The healing power of food and plants.

Recently, I’ve been retelling two folktales about food. One story describes the joy of having abundant food. The next story talks about poverty and what food shortage can cause people to do to children.

You can read them here: The joy and tragedy of food.

As usual, This led me down other paths of thoughts, the main one being about the healing power of food and plants.

I’ve known people who have lowered their cholesterol by simply choosing the right food, and exercising. I’ve seen others stay healthy for years by eating the right types of food and herbs.

Speaking of herbs…I’ve solved a problem that’s been troubling my mother. For months, she’d been complaining about itchy scalp. I have no idea what was causing the problem. We consulted her doctor, we tried many solutions. Nothing worked. Finally, out of desperation, I picked up a rosemary and mint serum in the hair products section in the supermarket. I treated her scalp with the serum and, lo and behold, the itching has eased up…in fact, it’s more than eased up, it’s gone for days until she washes her hair.

Thinking further about this, I remember a friend telling me about Ayurvedic healing. And another telling me about the doctor she once worked with…the doctor practised homeopathy. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m very grateful to doctors and modern medicine, but I do believe that nature also offers healing products, and with the right training, a person can guide a patient towards a healthy lifestyle.

Have you ever thought of getting into a business that’s based on healthy food and plants? There’s a huge market for food that’s not only good for us…it’s delicious.

Go on, don’t squash your dreams. Give it a try! The possibilities are endless. Later this week, I will share some ideas in the Money Tab.

Travel!

I’ve recently been writing about a book I enjoyed when an idea struck me. 

First, let me explain a little about the book.

The book is set in Jamaica during World World Two. The story takes you from a plantation home owned by a wealthy white family, through delightful landscape, into a community deep in the mountains. In the story, there are beaches. Old city streets. There’s a verandah. A church. A school. An inn. 

The community in the mountains is made up of descendants of runaway, enslaved people. I have been there!! Spent an evening hiking, eating, sleeping, hiking some more the next day.

Writing about the book I thought: what if someone were to start a book tourism business for book lovers? Take them to places mentioned in the book? Eat the food the people ate?

And for those of us who can’t afford to travel to other countries…wouldn’t it be great if the enterprising person recreated scenes from the book, served the food, drinks, played the music in some book setting? Have characters dressed up like those in the book of the day…or month?

For more ideas starting a book loving business, check the money list.

Ahhhh. The possibilities are endless.

Flowers.

Recently, my mother received bunches of flowers for her birthday. 

This got me thinking about flowers, their importance to us, to earth. 

Would you believe…there are men who think that flowers are a waste of garden space? This, of course, gets me huffed up, jumping on to my soapbox and lecturing them about the importance of flowers to the birds, the bees and all the other insects. 

We two-legged critters need them also. Simply by being around them, they soothe us, help to reduce stress, anxiety, lower blood pressure. Can you imagine our world without the fragrance and beauty of flowers? As John Denver used to sing, their loveliness can cheer a cloudy day.

Flowers heal us physically too. They help us sleep, fight off infection; they’re good for digestion, for soothing away pain and can treat circulation problems. The anti-inflammatory properties of certain flowers are well-known in the herbal healing world. 

Hmm. See where I’m going with flowers and business? The flower industry is massive, yet there can never be enough people in this business, and the potential to earn from one niche only is huge.

Yes! The possibilities are endless! Go on, give it a try.

I’ll be sharing some ideas in the money list soon! Check back later…

SweetBabyTreats.

Imagine this:

The rain’s soaked you to the bone, you’re home now, you’ve had a warm shower, you’re in comfy clothes. It’s Friday evening and you don’t feel like going anywhere. You’ve had some hot soup with sour dough bread. 

Now, you want to curl up with a nice book. Or it’s you and Netflix.

Big happy SIGH!!

You drink hot cocoa or milky tea, or coffee, and you indulge in some sweetbabytreats which you can find on Instagram. You’ve ordered this in advance and you keep it in your fridge for a day just like this!

Baby! This is life!

See? This is what I’m talking about…you can take a skill and turn it into a small business. 

Go for it, the possibilities are endless!

You Don’t Need To Be A Writer To Sell Words!!

Hello!! On Sunday, on Substack, I was writing about the way writers are looked down upon in certain cultures. I still need to think about it, why writers…more specifically, book authors…are seen as time-wasters. Unless, of course, they make it big!!

Humph!! Come to think of it, I’ve seen authors online saying that, despite making a good living thanks to their books, their families have asked them, “When are you going to get a proper job?” This, even though these authors make more money than their families.

Oh well! As one woman told me, “To each his own.”

That said, if you love words but don’t want to actually write, have you ever thought of running a business where you play with words, sell words, invite the crowd in to take part in your passion?

And I don’t mean bookstores. Or songwriting. Or even getting paid to write blogs and emails for others who don’t want generic AI slop.

It involves bringing people together, playing games, helping singles to meet, match-making.

Listen up! There are so many lonely people out there, this can be your chance to help people find new friends, and inspire them to be more active in their community. Also, with the threat of jobs disappearing thanks to AI, this your chance to create something of your own, something AI cannot do…bringing the community together in joy.

The possibilities are endless!

P.S. Have fun thinking up ideas for using this other than for writing with!!

In the school of imagination...

What do you do when problems bite hard, sinking teeth into you and draining you? How do you cope? 

I think about my grandmothers who, despite the troubles they encountered, in spite of how they felt, carried on with the tasks at hand.

I am pleased to say that, like my grandmothers, I tend to manage (though I do struggle immensely, emotionally). I plod my way through my chores, take care of my mother, the cooking, the cleaning. 

Unfortunately, certain things get parked in the corner until I can dust them, shine them again. Writing here was one of those activities that I've put away for a while.

Thank goodness though, I've been doing creative writing, and it has helped a LOT! Never, ever underestimate the power of creative work to lift you. Remember how we turned to creative activities during COVID? We discovered new recipes, we knitted, did embroidery, we sang, listened to music, we learnt to draw, write poetry. 

I hope, if you're seeing this, you've continued exploring your creative side. Here are three solid reasons why:

Playing a musical instrument keeps the mind sharp

Doing art, exploring, experimenting, no matter how small the object, helps us to develop our imagination, gives us new ways of seeing our lives (have a look at lisi-tana's latest exploration of the small things we take for granted but which complete the pictures in our daily lives: aaand...done).

(A most delightful little piece of art by Lisi-tana.)

Writing poetry is healing.

We don't have to be famous, wealthy, supremely talented, to explore the Arts. We don't have to try to do it for a living. We simply need to be curious.

Here are a couple of questions to trigger your imagination: what can you do with plastic bottles, straw, sticks, old pens? That empty box, what could you make with it? 

I've seen plastic bottles be used to make bricks, green houses, boats. I've seen doll houses made with cardboard boxes. 

Can you think of anything else?

Who knows what you can achieve by playing with your imagination, what fantastic creation you can come up with, what great business idea you can develop.

Check the Money List for suggestions to start an Imagination Business.

You’ll never know until you’ve tried. Go on. Try. The possibilities are endless.

Wash Away Your Worries.

In the previous post, I wrote about PAUSE and, in the Money section, I listed a few suggestions as to what you can do to start a business of your own...the Business of Pause.

Being an avid booklover, I'd like to suggest that a bookshop is a wonderful Pause Business. As a book lover, walking into a bookstore strolling along the aisles, flipping through books, the outside world disappears; I exist only in that place, in the strange worlds amongst those pages.

Ha.

If only we could convince more people to read more books. Bookshops would flourish; our minds would find that wonderful escape we so need at times. The benefits of reading are endless. I could go on, but I will save that for another day. 

Let's continue with the Business of Pause, the business of helping others relax, to soothe the troubled brow.

Now, don't laugh if you read this, but...SOAP!!

Yes, SOAP!! 

I've got this fab scented body-wash (which is just a fancy name for liquid soap) that my cousin gave me a year ago. 

I save it for special evenings, those evenings when I feel overwhelmed, fed up, sad. I shower with warm water and my fabulous body-wash, and believe you me, I feel my frowns fade, my smiles return. I go to bed chillaxed! 

So yeah, there is nothing like showering with the right soap for instant feel-good. 

Now, think about it! What if you could market soap in various ways. 

Soap with books. Soap with a podcast...

In the Money section, I will make a list.

If you think I'm talking air, and it's not possible for you, take a look at Starfish Oils in Jamaica. They started out small, selling aromatherapy oil at craft markets; labels were handwritten in the early days. Now, check out their collection of soap here!

So go on, have fun dreaming up what you’d like to do, and starting your own thing, yeah. Remember, the possibilities are endless.

Card by lisi-tana