Welcome, welcome, welcome 2022 Growing Season!
First of all, thank you for your support of Michigan Agriculture & our Certified USDA Organic & Demeter Certified Biodynamic Tea Farm.
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TEA TIME PONDERING: In each newsletter, we include a holistic health element to help support our growth into the highest version of ourselves; to reach our full potential as human beings.
In this newsletter we will be highlighting the importance of expressing ourselves, and in return how to hold the space for others to enjoy a full release, too. It is our intention to help educate and support a healthy release of all the pent up tension many of us have been holding on to, so that we can enjoy feeling lighter, happier, be more loving, and ideally enjoy life more.
By taking proactive steps TODAY, we can begin improving upon our overall health habits.
The theme of this newsletter is about cleaning up our act.
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Now, let's take a look at
"Letting it all out"...
First off, what does this mean?
The expression means "express your thoughts with full emotion".
It means "say how you really feel".
"Tell your true feelings".
It means "to not hold in your feelings and to say and show how you feel".
"To free a person or animal from a place or state of confinement or captivity (physical or emotional)".
"To release or discharge something under pressure".
"To reveal or disclose something, usually of a private or secret nature."
" To release or utter something audibly;
Ex."The lion let out an intimidating roar"
Ex. "Cry or swear if you need to, we'll understand.
Ex. “You'll feel better if you let it all out.”
Ex. "Come on, I'm listening; let it all out! Tell me everything you need to say."
Letting it all out can have the meaning of "being too revealing; addressing a situation with a less-than-average measure of self-restraint".
Verb
To have shed tears, especially from being emotional; to let (someone) out: to liberate (someone); to open the door for (someone)
Synonyms for “let it all out” from the Thesaurus: cried, wept, sobbed, bawled, grieved, wailed, blubbered, whimpered, broke down, cried my eyes out, bawled my eyes out, turned on the waterworks.
Let it all hang out Slang 1. To be completely relaxed. 2. To be completely candid.
HOW TO VENT:
Alleviating emotional distress is important, but do choose a person whom you can trust to keep what you share confidential. Choose someone with the will power to resist the urge to gossip or expose you.
Choosing the right confidant to bear your soul with means someone who’s both worthy of your trust, and is has the emotional capacity to understand as you express your perspective. The goal is for you to feel supported and comforted. To help you see the challenging relationship or situation for what it is, and for what it isn't.
A know-it-all who interrupts you, finishes your sentences, or starts spurting off advice before you have even finished sharing is not ideal.
What you’re looking for here is a person who’s is able to practice patience and restraint; someone who can hear you out fully before interjecting with suggestions about what might possibly be helpful to resolve, or improve your situation.
If the person is not actively listening to you, or you feel rushed to share, it will likely just cause you more angst.
Remember that active listening takes endurance, so consider your listener's limits, ask permission to vent first, ask if they have time, and take care not to wear them out. When you’ve found that special someone who can be your "sounding board buddy", it’s easy to get carried away with your purging to the point of being too taxing on them. Ground yourself, and take responsibility for the energy you bring to to the table - - don't displace your negative energy onto your compassionate confidant. Be thoughtful, courteous, express your deep appreciation for their caring and generosity to you during your challenging and vulnerable time of coming unglued.
Remember to consider the possibility that they might be having a bad day themselves, could be tired, or that their own emotional love tank could be on empty, on fumes. Do everything possible to well- ground and calm yourself with a few slow, deep breaths before you start sharing when they have given you the "go" signal.
GOING STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE / HOW TO PREPARE:
It probably seems most logical and efficient to just clear the air straight-on with the one who got you fired up to begin with, but intense emotional purging is usually best achieved when taking a thoughtful approach of great care, caution, and consideration. If you are still feeling actively fired up about the issue, it will likely be more difficult to approach them in the same respectful manner that you would when reaching out to a friend. Given the already strained nature of the relationship, combined with your agitated state, the probability of you actually receiving the support and understanding you desire is probably much lower that it would with your vetted confidant. The best odds of a favorable response are when you can be calm, grounded, well rested, patient, considerate, and able to have the necessary strength and restraint in taking the high road with effective communication-- beginning with your request they listen to what you have to calmly tell them. Some of my favorite methods of dispelling my own nervous energy are saying to myself, "turn it down a notch Angela, " "Take a deep breath Ang," "Pump the breaks a little," "let's find a way to turn down the heat, " or the like. For me, getting myself in the calmest state possible for potentially challenging conversations or situations is accomplished by self- soothing; closing my eyes, rubbing my hands together and taking a few deep breaths (in through my nose and out through my mouth), relaxing my muscles, gentle, slow stretching outside in the fresh air, and being sure I am very well hydrated with room-temperature water, and calming/ caffeine-free TISANES that promote and truly support a calmer interior world for me. Once you feel that you have re-established your emotional equilibrium, next up is to explore perspectives other than your own on the heated situation. Can you put yourself in their shoes; really trying to to see the situation from their perspective?
Can you change your attitude, practice radical empathy and do your best to appreciate the validity your antagonist's feelings even though they're not yours? Can you get yourself calm enough to regard their feelings as though they're yours? This can be accomplished without abandoning your own perspective; just need to suspend your own vantage point for long enough to actively listen and to take in fully the other's perspective as they share. Be patient.
In preparing yourself for this interaction, it might also be a good time to consider whether you may have possibly magnified the hurtfulness of what they said or did to you. Is there even a small chance that you exaggerated the offense? Could you get yourself to a place of reflecting on and remembering their redeeming, positive qualities? Can you let it go? Could you write down on paper all you want to share, and practice aloud to help tone it down out of attack mode? Identifying what triggered your distress (such as feelings of rejection, mistrust, not being loved or cared about, being devalued, dismissed, misunderstood, feeling powerless, worthless, unimportant). Writing it all down can be beneficial for coming up with ideas of how to reconcile your differences, and alter the future of your relationship by creating a positive, healthy trajectory. The most hopeful outcomes desired are resolving the conflict between you. Seek sustainable remedies that work for both of you, lower defenses all around, promote peace, and encourage generosity and forgiveness.
May you know peace, my tea friends.
With love,
Angela
Angela Macke
R.N & Founding Director
Light of Day Organics
"Sit back, sip your Tea & enjoy the wonder of every created thing..."
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Staff thoughts on Embracing Tears
Crying is a uniquely human trait. Researchers have found that crying releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, also known as endorphins. These “feel-good” elements help ease both physical and emotional pain. Whether we are steeped in joy or heavy with sorrow, tears come. And, they go. I’m reminded of my favorite 90’s movie that features a song by Jane Siberry: “It won’t rain all the time; the sky won’t fall forever, and though the night seems long, your tears won’t fall forever.” The messaging we absorb from our environments about this outward display of emotion may shape our feelings and behaviors; after all, while crying can feel absolutely cleansing and vital, it can also feel uncomfortably raw and vulnerable. My grandpa cried at everything; even when he laughed he cried! Have you ever laughed so hard you cried? I hope so; it’s usually done in good company. He also cried freely when my grandma passed. I hope you’ve had the opportunity to cry during grief, too, as withholding tears carries a cost. Whatever your current relationship with tears looks like, I wish you peace and acceptance within those moments of exploration. When you feel the swell of emotion, the rush of endorphins, the call to release and feel…I hope you meet yourself there with compassion and care, and know that tears may come…and go.
“The tears have a certain kind of sacredness. The unfinished business of the heart. If you allow the tears to-they will wash you." -Jack Kornfield
Take good care of you and those you love,
Kristen Ryder
Stillness and Strength Yoga, LLC
Endorphins info: 😊Newhouse, L. (2021, March). Is crying good for you? - Harvard Health. Harvard Health; Harvard Health.
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Now is a GREAT time to take up a daily Matcha habit!
If you've been following us for while, you know that we love sharing the good news about Matcha at any opportunity. It is the very best quality. It's available in loose powder form (to prepare in warm water with a whisk, or to toss in a non-dairy smoothie) and we also created an innovative option back in 2011 by partnering with an E. Coast laboratory to machine encapsulate our Organic Matcha in easy- to- swallow 500 mg. Vegan capsules. 1 gram of Matcha (about 1/2 teaspoon of the powder, or two of our capsules) has much more Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) than just steeping and drinking a pot Green Tea. You would have to drink about 15 sixteen ounce cups of Green Tea to get the same amount of EGCG as 1 gram of our Matcha powder. If you haven't ever tried it, please consider it now. We think you'll really like how it makes you feel. SHOP FOR OUR MATCHA
Choosing even just one 'slow' practice to commit to on any given day can bring peace and clarity of mind to your life. We hope you will enjoy some of our favorite relaxing TEA AND TISANE blends as a part of your renewed commitment to peace, loving-kindness, slowness. Each new day is a wonderful opportunity to create new habits.
Click HERE to visit the Tisanes section of our website. These offerings are free of caffeine and can support your winding down process. A MUST for all mothers.
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Up for a good read?
Have you heard about this amazing book capturing & celebrating the passionate work of 20 Northern Michigan Women?
Northern Harvest: Twenty Michigan Women in Food & Farming
-by author Emita Brady Hill.
Here's the link: Northern Harvest 20 Book
Here are some other books we've been featured in:
- Reinventing the Wheel by author Megan McNealy: One of the Top 20 Must Reads of 2019-(Forbes) and a Silver award winner in Human Resources/Employee Training 2020 Axiom Business Book Awards. BUY THIS BOOK
- World of Tea by author Jane Pettigrew – BUY THIS BOOK
- Tasting & Touring Michigan’s Home Grown Food, a Culinary Road Trip by author Jaye Beeler BUY THIS BOOK
- Green Marketing by author Dr. Robert Dahlstrom BUY THIS BOOK
- Sustainable Marketing by author Dr. Robert Dahlstrom BUY THIS BOOK
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