Nurturing Joy
Hello good people!
I am deeply grateful for all of you who have subscribed, read, and shared my offerings over the last couple of months. Since my launch in April, A Cup of Tea & Jams has gained more than 60 subscribers! And while I’m not too focused on the metrics of this substack game, I am still amazed and honored that each of you are here to journey with me. Thank you for the invested time it takes to truly sit and read my newsletters and thank you for your love. Also – a special thank you for those of you who chose to pay for a subscription. Your financial support aids my journey in completing my herbal apprenticeship and assists with the costs it takes to launch an herbal practice.
If my words have blessed you, feel free to buy me a cup of tea.
Before I get into it, I want to share an upcoming workshop I am teaching along with three other amazing herbalists and healers from my apprenticeship program.
This Sunday, August 4th at 11am ET, join me for a virtual workshop about nurturing The Healer Within! In this workshop, you will learn how to harness your magic, discover your superpowers, and know your medicines to heal yourself, your family, and your community. Register here for $5. All proceeds will be donated to the 7th Annual Spiritual Herbalism Conference, which will be October 5-6th, hosted by our teacher Karen M. Rose and the Sacred Vibes Apothecary.
Now on to today’s offering:
The other night, I went to bed thinking about the poignant and simple question that Toni Cade Bambara brought forth through her character Minnie Ransom from The Salt Eaters — “Are you sure, sweetheart, that you want to be well?” I asked myself the same question as I prepared for sleep. My answer – of course, I need to be well. The next thought that came to mind was in the imagined cadence of Ms. Minnie talking directly to me, “Well child, what you gonna do about it?”
This summer has not been as easy & breezy as I’d hoped. It is a sobering and chaotic time. The sun is blaring and the hot temperature of this blazing summer is aggravating. Deep feelings of sorrow, rage, and disillusionment are potent in my personal life and in the collective spaces I am a part of. Life is hard for everybody. So how do I — how do we – become and remain well in all of this?
In my last newsletter, Freedom in the Quiet, I shared how in the weeks leading up to my birthday, my body was signaling that it was time to slow down. I was completely out of balance in May. In my reflection I wrote, “Daily, I ask my body what I need right now. These days, nourishment is the answer.”
Two months later and nourishment is still the answer. It is a work in progress to make sure that I experience at least one deeply nourishing act for myself—whether that is a meal, a fun activity, a soulful conversation, restful sleep, etc. I find that when I truly pursue nourishment for myself, my spirit is making more room to experience more joy.
I ask you the same question I asked myself and some friends the other day —- how are you nurturing your joy today? And if you feel like you do not have the capacity to nurture joy, that’s okay. Instead I ask you, how would you like or hope to nurture your joy? It does not need to be a long extensive list. Just choose one thing.
For me, one way that I nurture my joy is by turning on some House music and jam out in my living room. As of late, Black House Radio is a consistent source of joy that makes me feel giddy because I truly love House music. I’m talking old school, soulful, BLACK, original House music and Black House Radio delivers EVERY SINGLE TIME. If you are not familiar with this collective, no worries, I will drop a couple of my favorite mixes in here. In their words, “Black house radio is a homecoming for Black djs and Black sound paying homage to the past, present, and future of house music.” And they are intentional and committed to bringing House music back home, literally. I love every second of it. The joy I have listening and watching these sets in my living room matches the joy radiating from the beautiful Black folks dancing, smiling, embracing, singing, laughing, praising, sweating, shouting in someone’s grandma’s living room. I feel like I’m in the room with them, doing the same.
I’ll be back very soon with some herbal goodies and plant insights for this month. However I will share what I plan to brew today. To maintain this upbeat energy, I am tapping into my trusted plant allies lemon balm & ginger. It is refreshing, sweet, zesty, and nourishing. Lemon balm aka Melissa Officinalis is heart lifting, nurturing, and can help you reconnect with Spirit. It is a nervine, nutrivive, antiviral, antimicrobial, antidepressant, among many other properties. Historically, it has been revered as an elixir of life because it can chase away the melancholy. Ginger aka Zingiber Officinale is spicy, warm, and full of nutrients. It is a stimulant, a tonic, nervine, anti anti-inflammatory among many other health benefits. Spiritually, it warms your solar plexus and intuition. It’s a mover so it helps you get to moving and reconnect to your emotional self. And so, I will pour about 3 tablespoons of dried lemon balm and 1 tablespoon of dried ginger in a quart jar. Pour hot water over the herbs and let it infuse for about 30 minutes. Strain, add some honey, and enjoy with some ice. This is another way that I am nurturing my joy today.
I really would love to hear how you are nourishing yourself and nurturing your joy today. Let me know in the comments.
Until next time,
Khayla
Thanks for sharing the music sets. I’ve always appreciated your taste in music and you putting me on to dope sounds.
In terms of how I’m nourishing myself, I am eating my heart out in watermelon 🍉🍉🍉. Seeds and all. I’ve bought at least 4-5 seeded watermelons this summer, yellow and red.
Mmm I love this question. I keep coming to this same messages about protecting your heart without closing it off. Baring down in the soul of home. Leaning into the sacredness of your call.
& honestly it helps me nurture my joy. But I’m also leaning into my words. I nurture my joy through forms of communication. And so when I silence myself (refrain from writing & speaking & storytelling my pain lingers). My joy is abundant in the release of sharing.