What do we mean by Wild Medicine?

As we struggle to negotiate the ever more challenging and complicated aspects of modern life, occasionally we discover that the antidotes to the poisons that plague us may be found in the wild.  Maybe, we are overwhelmed by industrial pollution and are being labeled as having "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity".  Or, we are faced with the common plague of Depression/Melancholy/Malaise that the grind of a 50-hour work week produces and which alcohol and "Dancing with the Stars" cannot cure.

Strangely enough, no matter what our "situation" often the best cures are found in wild places around us.  The fresh air provided by the density of a forest, the soothing rush of the river, and the feeling of soft loam beneath our bare feet are all medicines of the highest magnitude.  Our wild place may be a cedar tree at the corner park or a desert wash in our backyard or the view of the mountains in the distance.  Maybe it is simply the empty lot in which "weeds" are fighting back against the oppression of concrete and broken glass.  Whatever our wild place may be, it can be a threshold, a sacred place in which begin our process of reawakening our wild, vital self.  Soon, we may find ourselves keeping odd hours, ducking out at lunch time to watch the birds, and pausing to really feel the wind brushing against our skin.

This is the beginning.  In our future plants become friends and allies.  Animals become teacher and mentors.  The sun and moon become the only true clock.  We are on the edge of true freedom.  This is the journey towards wild medicine.