Elder Berry: The Tea For your Heart

Elderberry. My first sip was unimpressive. Only because I saw the deep burgundy color of the tea, and expected it to be very rich and flavorful, and.. well of course sweet, as it is a berry afterall. But, it wasn't very flavorful, not the way I had assumed it would be, but oh well, you can't have it all. I remember in class, munching on a few dry elderberries, and well, they weren't very sweet either. So, it is what it is, so they are not that sweet. It's okay, everything can't be what you want it to be, but it can still be something awesome. So here we go. I had a sip, it was bland and boring, but how do i feel. I feel a sudden sense of mental clarity, my nose is starting to run, meaning it loosened the hardened mucous in my nose that has been making a tremendous amount of snot that has been hardening along my nasal cavity for the past.. gosh, i dont know, ever since I've been here, but more often the past few weeks. I had to start putting oil in my nose every day just to try to keep it down, but this tea, is very clearly, loosening the mucous and making it run... not a bad thing, just need some kleenex and a place to spit out the mucous that is now coming up from my throat. Also, a good thing in my mind, as this climate is dry, and even your mucous dries up and sticks around (no pun intended). Loosening it up a bit and getting it out can be pesky and annoying, but we all know, expelling mucous from ones body, as annoying as it might be, is fundamentally a good thing, kind of like having a bowel movement. You are just getting the shit out of your body. So thanks, elderberry. You are a friend. Also, my stomach was feeling weak and agitated, definitely a result of a rocky relationship I had been having with a close friend, that was making me borderline crazy. My stomach was in knots and feeling just as jumpy and uncomfortable as my emotions and mind. I feel a strength settling in there, like a good book, that resolves your inner conflict, and makes it all make sense, or just takes the edge off, since certain things bring calm to your spirit, like a book that puts nice ideas into your head, or a movie that brings that happy feeling, and totally takes you away from whatever it was in your head, because it's always, and all, in our head... and brings you to a happy place. That happened to my stomach from elderberry. I feel anchored in my stomach. The butterflies are dispelled into the air to fight their own wretched battles, and my tummy is full with the sense that hey.. go fuck yourself fairy tale worries, this is all in your head.. and i'm gonna fuck you up. Elderberry gives you a certain confidence, that whatever it is that has been bothering you, it is nothing and you are bigger and stronger than that. I like this as a confidence tonic. It is strengthening, no question. I feel like a warrior. Not in a voilent way, like in a Pat Benetar "Shooting at the walls of heartache, bang bang, I am the warrior". That's a bit aggressive. Maybe more like "I am woman, hear me roar". Something more like that, although I like the strength that this gives in the face of something menacing and threatening. It's telling me, you don't need to fight. It's okay, your battle is imaginary. The threat is only a figment of your imagination, as it almost. always. is. Or rather, it's how you percieve it, or if you let it ... Well, I just wrote happy birthday my love, to my aunt.. so, there must be something incredibly healing (and heart-opening) to this tea, because although I am always kind, it's not something I would ordinarily say, and perhaps, it gives you courage when it comes to love, to just be as loving as you can, and not hold back. We all have it in us. Don't we? Although they say that Hawthorn is the heart tea, I believe I just stumbled upon one that is just as good. Elderberry, the tea for your heart :)