Elevating She

“Well behaved women seldom make history”

― Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Women's History Month

In 1987, Congress designated the month of March as Women's History Month.
It is a month to honor strong, wise, empowered women that inspire us to contribute our very best.

I am:
An entrepreneur.
A farmer.

We are:
History-Makers.
Pioneers.
Explorers.
Artists.
Writers.
Teachers.
Leaders.

In order to be so, we cannot help but look to history's women for our inspiration.

As this month of tribute comes to a close, I am inspired to pay homage to the women that have served as an inspiration to me.
I invite them to inspire you
to make history 
this, and every, month.

Mary Oliver
"If you suddenly & unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give in to it..."

Pulitzer Prize winning poet
  -Her Words: not fancy
  -Her Sanctuary: nature

  -Her Message to Me:
Nature, life, is filled with paradox.
Pause, look deeply, and appreciate this.

My Echinacea: 
Sharp. Rough. Fiberous.
Yet, potent healers. 
You see, paradox.

"We are not wise.
And not very often kind.

Still...

Life has some possibility left.
Perhaps this is its way of fighting back."

-Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

Robin Wall-Kimmerer

"Even a wounded world is feeding us.
Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy...

Native-American botanist & author
  -Her Education: science
  -Her Framework: tradition

  -Her Message to Me:
Nature is generous & diverse.
Reciprocity: the path to mutual thriving.
Honoring: the path to mutual blessing.

My Strawberries: 
Jewels from dirt.
Generous & abundant.
And, therefore, so am I.

"I choose joy over despair.

Not because I have my head in the sand,
but because joy is what the earth gives me daily
and I must return the gift."

-Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Frances Hodgson-Burnett
"Sometimes, since I've been in the garden, I've looked up through the trees at the sky and I have had a strange feeling of being happy..."

Early 20th-Century author
  -Her World: Victorian & patriarchal
  -Her Influences: Louisa May Alcott & Charles Dickens

  -Her Message to Me:
Nature heals.
Magic is revealed through engagement with nature.
  All our senses.
  All our awe.

My Anise: 
Star clusters.
Aroma of milk & honey.
Firecrackers of soft magic.

"Magic is always...

pushing & drawing & making
things out of nothing.

Everything is made out of magic...

leaves & trees
flowers & birds
So it must be all around us." 

- Frances Hodgson-Burnett, The Secret Garden

Dear Tea Drinker,
My blessing to you this month: May we always be inspired by the many wise, not-so-well-behaved women of history.
  From Mary Oliver:
  May we appreciate the beautiful, complex, raw, challenging paradoxes of life.
  From Robin Wall-Kimmerer:
  May we embrace reciprocity + generosity + honoring.
  From Frances Hodgson-Burnett:
  May we engage deeply with the magic of nature using all of our senses and all of our awe.

As always: 

Thank you 

I'm honored to be your herbal tea farmer. 

Be well,
Shannon