Just at the start of last week, my 17-year-old son woke up with a runny nose, a sore throat and headache. He had had an activity-packed weekend, as the sunny, warm, Spring inspired action: going out on a trip to another city with friends, working out hard at the gym and not having enough sleep. However, when action is not balanced with rest, then we pay a price for it. Since I had spent time in the garden on the weekend, I had noticed that a plant that I have grown in containers for years now, is returning in full growth, after its winter dormancy and this plant would help my son get over his ailments. This is none other than the common Mint.

Mint is one of those common herbs that we find almost everywhere in our modern world. Go to the grocery store and you’ll find it on the herbal tea shelf, probably with many brands offering the same herb. You will also find it in the fresh herb section, packed in neat little boxes ready to be used. Move through the store and you’ll find Mint in so many of the products, from mint stracciatella ice-cream, to toothpaste, to chewing gum and candy that are called mints. Go to a bar or restaurant, order a cocktail and it’s used as a garnish. In Malaysia, where I come from, we use it in food as a garnish, to enhance the flavors; for instance, in Assam Laksa, a spicy, sweet, sour fish noodle soup dish.

Mint is a perennial, grows outside in almost all the continents of the world, except Antarctica, as long as there is sunlight and enough moisture in the Earth. It is an aromatic herb, as such it is often used fresh as a garnish and should not be cooked, in order to maintain its essential oils. If you are not careful to plant it in a container, it will take over your garden. This is the resilience of Mint, its growth will spread throughout the garden, coming back year after year, with little care; as long as conditions are suitable.

In Chinese Medicine, we call this herb Bó Hé  薄荷.Herba Mentha haplocalys or Mentha arvensis or Field Mint is the species of Mint that is used in Chinese Medicine, but there are at least 25 Mint species and numerous hybrid species in existence today. This herb enters the Lung and Liver channels, is spicy, cool and aromatic. It is used to clear the head, eyes and throat, as well as what we call Wind-Heat conditions, which includes the common cold/ flu symptoms, like sore throat, headache, fever, etc. It vents rashes, like in the case of early-stage measles. Mint disperses the turbid in the abdomen, meaning dampness with heat symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, as in the case of a gastrointestinal virus. Finally, it soothes and relieves Liver Qi Stagnation, which manifests as tension in the chest/breast and hypochondrium (rib area), headaches and emotional instability, which are common symptoms in PMS. One of its functions that I learned from my own personal experience but is often not stated as a function is that it slows down breastmilk production, especially useful when one wants to wean a child off the breast. So many functions for such a small, common, rather under-estimated plant, isn’t it?

I hear from new patients drinking the infusion of Mint often, but are unaware that it is cooling. If you are someone who tends to feel cold, this is not the infusion that you should be drinking too often, especially not in winter. Drink it in late Spring or Summer, like now, where days are longer and the sun is shining, and the leaves are in full-growth. If you experience PMS, then drink Mint regularly in that phase of the menstrual cycle. It is by the way, one of the herbs in the famous Free and Easy Wanderer Powder (Xiāo Yáo Sǎn) which I wrote about in previous blogposts.

As in the case of my son, he spent the day resting, taking the famous Wind-Heat formula, Yín Qiào Sǎn, which has Mint as one of its herbs, and drinking fresh Mint infusions, as our plants are right at our front door, guarding the entry to our home. The next day, he was well again ready to go back to school and everyday life. Even though I know the power of Mint, it never ceases to amaze me how this simple, common plant can provide such relief and healing in those moments that we so need. This is the magic of the simple and the everyday. You just have to know when to apply it and it reveals its magic to you.
 


Images by Elaine

The other day, a friend and I watched a movie made in the year 1931. It was fascinating as the credits for the movie came at the start of it, unlike these days where it comes at the end. It made me think of all those moments I was at the movie theatre, when the credits and the music played at the end of the movie and most of the audience would just be walking out; most of us do not pay much attention to the names and job titles, that move at a rapid pace and are projected in so small a font, one would maybe catch one name out of every ten. There are often almost a thousand names but most of us aren’t even aware of who they are or what they do, except for the main actors and possibly directors or producers, who get bigger fonts and spaces for their names. These are the people we never see in the movie but are essential in the production of the film.

Back in the day when I was a teenager, I had daydreams of being an actor; of being the star of a movie, walking down the red carpet, being looked at and being admired. I was a rhythmic gymnast from age 12 to 16, as well as a dancer till 30, so being put in the spotlight was part of my life for a little bit, whenever I was on the competition floor or on the dance stage. When I became a coach at age 17, I learned to hold space for my gymnasts; this included multiple training sessions in a gym giving instruction, listening to lots of music, editing to fit the music pieces into a-minute-and-a half sequences, doing choreography; repetition day-in and day-out. Then competition day came, I woke up early with the gymnasts, did hair and make-up for them, led warm-ups and waited with the nervous gymnasts till their turns to perform came. Then when their minute-and-a-half routines were in progress, I had no control over the situation, I just had to stand by and watch in the background. If they performed as we had trained and were successful, then they were on the podium receiving their medals and flowers; I was on the sidelines clapping joyfully for all the fruits of our labours. If they didn’t perform well and they were emotionally down, I was there to console them and hold their hand after. There are no medals for the coaches. That is the life of a background artist.

In university, I minored in dance; every Spring we had a big stage production. One Spring, I was part of the dance production class, meaning that we learnt everything from performing on stage, to doing lighting, tech and music, to setting up props; we dressed in black, ran around doing jobs backstage looking inconspicuous but at the same time making sure that the performers were making their cues and being in the right place at the right time. Those backstage-helpers were there for most of the rehearsals and all the performances, but were not on stage at the end of the show, taking bows or receiving applause in front of the audience. In fact, when everyone went home, they were cleaning the stage front as well as back, and packing up material. It is essentially one of those jobs that we see on the movie-credits rapidly moving up the screen, that not many notice - the background artist.

I believe the biggest role of the background artist I have played so far is being a Mother, and I capitalize the `M,´ as it is a role so often overlooked. Many years ago as I worked as a dance coach for an artistic gymnastics academy in California, one of my bosses, Donna told me to enjoy my time and the attention then, as I had just gotten married, because once I had kids, she said everything would be about the children and everybody would ask how your kids are doing and not how you are. She was right. As a parent, not only is one the child-bearer, nurturer, care-giver, one is also the taxi-driver, psychologist, manager, etc. This is THE ultimate background artist job. One has to play every role possible, except being the center of attention, unless things do not work, in which case the Mother is often given the fault. There are often no credits given when things work out and let’s not talk about the salary, there is no financial renumeration. One of the most important “jobs” in life and is seldom positively acknowledged by our society. What we get as Mothers is one day in the year as acknowledgement, in most places on the second Sunday in May, which has been exploited by capitalism to sell us more stuff.

Let’s give real credit where it is due to the most essential background artist, who makes things work rain or shine. This Mother’s Day, let’s do something different, let’s not get stuff for our Mothers but gift them something real and meaningful, like time together or a home-cooked meal or a hand-made gift. Gift your Mom from the Heart and be present with her, leave the store-bought stuff in the store!




Image by Sevda from Pixabay