While browsing at a bookstore recently, a book with a cream cover and a beautiful shock of golden paper in the shape of a tree caught my attention. Its title was The Sweetness of a Simple Life: Tips for Healthier, Happier and Kinder Living Gleaned from the Wisdom and Science of Nature, and it was written by Diana Beresford-Kroeger.
I enjoyed the short vignettes of Diana's wisdom, grounded in the ancient Celtic Brohen tradition, as she masterfully weaves the precision of science with compelling holistic perspectives. Her little chapters provide fascinating and profound insights into the foods we eat, their role as antidotes to many of the hazards of modern life, ways in which we can live in more balance with natural cycles, as well as awaken the reader to the profound losses we face if we do not recognize the precious heritage and medicines provided by the generosity of the natural world.
One of the most compelling stories for me is from the chapter titled, "Chasing Cures" where she documents her decades-long quest for a rare tree called the wafer ash, Ptelea trifoliate. This tree has been revered by Indigenous peoples from the eastern regions of Turtle Island for centuries; it is known as the sacred tree. Diana's quest for this tree is a manifestation of her deep understanding and reverence for the healing potency inherent in plant life. Apparently, this tree has shown great promise in treating many forms of cancer.
Diana cautions us against looking for cures that don't include the indigenous plant species that offer so much unexplored potential for dynamic and synergistic forms of healing. She writes:
More information on Diana Beresford-Kroeger can be found here.
I enjoyed the short vignettes of Diana's wisdom, grounded in the ancient Celtic Brohen tradition, as she masterfully weaves the precision of science with compelling holistic perspectives. Her little chapters provide fascinating and profound insights into the foods we eat, their role as antidotes to many of the hazards of modern life, ways in which we can live in more balance with natural cycles, as well as awaken the reader to the profound losses we face if we do not recognize the precious heritage and medicines provided by the generosity of the natural world.
One of the most compelling stories for me is from the chapter titled, "Chasing Cures" where she documents her decades-long quest for a rare tree called the wafer ash, Ptelea trifoliate. This tree has been revered by Indigenous peoples from the eastern regions of Turtle Island for centuries; it is known as the sacred tree. Diana's quest for this tree is a manifestation of her deep understanding and reverence for the healing potency inherent in plant life. Apparently, this tree has shown great promise in treating many forms of cancer.
Diana cautions us against looking for cures that don't include the indigenous plant species that offer so much unexplored potential for dynamic and synergistic forms of healing. She writes:
The flora of North America is being ignored by universities, governments, corporations, and private investors, as a rich source of medicine in favour of the flora of the tropics. The flash is not here. There is something else in the vegetation. It is a form of tenacity that defies all understanding. It presents life in the margins. It is only from the margins that real invention is squeezed, like water from a stone. The continent's medicine men knew this, less by instinct and more by knowledge. The sacred tree, Ptelea trifoliate, and its variants are nature's legacy to future generations. We should all give thanks for this gift, for this tree.
Diana's writing and advocacy inspire remembrance of how precious what we have already been given truly is. Rather than only look for solutions outside of ourselves that have not yet been created, she gently yet convincingly persuades the reader to recognize the incredible gift of the billions-old wisdom of the natural world. I agree with Diana Beresford-Kroeger's core message that sometimes the most innovative thing we can do is honour those ways of knowing and being that have already proven their brilliance if only we could turn our faces to see them anew.
More information on Diana Beresford-Kroeger can be found here.
