I’ve been in the healthcare field, tangentially, for over 15 years (I am not a doctor, nor do I believe I ever will be—not of medicine, anyway). For most of that time, I managed the husband’s small medical office, in one way or another, and gathered some fascinating insights while I got to know a lot of people. In the nutrient arena: Watching the general public wake up to the benefits of taking magnesium (poop moving!), vitamin D (mood boosting!), and probiotics (does both!) was been pretty amazing. I could geek out on the topic of nutrients and nutritional supplements for a long time—but that’s not why you’re here.
(Side note, though, that’s really important: Reducing stress and eating with intention can save your life—no lie. Your digestion is the key to a lot of your happiness.)
It was a privilege to watch new (and old) patients come alive with the simplest of lifestyle changes and nutrient additions. Witnessing the light in people’s faces as they recount their newfound energy is priceless. Hearing how a shift in nutrition led to no longer needing painkillers is life-affirming. I am so grateful to have seen and heard these stories first-hand, as they are empowering in a way that most American medical stories aren’t. Integrative, Functional Medicine is really cool.
Navigating the current times: Welcome to modernity; TikTok is NOT A DOCTOR, but some legit supplement and lifestyle information is out there. I know a few things. My husband knows all the things in that particular field. Instagram is fairly pretty to look at but only partially informed. Caution should be exercised when finding out stuff on the interwebs.
And then, over here on the other end of the caring-for-self tools currently trending on the Tok, ‘Gram, and whatever Twitter is today: Crystal healing in all the formations—natural quartz clusters. Polished minerals in the shape of a snake or sphere or just an ingot to tuck in your pocket. Not just on the shelves of D-list celebrities and oracle card readers, amethyst cathedrals can be spotted in a lot of self-respecting folks’ homes. The crystal healing industry is coming out in the mainstream, not unlike the tilt toward understanding that vitamin D supplements are actually useful and not voodoo. I’m moderately well-versed in the language of the crystal healing vibes— though I don’t think there are any used specifically for making you poop more regularly.
The cellular-level benefit of a nutrient can often be felt in your body, tested for with lab work, and monitored. The cellular vibrational benefit of that giant rose quartz I keep over my fireplace? It’s not verifiable. But it works for me, all the same. I named it (she’s Rhonda).
She’s a piece of time immortalized and polished to a point. She’s a silicate tinged with manganese and titanium, pulled from the Earth in Brazil, and she is older than written history (rose quartz beads about 9,000 years old have been unearthed in modern-day Iraq). To me, she’s also the first thing of value that had no necessity I bought without guilt— it was a pretty rad feeling, to be honest. I love Rhonda.
Somewhere between the use of a nutrient and the feeling I get from an old pretty rock I think there’s alchemy. There is a blending of the logical and the physical and something mystical. Life can’t exist without acknowledging that there are elements at play on this plane that can’t be measured.
Love.
The nameless yet wonderful sensation in my chest when my kid smiles at me.
Whatever unspeakable joy our pets feel when they see us after work— it’s unreal. But it is real.
Friendship. What an unbelievable and immeasurable gift.
Anyway, I felt called to point out today that there’s a sizeable chasm of existence between the concrete and the ethereal, the nutrient and its original mineral form. It’s all a spectrum, and it’s all pretty good. I like living in the space between.
PS: I intend to wind up as a crazy old lady, reading Tarot and offering crystal prescriptions, and I may find myself arriving to my future sooner than later. Life is a balance: rational and sensational, magic and mundane.
I’ll let you know when I’m open for readings.