We, as human beings, frame our views of how the world works through our own experiences. If your family lives in a home, has a garden, two parents, and a big extended family, we assume that’s how everyone else lives too. Then we get out into the world separated from our family, look around they look around us, talk to other people about their families and we find out that our experience may be quite different from theirs.
As we expand our world and learn from other people around us we understand that our personal experiences color how we see everything in our lives.
When I was growing up I was raised by an Italian mother who believed in food as medicine such as soups and peppers and copious amounts of greens. She was a bit suspicious of Physicians and did not rely on them for her well-being. My mother made all of our meals from scratch, often with food grown in her garden. Most ailments were soothed with homemade remedies. It was a rare thing in my life to ever see a physician. My mother took care of myself and my four siblings and we all survived rather well.
When I grew up and began looking at career choices I became interested in the medical field. I worked for a time in a hospital but found myself drawn to things that were more natural. I then ended up becoming more educated in the holistic field. Learning how exercise could relieve pain and stress. discovering herbs and oils to help with pain and aid in healing. Looking back, I think that felt more normal to me because of the environment I grew up in.
I became a mother approximately 2 years after I became a massage therapist. My daughter was on my hip as I worked in the community. She even sometimes went to massage clients’ houses with me. She was welcomed by my clients and she attended my infant massage classes where I taught mothers how to massage their babies. I took care of her with massage and herbal medicine and occasionally if she had to go to the doctors we did.
Recently my daughter needed my care after surgery. I made her healthy food and soups, kept her pain level down, and followed her doctor’s order to a T.
She is quickly recovering and I’m so glad I could help care for her. She takes her nutritional supplements and knows how to help her body heal. Her whole life had been part of a healing circle. She saw me take private tai chi classes with my friends every Sunday for years.
I had my friend and instructor mentor being Pilates to us. My daughter learned there could be healing thru movement and I believe she will use that to continue to improve her structural health. She also saw me contact all my spiritual healing sister’s to celebrate and pray for her. Her aunties, both blood and spirit, all prayed for her and her caregivers well being. I’m grateful for the support of our community.thank you.
Valentina Boonstra
