20 November 2010 — This post may not initially appear to have anything to do with plastic. Just wait. Read on to the end.
I love mi
nt tea. It’s a primal sort of thing. There is something about the smell of fresh whole peppermint that puts me in another state of being – it’s such an ethereal, magical fragrance. For me it’s tinged with comfy homey memories of Mom, cozy warmth, an Olbas oil neck massage, summer, deep velvety green, hot mint tea by the fire on a snowy winter day.
Right now I’m on peppermint leaf removal duty. This is not an arduous task. It is a supreme pleasure. My fingers are perfumed by the leaves. We share a garden with our neighbour Peter, and this mint comes from there. He’s a master gardener and master accordian player. Tons of talent, that guy; I learn a lot from him. I harvested it a few weeks ago and it has been drying on our basement radiant floor ever since. So tonight I decided to take all the dry leaves off the stems to prepare my winter stock of peppermint for tea. It’s slow going because there is a lot. I drink a lot of mint tea. When I’m done I’ll have a couple of large jars full of delectable mint leaves, just yearning to impart their magic through a boiling water bath for a few minutes. Then into my body to shimmer my soul.
Not all mint teas are made alike. When I’m out of the fresh gold, I use bulk leaves or tea bags bought from a store. And I can now immediately sense the quality of the tea after the first sip. If it’s really good, I’ll know as soon as I smell it. But nothing compares to peppermint grown with love in one’s garden. I do believe plants respond to our personal energies, and when they sense love, they respond in kind. But that’s a deep topic for another post.
As write this, I’m listening to Beck’s album, The Information. Here’s the information that I will wrap this post up with, and hopefully it will bring it all home for you, make it all make sense… Mint is so real. It is full of the richness of life. The best life has to offer. It feeds and stimulates the senses in profound positive ways. Clothed in rich lush green, it is one of those special messengers of Mother Earth, full of symbolism and beauty. It says with elegant simplicity, “To know me is to love me and the Earth that grows me.”
When I hold a piece of plastic, it just doesn’t seem real. Oh yeah, it isn’t. It’s fake – synthetic chemicals – and it’s tricky stuff. Take polycarbonate, made of bisphenol A. One of the reasons the plastics industry loves it for consumer products is precisely because it does not have an odour. So it releases dangerous junk into our food, drink, skin, air, but you have no way of knowing this unless you do some complex expensive testing. Mint, on the other hand, imparts an odour that reflects its reality and makes the world a better place.
Maybe it’s not a fair comparison: mint vs BPA. But it struck me tonight so I thought I’d share it with you. I’ll take the natural over the synthetic any day. And now back to mint removal duty. I’m only half done. The mint is lovely dark and deep, and I have miles to go before I sleep.
-Jay Sinha, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com
(Image via: http://www.indiamarks.com/guide/Chatpati-Chutney-and-delicious-Ready-Powder-recipes-/879)