Wisdom of Healing

Ever since I was in middle school, I have been standing up for what I believe. Very often, positive change takes a lot of people coming together to speak up and sometimes to act up, to get the attention of the help masses, who seem to be asleep at the wheel of life.

Sometimes, though, positive change can happen in a moment, without a lot of fanfare. I have acquired quite a few stories of powerful changes that were nearly effortless to help create. I love these stories. They enliven my spirit and fill me with hope and faith for our planet and her inhabitants. Just when I was prepared to implement a letter writing campaign or phoning the proper officials to witness positive progress for a given concern, it became quite clear that that wouldn’t be necessary. Asking, it seems, would be enough to plant the necessary seeds for a significant change to take place. Change happened at the speed of thought and request.

My favorite of these stories took place about six or seven years ago, when I noticed that the larger organic tea manufacturers’ directions all read just about the same, something like this:
Pour boiling water over tea bag. Steep, sip and enjoy. Or
Pour boiling water over tea bag. Steep for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy.

As an herbalist, I had always been taught that if you want to reap the medicinal benefits of an herbal tea, you need to put a lid (or a saucer) on your cup while steeping, or those health benefits will be lifted into the air with the rising steam. Many of the tea companies on the market seemed very committed to offering an excellent selection of healthful tea formulations; why wouldn’t they mention this? I wondered about it, and then I reached for the telephone.

Having about two dozen varieties of tea on the shelf, I found one from each company and searched the label for their company’s toll free number. I dialed each one so that I could ask them why they had omitted such important information from their directions.

The first three companies gave me the run around, just as I had expected. The folks at Celestial Seasonings passed me off to at least five or six people before finally telling me that they would look into it. I called another; same story. The Yogi Tea people tried to tell me that everyone should know that. I responded that they should also know that they needed to “Pour boiling water over tea bag”, but they had printed that part. Again, their response was that someone would look into it. With these three calls, the voices on the other end of the phone seemed to exude the sentiment that they just wanted to get the consumer calling in to complain off the phone.

And then a miracle happened. I called Traditional Medicinals and the lady that actually answered my phone call said that she would be the person that I would speak to about my concern. Her voice sounded sweet and sincere. Hmmm.

So I said, “I’m wondering why your directions don’t remind people to place a lid on their cup as they steep your wonderful teas. Any herbalist knows that we must cover the cup to retain the essential oils, if we want to get the medicinal benefits that your formulations offer.” I took a deep breath and went on, “I studied with Rosemary Gladstar (the Master Herbalist that has formulated many of the Traditional Medicinals’ teas) and she stresses the importance of covering the mug or pot of tea repeatedly throughout her teachings.” I paused and waited. The response I got blew me away, especially after the earlier calls were such duds.

The woman responded, “I studied with Rosemary, as well! Of course the instructions should tell people to place a lid on the cup! Yes, we suggest that to people all the time. Our boxes don’t say that?” She excused herself as she reached for a box from the shelf near her desk and then continued, “I agree with you! That should be there on our labels! I have made a note of this, and I can assure you that all of our future boxes will be printed this way!”

I was floored! I thanked her; we talked for a few moments about what an honor it was to have studied with Rosemary Gladstar, and said our goodbyes.

About four months later, I was at my local Whole Foods Market, and picked up a box of one of my favorite Traditional Medicinals teas, and right there on the label the directions read:
Pour 8 oz. of boiling water over one tea bag and steep, covered, for 15 minutes.
I just stared… smiling ear to ear!
My daughter poked me. “Mom, how long are you going to read that box of tea? Why do you have such a goofy smile? Come onnnnn… let’s go.” I took a deep breath and followed her through the crowd to the check-out line.

That smile stayed with me for hours. It just seemed so easy. And sweet. We really do make a difference in any moment with our every action. They may be for the better or for the worse. Sometimes they’re just small differences, and sometimes they have a greaterimpact on society than we know!

What can you do today to perpetuate positive change?

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