The Simple Things: For Health and Joy

While foraging for rose hips in this late afternoon, I found myself thinking about and appreciating the simple things in life, and how much I count on them.  For me, the coming of fall is full of these simple pleasures.  They bring health and they bring joy.

Every September I seem to have this inner list of fall experiences and rituals.  Walking to my favorite wild rose patch and picking the rose hips before they get too soft from the rain is one of them.  It’s the walking out amongst the  trees and fields on a September day when the sun is soon going to fall below the Oregon coast range of mountains in the west about 70 miles away. Then picking the red-orange nuggets off the plant full of stickers which will find their way to my drying trays and eventually to the glass jars for storage and then eventually in my pot of water to simmer as a decoction for winter immune support.  Rose hips are the fruit of the wild rose plant.  The main active compounds are ascorbic acid, flavonoids, quercetin, gallic acid, and ellagic acid.  If you want some of the geeky science on rose hips, and its therapeutic applications there is a comprehensive paper published in 2017. ( Marmol I,Sanchez-de-Diego C, Jimenez-Moreno N, et al. Therapeutic Applications of Rose Hips from Different Rosa Species.  Int J Mol Science 2017 May 25;18(6):1137. )

In the Pacific Northwest, the simple pleasures of fall are all around in addition to the rose hips harvesting: The maple tree leaves are just starting to turn colors, and a few are dropping.  Their main health benefit to me is the constant raking that will soon be required.  No leaf blower for me.  The very last of my beloved wild blackberries are still on the vine—not as sweet or nearly as many as a month ago, but I still enjoy them.  One cup of blackberries provides 8 gm of fiber!  With a low glycemic index, they are one of the best fruits for friendly effects on blood sugar, are rich in anthocyanins, rich in vitamin C, and all that soluble fiber helps to lower LDL.  I am fortunate to have the land and to have the interest and experience to grow a robust supply of vegetables.  Tomatoes, kale, lettuce, green beans, summer and winter squash, cucumbers, beets, snow peas, apples and pears from the small orchard, and one of my favorites to grow—- potatoes.  So fun , digging them up in the early fall and finding gem after gem.  It’s like an easter egg hunt.  I feel grateful for the healthy  and robust amount of food I get to eat and enjoy but one of the greatest joys is to prepare baskets and bags of food to share with friends, family, and patients.

I hope you can enjoy some simple pleasures for health and joy wherever you are.  The seasonal changes in the vegetation in your locale, perhaps full of color and memories.  Possibly the geese soon flying overhead on their way south.   Maybe you are beginning to enjoy the onset of cooler temperatures from your summer heat, or maybe those crisp evenings and mornings signaling the change in season.

Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, maybe you can look for an opportunity to enjoy some mindful deep breaths, a quiet time in the night that brings you peace of mind, a good soak in a hot bath, a bird outside on a tree limb or the sound of something in nature that only attentive listening brings.

I’m off, to drink some brewed dried rose hips tea from last season, a dinner of garden vegetables, a spirit full of gratitude  and then yes to top off the day… a good tv show!!!!