Nursing is a beautiful and noble profession.  To tend to another’s physical wounds is a true act of service.  We are wise, however, to remember that a certain amount of pain in life is indeed the growth and evolution process.  A friend of mine says it this way:  “Help people, but not TOO much.”  It seems so simple, but the discernment is the hard part, especially with those we love dearly.  Our helping can be a hindrance if we take on another’s pain, especially if it is emotional pain, and we prevent them from becoming uncomfortable enough to have their own epiphany or discover their need to do their own mental or emotional remediation.  We can go a lifetime care-taking someone else’s emotional needs only to find out one day when we step away, that they certainly never thanked us for it and on the contrary, resent us for it, and now are left with no tools of their own to do the work.  First and foremost, we each have a responsibility to care for our own wounding.

Sometimes we all need to bleed a little to flush out the wound.  For the times it is appropriate to caretake another’s wounds, Cistus aka Rock Rose, takes center stage in my apothecary chest.  This essential oil, to me, is the natural version of Superglue.  I love the stories about Superglue being invented to do emergency wound repair on the battlefield.  Cistus has similar gifts.  Open wounds and cuts, when they receive her, stick and glue back together.  This oil has an amazing ability to act as a coagulant and simultaneously fights infection in the wound.  I try to remember to take her on all my outdoor adventures for just this reason.  The sweetness of the oil, is the friend that helps us up and brushes us off, and the immune stimulation properties certainly come to aid when we are injured.