HAWMC #1: The Time Capsule

Welcome to April--the only fools around here are the March (snowshoe) hares still sporting their winter coats as the snow rapidly recedes.


Welcome to day one of 30 Days of Posts as part of the Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge. Each day, a new prompt. I'll respond to it, and I'd love to hear your responses in the comments too.

Day 1: What represents health and consciousness of wellbeing to you? If you were to prepare a time capsule epitomizing the answer, to be opened in a hundred years from now, what would you put in it?


#1 A bag of seeds and roots of medicinal plants. The seeds would most likely still be viable a century from now, and would bring abundance to whatever will be there. I would include nettles, mint, holy basil, rhodiola, turmeric, aloe vera, parsley, goldenseal, echinacea...
I love our little indoor garden--aloe, mint, and that magical turmeric root still going great guns...and I would want to share that potential with whomever opened my time capsule

#2 Books! Of course, books. I would include poetry that's uplifting to the soul, by poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Tagore, William Blake, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jane Hirshfield, William Stafford.
I would also include both the DSM-IV and the Merck Manual, and the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine. Why? Because my recent experience has been that accurate diagnosis can be a very important step in understanding how to manage oneself, and because I believe that the kinds of diseases exhibited in each time period, and the ways that we talk about them, are very telling of the values and conditions of the broader culture.
I'd also put in a good book on Permaculture, and several books on identifying edible or medicinal plants and seaweeds.


#3 Exercise and exploration--If I could fit my beloved rebounder in a time capsule, I'd put it in--a wonderful friend for anyone. But failing that, I'd put in a jump rope--hey, rope is always useful! And a compass and a magnifying glass, and perhaps some maps--incitements to hit the trail. It's not just that exercise is beneficial; it's also a way of getting grounded. As our snow recedes, we're getting ever-closer to the ground--look how our bluff-edge raised bed got revealed just in the past day or so that had a foot of snow on it last week!

#4 Reflection and connection--If our focus is on health and healing, we need to be able to see ourselves. In order to see ourselves, we need reflection from others too. So, I'd include a mirror, but on the back of the mirror would be a reminder that no self is separate from others. As well as a mirror, I'd include several crystals or rocks that encourage deeper reflection as you look into their semi-opaque surfaces. I'd also include a candle and some matches, and a reminder to look at the sun through lidded eyes, or stare at the candle flame. I would brainstorm other ways to emphasize the point that none of us are separate too--more quotes, perhaps a two-person saw or other piece of equipment requiring collaboration.


#5 Recipes and preparations--I'd include many recipes, both for foods and for medicinal preparations, that I've found to be healing or tonic. I'd also cram my Vita-Mix in there, and a couple good sharp knives and a sharpener. And a starter bundle of my favorites spices and superfoods, including spirulina, maca, turmeric powder.

#6 Writing--I'd include several blank journals and pens, as well as a carefully produced book of prompts to get whomever opens the capsule started.


Well, that's my time capsule, although there's no guarantee I won't come back and add more!

What would YOU put in a health-oriented time capsule?