I spent the weekend in Woodbury, Vermont at Wisdom of the Herbs School.  For two days we walked on the land, slowly, meeting early spring wild edibles and flowers.

On Sunday, George, one of our teachers, put this idea out to the class:

There is nothing wrong with the world.

For two days, I have not been able to leave this thought.  Wild leeks, corn lily, blue

cohosh, trillium, spring beauty, marsh marigold, American dwarf ginseng, trout lily, wild lettuce, coltsfoot, and dutchman’s breeches–these plants are evidence.  There is nothing wrong with the world.

And yet, how quickly that notion can become lost in anxiety during conversations of genetically modified food, habitat destruction, and carbon levels.  How strong the pull of sadness can be–so strong that I sometimes find myself grieving for the world.

And yet, yellow-bellied sap-suckers, chickadees, red-winged black birds, robins, goldfinches, white-breasted nuthatches, crows and ravens–these birds are evidence.  There is nothing wrong with the world.

Annie, our herbal teacher, said to us: Humans do belong here.  We have a special place in the world–our feet are rooted in the earth and our heads are in the heavens.

We do have the power of balance.

We can remember this.

There is nothing wrong with the world.

There is nothing wrong with the world, so let us look deeply and ask, what is it that really needs to change?  And then let us remember how to balance.