A friend recently gifted me some Black Spruce resin all the way from the Eastern side of Canada. It’s pretty amazing how certain things find their way to you when you need them the most.
This resin came from a Black Spruce that had uprooted in a storm and fell across the walking path. My friend gathered up the dried sap, which was laying in the melting snow, into the warm nest of his pocket. When I first opened the little packet, I thought it was Frankincense, but then its scent was more gentle somehow, and sweeter. It also left a sticky powder on my hands.
I thought of this giant and how it had been defeated by its surroundings; the harsh winds and unforgiving landscape dooming it to a permanent state of bed-rest and eventual decay. And yet there it was, still oozing out its precious golden sap regardless.
A few weeks earlier I had spent some time in my home country South Africa, as well as Botswana, where circumstances required that I take anti-malaria medication as a precaution. As soon as I started taking this I could feel my body’s silent protest. The joint in my little finger started to ache and my dreams turned vividly darker. Because we were staying in camps that were open to pretty much any and all wildlife, waking up to the roars of lions nearby meant that my adrenals were working overtime. On returning to South Africa, and then to Canada, I could feel that my body was taking strain and I made a mental note to look into finding something to support my adrenals.
It was not until after I received the healing resin from my friend did I find out that Black Spruce is known to strengthen and support the adrenal glands during times of stress and fatigue. According to the blog Essence of Thyme, Black Spruce is grounding and sedating while at the same time uplifting. It is wonderful when working with the root (1st chakra) and heart (4th chakra). It assists us in working with our shadow side thus allowing a higher vibration to occur.
It’s actually incredible how much support there is available to us from the natural world. I think in general we’re so stuck in the mindset that it’s not possible to receive what we need, so we don’t even ask. And then continually not receiving strengthens this belief even more. What is the answer to our asking that we’re not yet willing to see? Perhaps it’s so far out of our habitual perceptions that we don’t yet see it as our answer, or part of our answer.
This is something I’m working on; opening up my mind to immense possibility. I think the more time we spend in awe of the natural world around us, and just how magnificent it really is, the more we allow ourselves to receive what we really need.
