Dragonflies, Synchronicity, and other Reflections from the Lost Skills Gathering

Me, Brandon, and Nathan hanging out after the Lost Skills Gathering

At the risk of sounding cliche, I have to say it. The Universe has a plan. 

In my belief system that would be God. However you describe it, it is always rather interesting when you see how pieces of your life fit together with other people. It’s astonishing, really. 

I often wonder if I would have been able to appreciate and acknowledge the synchronicities if I had stayed the ‘normal path’ of a classroom teacher rather than this journey of self discovery, exploration, and reflection that being an herbalist provides. This is just another gift of following the herbal path- being able to spend time in nature, listening to it, and listening to myself as I flow and grow with the seasons of the year. 

This is all to say, I love when it all comes together right. 

And on October 3rd, at the first ever Lost Skills Gathering in Coshocton, Ohio, it all did. Brandon Elijah Scott of Woodland Herbal invited me to speak at this incredible event- one that would have piqued my interest even if I hadn’t been invited. This event allows folks have an opportunity to learn from a vast array of craftsmen (and women!) who are happy to share their skills with the public. 

This was my first opportunity to speak on the main stage at a conference, and I was genuinely honored when Brandon asked if I would be interested. He’s one of those friends on Facebook that you don’t actually know in real life, but have many mutual friends. That surreal experience of being friends-but-not-friends, voyeuristically seeing what they’re up to if it shows up on your feed, but otherwise having no idea who they are. Well, there are times that I do actually appreciate social media, because it led me to a kindred spirit. 

The first thing that appealed to me was what the event offered, but once I realized the mission and consideration for the community (tickets were only $15 - and even cheaper earlier), I knew the folks putting this on had their hearts in the right place. And I will always make an effort to support organizations and events who are doing the Good Work. So I packed up my car with some of my vending gear, just in case anyone was interested, grabbed my husband, and we drove six hours through the beautiful autumnal foliage and mountain highways west to Ohio. 

JP doesn’t usually come with me to any of my herb things. He has been at a couple vending events with me, but he hasn’t seen me teach anything since we worked together at a high school. I traded my sensible business casual sweater and slacks for an off-the-shoulder flowy tunic and bellbottom jeans, my whiteboard and classroom desks for an open-air pavilion and folding chairs, and my Romeo and Juliet Act II review for a talk about how plants speak to us. It was nice to have him with me for this experience, especially because he had to take off work, trade a valuable weekend (he had to bail on a conference), and sit for hours and hours just for me. His support and positivity throughout the whole thing was new and profound, and has since strengthened our relationship; that weekend was transformative in a number of ways. 

This was the first time I had given a sixty minute talk (those of you that know me know I can go much longer than that) without a slideshow. I know- that’s probably not a big deal. But as a teacher who was typically using Powerpoint as a visual aid for students, and then for myself to stay on track, I was a little nervous taking off my training wheels. I was also lined up to speak before the keynote speaker, Nathan Wright. Yikes. Plus, I was giving a talk about something I hadn’t done before: discussing our relationship with plants as a missing piece of working with herbs, how to listen to them, and how our communication with them will heal the Earth. While I did write it all out and tried to review it a few times before my talk, something kept coming up that distracted me from being able to finish going over the second half of it. So when the time came to give my talk, after five hours of sleep and six hours of continuous teaching/ talking to visitors, I had to say screw it. I decided to speak from the heart. And something magical happened. 

Mid talk, sans Dragonfly

Once I got to the part of my talk where I bridge listening to nature and the importance of reciprocity to caring for the Earth, a friend showed up. A dragonfly. It kept buzzing around me, and when I thought it had just passed through (we were at Clary Gardens, afterall), he would come back. At one point he just about landed on my microphone. It was a pretty incredible experience. A ‘yes,’ some would say. Confirmation. It felt like a long time, but may have only been for three minutes. However, I took this as a sign that I was on the right path-  saying the right things and doing the right things in that moment. Speaking from the heart about my love for the land and all she provides. 

Dragonflies are often a sign of transformation, of growth, and how fitting that this was also, I think, the first time I completed something and actually felt really good about it. Previously, after each podcast, interview, class, etc, I would come out focusing on what I screwed up or what I forgot. For the first time I felt truly proud of what I had put out there and confident that the message came through the way it was supposed to. This was a very different experience, to speak on personal esoteric topics rather than herbal actions and extraction techniques.

The next day, after the excitement and energy of the gathering was over, Brandon and I had a chance to share our thoughts on the direction of herbalism and our experiences. As I find myself in this new space of exploration and how I am being called on the herbal path, it was refreshing to hear many of my own thoughts and feelings echoed through him. It feels a lot less alone, less intimidating, and more assured when God places the right people in your life at the right time. Synchronicity. We’re in this together, taking our varied strands of the same fiber and weaving them together into a tapestry where even we don’t really know what the final image will reveal. 

I am continually amazed, continually surprised, continually grateful for being a part of the herbal community. It provides a respite for ugly out there, in the ‘real world.’ And while I’m sure I’m not aware of all the yuck that happens in it, which are found in all organizations and groups where humans are naturally going to show true colors, I find it is still, at its core, a wholesome place where good intentions and Good Work outweigh the darker slide of humanity. 

Just another reason I am glad to have found the herbal path, and the beautiful people I have met along the way.