I struggle sometimes to talk to clients about mindfulness. It sounds like a little bit of a cop-out. Or like I’m Gwyneth Paltrow-ing them. It’s become such a buzzword, it can be received as condescending by someone who has very real problems they need treated. No, breathwork or chewing your food slower isn’t going to solve all your problems.
Mindfulness is a tool, not a solution.
Practicing mindfulness simply means being aware of the present moment without judgement. When we are mindful, we simply attempt to fully bring our awareness to our thoughts, our emotions and our senses. It may seem simple, but it is incredibly effective. Studies show that mindfulness can reduce anxiety and depression, improve subjective overall well-being, lessen emotional reactivity and increase behavior regulation.¹
The problem is, for someone with, say, sexual trauma, asking them to be aware of their body can be deeply uncomfortable. To ask someone with anxiety or obsessive compulsive tendencies to bring attention to their thoughts may be overwhelming. Sometimes, the ability to be mindful is a goal, not the path. Which is why I like to use tasks as a way of practicing mindfulness. By focusing on something outside ourselves, we allow ourselves to be fully present in our environment and this can, in turn, quiet our minds.
When we focus on the task we are doing, we are able to connect to the present moment.
Foraging was my COVID hobby. I mean, everyone had one, right? Some people were baking bread, but I started hunting for weeds along my bike path. To me, the fun of foraging is that you’re looking for something. There’s a little bit of a thrill, a payoff, when you find what you’re looking for. It keeps it from getting tedious. They say slot machines are addictive because they give you an intermittent dopamine reward. Well, foraging is a great way to achieve this for free.
But possibly the best part of foraging is that it gets you outside. It’s a great excuse to be in nature, and this has its own benefits. Even brief exposure to nature can enhance cognitive function and memory, lower stress, improve mood and overall mental health.² In Japan, the practice of “forest bathing” (or Shinrin-yoku) is considered an important aspect of preventative medicine.
There are endless items you can forage and for endless reasons.
If you’re a very novice forager, simply foraging for flower arrangements and wreaths is a great excuse to wander around in the woods. Where I live, mushroom hunting in the spring and fall is a popular pastime. If you’re interested in getting really into it and live in the midwest, I can’t recommend this book enough. It was my bible when I started out. But a really basic and accessible way to start foraging is just to start with the wild violets in your own front yard.
Violets pop up here in the midwest late March to early April. They last until it starts to get too warm, usually sometime in late May. There are hundreds of types of violets in the genus, but the “common blue violet” is the one you’re likely to find in your front yard or while strolling along any grassy area. They’re incredibly prolific, so you shouldn’t have any trouble at all finding them if you live in zones 3-9. Incidentally, the lovely African violets that are popular as houseplants are NOT the same, and definitely not edible. Please don’t eat them. You will get sick.
What you will need to make candied violets:
-Parchment paper
-A baking sheet
-Superfine baker’s sugar (caster sugar)
-Egg whites (you can used pasteurized powdered egg white if you don’t want to use raw)
-Vodka
-A pastry brush or paint brush (I prefer silicon pastry brushes!)
The first time I made these, I didn’t have superfine sugar, so I tried to use a mixture of powdered and granulated sugar. You can certainly do it this way, but they won’t come out looking as pretty. I had a bit of a hard time finding superfine sugar in stores. If your local grocery doesn’t have it (or if it’s not worth an extra trip), you can order it here from Amazon.
As you can see, my first batch didn’t look quite so pretty. The second time, I not only used superfine sugar, which gives a nice “glazed” look, I also used a little bit of vodka. The vodka dries the flowers faster, and I think helped preserve the shape of the flowers and kept them from wilting. I highly recommend using it. (You could probably use another type of alcohol but vodka won’t affect the flavor.)
Step 1
Pick your violets. Mindfully. Of course. You want to find violets that are in good shape without browning edges or torn petals. I trust you’ll know a high quality violet when you see it. Preferably, find your violets in spaces where you know they aren’t sprayed or treated with pesticides.
Make sure you pick them with the stem still attached. The stem will help you during the candying process.
Step 2
Beat 1 egg white until frothy. Mix in a few drops of vodka. Use a paint brush or pastry brush to coat the petals with the egg white on both sides.
You will want to work fast. Your violets will start to wilt quickly. You can slow it down in the refrigerator, but I recommend you do the candying within an hour of picking.
Step 3
Sprinkle the flower with sugar evenly on both sides. Set it on the baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Step 4
Let your flowers dry for 48 hours somewhere cool and dry. (I sat mine on top of my kitchen cabinets, but a pantry would be fine if you have one.)
Step 5
Gently cut the stems off each violet. I suggest you use kitchen scissors, because the violets will be very delicate and trying to pull the stems off will likely damage your flowers.
Step 6
Enjoy! Your violets will keep for a couple of months in an airtight container.
A lot of the recipes online claim the prep time is 10-15 minutes. LOL. They are liars! I’ll be real with you, the process is a little tedious and time consuming, especially if you’re doing a lot of flowers. But that’s all part of the whole practicing mindfulness thing, right?
- Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clinical psychology review, 31(6), 1041–1056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006
- Jimenez, M. P., DeVille, N. V., Elliott, E. G., Schiff, J. E., Wilt, G. E., Hart, J. E., & James, P. (2021). Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(9), 4790. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094790
