Journal
There are certain summers that quietly become part of our collective memory, and this already feels like one of them. Weeks of exceptional heat have changed the landscape before our eyes. Lawns that would normally be green have faded to gold, gardens are showing the strain of prolonged dry weather and conversations that once began with "How are you?" now often begin with "Have you had any rain?" Across the world, headlines have been filled with heatwaves, wildfires and record temperatures, reminding us that the relationship between people and the natural world has perhaps never felt more immediate.
I think many people have forgotten what it feels like to be truly alone with their own thoughts.
Collagen.
Youโve seen it.
Powders. Pills. Peptides. Promises.
And yetโฆ very few are talking about what collagen actually is, what it does, and more importantly โ how your body already knows exactly how to make it.
Now youโre here, sit somewhere you can breathe a little deeperโฆ somewhere you feel comfortable.
Today marks the first official day of spring in the UK โ a seasonal shift we often celebrate symbolically, yet rarely consider deeply enoughโฆ..
March is not an impressive month.
It doesnโt arrive with the confidence of June or the colour of April. In fact, if you were in a hurry you could walk straight through March and miss it entirely.
But thatโs only if youโre paying attention.
February has a particular way of drawing our attention inward. Itโs the month that places the heart front and centre โ often loudly, often superficially โ yet for many of us it becomes one of the most quietly reflective points in the year.
So when the topic of the gut emerged in my studies, it felt like a natural place to pause and reflectโฆโฆ.
Itโs been a minuteโฆ.
Not because there was nothing to say โ but because I didnโt want to write just to follow the noise. January is loud. Full of declarations, reinventions, and pressure to emerge as something โnewโ. And if Iโm honest, the New Year, New Me narrative has never sat comfortably with me.
Lately, Iโve been reflecting on discernment โ a word that used to sound heavier than it actually is. We use it as if it belongs only to ancient sages or scholars, but really, discernment is simply the ability to see clearly in a noisy world.
As Iโve moved through my herbal medicine studies these past months โ while navigating my own recovery, shifts in my health, and trying to keep perspective when life presents both detours and divine timing โ I keep returning to this one plant action that has captured my whole heart: mucilages.
There are moments in life that arrive without announcement. Small, quiet openings where someone elseโs world brushes against yours, and for a second, everything slows. Today, I found myself standing inside one of those moments โ unexpected, tender, and deeply human.

