Why do we try?
Today I got an email from Pinterest, with a list of Pins they thought I would enjoy. the first 10 or 12 were outrageous, dangerous misapplications of the oils I love, usually to babies or animals who have no choice. I gave up after that, there may have been something I would have enjoyed, but I couldn't wade through any more dreck.It was discouraging. We have spent 20 odd years studying and trying to teach the appropriate use of the oils we love and make available, and sometimes the sheer volume of the chorus urging neat use and internal use for any or no reason just seems deafening and overwhelming.
But then I got a letter from a young mother looking for appropriate remedies for some childhood woes... "My neighbor says to give him ______ to drink will help, but it doesn't feel right." Thank you. Yes, it doesn't feel right because it isn't right. And we discussed some gentle and safe alternatives.
I love Kris Kristofferson's music. And in my car I find myself hitting "replay" on the CD... to listen, yet again, to "Beat the Devil"... and I realized why I love that song so... I'm going to quote, and misquote, his final verse...
To Beat The Devil © Kris Kristofferson
"And you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen,To the things that I am sayin', prayin' someone's gonna hear.
And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about,
Are things they could be changin', hopin' someone's gonna care.
I was born a lonely singer, and I'm bound to die the same,
But I've got to feed the hunger in my soul.
And if I never have a nickel, I won't ever die ashamed.
'Cos I don't believe that no-one wants to know. "
And that song that I love continues to remind me that "someone wants to know"
And so we continue talking and teaching...for the someone who wants to know.
One of my favorite fables has always been the story of the Starfish:
(For those who can't se the graphic: The Starfish Story: Many starfish washed up on shore. A young boy started picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean. Someone saw what he was doing and told him that it was pointless, that there were too many to save, that it wouldn't made a difference. Throwing another starfish into the sea, the little boy responded, "It makes a difference to this one.") Origin unknown.
I continue to be grateful to the starfish, to the ones who do want to know.
