Chamomile for Patience

Chamomile, Anthemis nobilis

Chamomile’s message is patience. Although we seek the presence of a muse that lets the words flow, we sometimes just need patience. Patience with those interruptions to our “perfectly reasonable” writing schedule; patience to let ideas grow and mature before they are committed to paper; patience to rewrite and edit; and patience with ourselves.

Chamomile tea was used by the early Egyptians to warm and relax people with malarial chills. A calming chamomile bath was suggested to patients by Dioscorides, the Greek military doctor who served in Nero’s army. Today, we have scientific evidence that chamomile helps to relieve stress. Its volatile oil compounds act like a mild sedative which relieves feelings of anxiety.

Perhaps it was this knowledge that led Peter Rabbit’s mother to give him chamomile tea when he overate while visiting Mr. McGregor’s vegetable garden.

Picture the small daisy-like flowers with their deep yellow, cone-like centers encircled with white petals. This lovely plant was once known as the “plant’s physician” because it was thought to keep disease away from other plants. It grows easily and self-seeds, coming back year after year.

We keep chamomile in our Memoir Garden and turn our thoughts to it whenever we need a calming influence.

Visit our Writer’s Store with its products for encouragement and sharing that feature many of the herbs from our Memoir Garden.