CHAPTER ONE
“I just celebrated my 50th birthday. No over-the-hill cards for me! After all, I’m only 50 — a child still! My rowdy group of friends, all nearing or past the half-century mark, kicked up their heels and had a great time. We danced through the night, told stories of the mythological garlic queens, and traveled back and forth through time, sharing past stories and dreaming up future ones, stopping nowhere for long. None of us mentioned getting older as if it were a disease to be avoided or the big joke of youth. All of us felt enriched by the years, graced by the touch of wisdom and a life rich with experience.”
It’s hard to believe I wrote the above words 15 years ago. As I write now, I’ve just celebrated my 65th birthday. Though I celebrated it with a bit less fanfare, I still wonder what this “getting older” is all about. I know it’s all relative, of course, but 65 feels almost the same as 50, which felt almost the same as 40, with just a few more years added to reflect on and a few more memories to look back on.
How Old Are You?
Someone once asked me, “If you didn’t know how old you were, how old would you be?”
Some years ago, I was talking to an elderly friend who had just turned 84. Sprite-like and alive as ever, Tasha Tudor was still actively writing and painting. She homesteaded on her farm, gardened, milked her goats, and was active as ever in her bucolic arts. She confided to me that on her 83rd birthday, when she passed by a mirror and saw her reflection in it, her first question was, “Who’s that person in the mirror?” Still childlike, Tasha held the heart and energy of a young child within the grace and beauty of more than eight decades of active living. And she did so until she died at the age of 91, peacefully and gracefully, in her bed at home.
Another of my mentors, Juliette de Bairacli Levy, lived to be 98. A gypsy at heart, Juliette still traveled the world at age 85 with little more than a few bags of belongings, a vast storehouse of wisdom, and friends in every port. Though the years slowed her down a bit, she still managed to get to New Zealand, the Azores, and Switzerland. Many people don’t travel that much in a lifetime, let alone as an elder.
Master Li Ch’ing Yuen
Master Li Ch’ing Yuen, a Chinese herbalist, was born in 1678 in the hill country of southwest China. While still a “young man” of 50, he met a venerable old sage who maintained his exquisite health by drinking a soup daily made from tonic herbs. Master Li started drinking this broth. He met several more elderly sages and learned secrets of longevity from each. His efforts and commitment were well rewarded; he lived to the age of 252, was married 14 times, and lived through 11 generations of his own descendants (almost 200 in his lifetime). He died in 1930 after a banquet in his honor. Though Master Li Ch’ing Yuen’s story is hard to believe, modern-day scholars have verified his age.
Adelle Dawson, another of my great friends and mentors, was a well-known and beloved herbalist who passed away at 94. She was fond of saying, “So long as they think we’re crazy, we’re safe,” and off she would be on another adventure. When asked, as she frequently was, what her secret was for her long life and vibrant energy, she always answered very solemnly, with a twinkle in her green and wondrous eyes, “One must be very careful whom one chooses for one’s parents.” I would visit her often, and she would greet me at the doorway of her old farmhouse with her famous sweet anise liqueur — homemade, of course — and a chuckle filled with the sweet elixir of youth.
My mother, Jasmine Karr, turns 90 this year. There are few people who have retained their youthful energy and joyful enthusiasm for life as well as she has. Truly one of my greatest teachers, mentors, and friends, my mother embraces all that’s good about the “golden years.” She made being 80 look like fun and something we should all look forward to. For the first time this year, when she visited over the summer, she said, “Rosie, I feel I’m getting older.” I asked her what that felt like, and she said, “I feel like everything in me is a bit slower. . . .”
As these extraordinary women have shown us, you really are only as old — or as young — as you feel.
Aging and Well-Being
These elders are models for wellness and longevity. Not seekers of the nebulous fountain of youth or charmed by ads for ageless skin, they embody the priceless jewels of wisdom, grace, and well-being.
When my twin daughters were young and still living at home, they had many opportunities to meet and share with some of these wise elders. These encounters affected both daughters, expanding their perception of beauty, age, and agelessness. Thanks in part to these friendships, my daughters’ perspective of growing older has little to do with the current notions about aging as something to be avoided; instead they embrace it as part of the remarkable journey life offers.
What is the secret of long life? While genetics can have much to do with longevity, do not underestimate the power of self-care. Herbs can be a powerful and gentle aid to the aging body, helping to regulate energy, boost vitality, and achieve homeostasis. It is also important to get plenty of rest and relaxation. After observing his elderly friends, Dr. H. C. A. Vogel, one of the world’s most beloved nature doctors, said, “Their life is simple and they are moderate in their ways. They work, but do not go without time to rest and relax. They do not go short on sleep and know how to retire, in the proper sense of the word, when night falls; indeed, they are able to shut out the impressions of the day and forget whatever worries there might be. Such people have the ability to overcome the ups and downs of life with a calm and cheerful spirit and without worrying themselves sick.” Born in 1902, Dr. Vogel practiced herbal medicine for nearly 70 years.
What Are We Talking About?
Longevity: a long duration of life (Webster’s)
Vitality: energy, endowed with life; physical or intellectual vigor; the ability to live, grow, and develop (Webster’s)
Well-being: the state of being healthy, happy, or prosperous (Webster’s)
Homeostasis: a maintained state of health where all checks and balances between interdependent elements of mind, body, and spirit are functioning harmoniously (Gregory Tilford, author of From Earth to Herbalist)
Aging Gracefully
There is great faddishness surrounding longevity. Researchers study it madly. Scientists research it. And cosmetic and supplement companies capitalize on it, promising longevity in every bottle. Is there a cosmetic company in the world that doesn’t tout some product that prevents skin from aging, wrinkles from forming, or the chin from sagging? And how easy it is to get caught in this antiaging campaign! For that, in essence, is what this assault really is. It has little to do with health and well-being, peace of mind, and useful service to the world — all things that make life worthy and meaningful whether we’re young or old.
Are You Living a Lifestyle Conducive to Well-Being?
There are countless references and guidelines for living well. Here is a quick “checklist” to see how your life measures up to a lifestyle conducive to radiant well-being and longevity.
Diet. Does what you eat on a regular basis support your well-being? Is it primarily comprised of wholesome organic foods in as whole a form as possible? Do you wake up feeling rejuvenated and energized? If not, what dietary changes are you willing to make to enhance your overall well-being?
Water. How much water do you drink daily? Do you drink chemically treated water? Or do you drink filtered or untreated well or natural spring water? The recommended daily amount of water for adults is two quarts. This will help replace the amount that is lost each day through normal exercise, perspiration, and kidney and bowel elimination.
Air. Air is one of the essential elements of life. Unfortunately, we don’t always have a choice about the quality of the air we breathe. But we do have a choice of how we use our lungs. Are you willing to dedicate a few minutes each day to conscious breathing exercises?
Exercise. The human body needs to move and stretch daily. Do you exercise and move regularly? How many hours per week? What kind of exercise? What can you do to improve the quality of the exercise you do on a daily or weekly basis?
Rest. The body requires two to three hours of deep sleep to rejuvenate; the brain requires six to eight hours. Do you get enough sleep nightly? Do you sleep soundly? Have you discovered the benefit of “power naps” — short, 5- to 10-minute rests two or three times daily? Power naps are not just for old folks and young children; they are wonderfully rejuvenating for anyone!
Hobbies. Hobbies are extracurricular activities, things we do to entertain and stimulate ourselves. Hobbies make life interesting and fun, are mind-expanding, and often extend our circles of friends. What do you do for hobbies and to stimulate your mind?
Maintaining Your Quality of Life
Even in the best of health, eating the best diet, the skin wrinkles and the body shifts and changes with the years. In nature we see these same cycles of change. All living things — trees, flowers, wild animals — go through these cycles of birth, growth, and death. Hopefully, these shifts and changes are rewarded with a productive and vibrant life, the years graced by wisdom and life’s experiences. I have come to believe that our obsession with prolonging life, with little thought to quality, is a reflection of our fear of mortality and the inadequacy of a belief system that fails to connect us to the great web of life.
This book is written not in an effort to prevent aging or even to slow down what is a natural and normal process of life. Rather it is offered to provide insight into this cycle of life and knowledge about plants that fortify and strengthen our life force and bodily functions so that the normal process of aging is filled with the richness and fullness of these years. Used regularly, the tonic and adaptogenic herbs mentioned throughout this book reinforce the body-mind connection, encourage harmony, and generate radiant well-being. They have a long history of use by various cultures around the world, and much of their effectiveness is verified by scientific studies and research.