Our Humanity + the Monardas
This being human thing is a real trip! Will you ponder it with me here for a minute? Here I am, a woman who has lived over half of her life, and I only (probably) know a few hundred of us humans. I say probably because I have never actually counted. I know of (have heard of) thousands, but I’ve only been well acquainted with a few hundred over my lifetime.
Yet there are over 8 billion of us!
Listen to Mary Morgaine reading “Our Humanity”
This awareness is wonderful because it is the recipe for humbleness, the key to keeping us open-minded and in awe. Whatever it is I think and know and believe, the fact remains: my perspective is just a tee-niny dip into the vast ocean of human experience and possibility. I come back to this awareness each day: I am a mere little part of humanity, and I intend to do my part well.
Hu・man・i・ty (hyoo-man’i-tē): the human race; the quality of being humane; benevolence. In Italian, umanità; in Swahili, ubinadamu; in Greek, ανθρωπότητα; in German, menschheit; in Russian, человечество; in Chinese, 人性.
The Big Ole World of Humanity.
Thousands of ways to say it, billions of ways to live it.
This is why fundamentalist religion doesn’t cut it for me. I have mentioned before how I had a Southern Baptist upbringing and how it just didn’t sit well with me. As a teen, I kept wondering how there could be so many people, with so many varying and vying beliefs, and only One right way, one truth, one ticket to heaven? Sounded absurd to me and still does. But I have to keep myself in check because that is what we humans can easily do— think our reality and our belief system is The Way and then belittle or condemn or blow off anybody else who disagrees or believes differently.
The humans I respect the most are those who have fervent Faith and deep beliefs, yet they do not proselytize, or try to ‘save’ anyone, or believe that what they hold sacred is what everyone else should hold sacred too. They do not condemn or alienate others for not believing their hard core beliefs, or, worse case scenario, go to war with them to impose dominance. Religious and Cultural wars over the Love of God and Lifestyle are two of the most bizarre concepts I regularly ponder.
“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”
-James Baldwin
The journey of what it means to embody our humanity well and tending of the land are my two major interests, so you will find me ‘going off’ on these topics in my work. Lately, I am getting hung up on not wanting to seem ‘preachy’ or as though I am trying to persuade you or even share about what I think because it might step too much on on your toes, or keep you from listening to your own inner guidance, or just flat out be boring. But being a nonfiction, creative writer, what is there to write about but my own personal thoughts, interests, beliefs and experiences, so I am overriding this concern in order to keep zooming in on this ‘being human thing’ because…
1) it is something I reflect upon everyday
2) humanity is in dire straits
3) we have much work to do to improve our humanity and we need to focus on it, damn it!
(Plus… I am sick and tired of reading about Biden and Trump— giving them energy and attention they neither need nor deserve. Let’s feed something else, like a new paradigm>< Let’s stop beating a dying horse.)
I like to ask people from time to time, ‘What do you believe happens when we die?’ and every time, I get a different answer (unless it’s atheists who have similar answers like ‘nothing.’ Any maybe they are right, who knows?) But if you are one to say you think you go to heaven, and then I ask “What happens there?" I get a unique personal slant of how the heaven thing unfolds. Of course. Because no one really knows. And I am honestly fed up with humans trying to persuade other humans of unknown shit, especially around religion.
Wait, I am trying to be more kind in life. Should I delete that last sentence? No. Instead, I will offer up a big embrace and a deep bow to the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Irreligious people who have goodwill and respect toward humans who aren’t a part of their own belief systems.
Because our humanity is actually about being vulnerable and admitting that you just don’t know what is best for everyone. You may find that you haven’t even figured out what it is best for yourself, idk.
Just don’t yuk on someone else’s yum- it’s the new golden rule.
Like a child that you have to tell to brush their teeth, or put away their toys, or help with the chores a million times before they get it and go do it on their own, being a human adult is the same pattern- we need lots of repetition and reminders to bring our best foot forward, to actively choose to take a seat of love and compassion at the table of humanity.
It has been my experience that our collective health and happiness is sustained better when we accept one another for who we are and lovingly coax one another back into our best selves when we have gone astray. When we live this way, by default we dominate and destroy less of the environment around us, too. Our humanity supports life on earth rather than destroying it.
This isn’t rocket science yet it’s one of the hardest things to accomplish. It is a practice, and we come back to it everyday.
Compassion and generosity are the gears that make life work really well but they have gotten severely rusty. Let’s get out our super lube tube and grease them up with forgiveness and humbleness and light-heartedness. Archbishop Tutu told us that without forgiveness, there is no future. So please, my fella humans, let’s keep working on doing our part even better than we did the day before.
(Thank goodness none of us have to be perfect or have mastered something in order to write about it:-))
Mary Morgaine Squire
7/12/24
Under a beautiful crescent waxing moon
~Plant Love Letters~
The Monardas
Monarda spp.
Lamiaceae
Listen to Mary Plantwalker read a ‘Love Letter from Monarda’
Dear friends,
Have you ever sought refuge from summer’s heat by retreating to the cool nooks of a creek, and then surprisingly stumbled upon flaming flowers, set among the backdrop of verdant bowers? Then you probably already know of my capacity to delight the senses and call you back from mental pretenses.
I am Monarda, and I am native to these wilds of North America. I team up with Rosebay, Linden, Orchid and Turk’s Cap Lily to perfume and/or decorate the atmosphere in the thick of high temps. I have square stems, globular flower heads, stunning bracts and my petals make a crazy hairdo (or petaldo, as we plants call it!) I stand up and I stand out- I am the most beloved mint family member of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.
My indigenous human friends have cherished me throughout history, but I have been overlooked by many of European descent because their ancestors brought dozens of their own powerhouse mints across the pond centuries ago. I am pleased, though, to be recognized more and more for my gifts among many differing cultures!
I, like other dynamic entities, am called by many names: Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot, Wild Oregano, Oswego Tea, Sweet Leaf, Horse Mint and even Baby-Saver Plant. My botanical name is after the fella Nicolas Bautista Monardes, who took a liking to studying me a long time ago. I have approximately 20 species but the ones most popular with human tribes are citriodora, didyma, fistulosa and punctata. You will find me in forest clearings, along the wood’s edge, in moist meadows, dry prairies and hillsides, plains and planted in sunny, well-drained ornamental and medicinal gardens.
Lepidopterans are all over me—I love hearing the buzz of their wings and knowing they are pollinating my flower. Hummingbirds and butterflies make a beeline to my colorful petals! My name Bee Balm either comes from being covered in bees or my ability to pull out the pain of bee stings. I vary my blooming colors in shades of pinks, reds, purples and whites, spotted yellow or greenish/yellow. You may have noticed my leaves can catch a powdery mildew with the high humidity of some climes.
Ummm, yummm is my spice! I have a peppery, pungent flavor and people use my leaves for seasoning meats and roots, my petals to garnish salads and my whole plant for a warming beverage. There is a plant who doesn’t grow near me, called Citrus bergamia, the famous Bergamot that flavors tea. Earl Grey you call it. Some say I taste like that too, thus my name of Wild Bergamot.
As a face wash, I can tone pores and traditionally I have been used to cover up unpleasant scents. The softer my stem, the sweeter my scent and taste- experiment for yourself. Here is a fun pesto recipe of just my leaves!
Cherokee, Chippewa, Navajo, Meskwaki and Miwok peoples poultice my leaves for the ridding of headaches. Crow and Anishinaabeg bring me in to help heal respiratory illness and colic. I am a drawing agent- I can pull out the pain of insect bites and the heat of a fever. I can soothe and heal burns- just crush my leaves and mix them with your saliva for spit poultices. Do not be grossed out by such talk, please. The combination of saliva and herbs is an ancient formula for healing all kinds of ails.
You can make a tincture, tea or poultice of my aerial parts for support with bladder infections, yeast infections, coughs, tinnitus and stomach aches. My roots have also been used medicinally for these things. I support you in dealing with the excess of life. The things that cause inflammation. I really can do so much, you would probably tire of hearing the endless list of remedies I offer. So, I will pause here and invite you to include me in your life to find out for yourself what my gifts are!
I want to leave you with some gratitude and say I really love living where I do—I have a blessed life to experience all these various ecosystems. I hope that when you see me or nibble me or take me in as medicine, that you feel blessed, too. & Thank you for engaging with the plant nation the way you do.
Love,
Monarda
Weaving Community~
-The podcast on Gingko and my plant path, with Rosalee de la Forêt, is out! Thank you so much, Rosalee, for the chance to be on your show. Rosalee is a gem- if you haven’t already subscribed to her youtube channel, check it out! Here is the Sweet Memory Tea recipe I shared on the show:
-Inspiring Mila of Spirit Dirt is in process of creating a collaborative periodical called The Poison Garden about “the plants once held as sacred by humans and immortalized in art and story, but now the attention given to them is negative or fearful. It is time to remediate their reputation and strengthen the community of people who appreciate the depth that poison plants offer.” Do you have art or story or poetry to share around your experiences? Submissions are open until August 15.
Your commentary on humanity is beautiful and inspiring. And I so loved reading about monarda. This is my first year growing monarda, after seeing wild bergamot in our woods, and she’s such a joy to watch!