Remnants of the old Wisdom

(Image and text from here)

  

Dear Brave Souls: You've heard me say this many times, in one of my poems and in my other writings: "Our grandmothers would recognize one another across time."

If you are of Greek heritage: This young soul is in some way your ancestor. Even though this is a formal image, we can see that the finery is beautifully made and also worn. This image is from the turn of the 19th century into the 20th century.

All across Europe one-hundred years ago and more, one can still see Persian, Moorish, Turkish, Asian, subContinent, African, Siberian, Mongolian, Nepalese, Tibetan, Bedouin, Cziganok similarities in patterns of the veil (a utilitarian covering for wind and keeping long hair out of eyes while working, for privacy, and more), certain daily endeavors such as cleaning and spinning, clothing that delineates tribe and clan (or as moderns often phrase it, 'region') by its pleatings, runchings, bleached linen, placements of figurative embroidery, type of

 shoe, and so on. 

There are in the peoples of one-hundred and two hundred and more years ago, so many similarities in ways of life, beliefs, study of and knowledge of growing food, herbs, animals... no matter where in the world they built their domiciles, moveable or fixed.

For us, some remnants of the old wisdoms kept by the elders from long ago, despite some naive errors about what might be healthful and what might not-- what really does work, for health's sake, was and is handed down to us in our time-- and is put into our safekeeping for the future generations. Don't forget. 

The ancient Greeks had a beautiful system of health diagnostics based on the seasons of the body, similar in certain ways to the balances taught today in Chinese and Asian medicine: The four components were tied to the elements, fire, water, earth and air, AND to spring, summer, autumn and winter of the body... all to be held in balance. 

Hippocrates said that when these sets of four, accompanied by the four fluids of the body -- so a tri-partite diagnoses-- were out of balance, disease occurred. 

The ancient Greeks also noticed the earth revolved around the Sun, although subsequent popes who hadnt a telescope in sight, insisted that the entire universe revolved around the planet Earth... Il Papa was wrong. The Greeks were right.

The old Greek women on the road where I grew up had less interest in treating symptoms of illness, but rather were investigators and prayer banks for/about the actual causes and the mediation or removal of those causes. 

Wise people. An ancient people. A beautiful people.

This comes with love,
dr.e      (Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes)