Foraging for connection will do that.
So please give yourself that medicine. Use your life line and “phone a friend”!
All my love, Aniiyah
