Great support and practical suggestions from Bob, Geoff, and Orweller.
I was just reading some quotes this week—by the incomparable Bruce Lee.
He said, “Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless. Add what is essentially your own.”
I’ll just add my two cents about herbalism. I’ve always believed herbs were medicinal and useful, but my perspective has evolved. In the past, my attitude was: herbs will not harm because they are natural, and so I overused them.
Today I think herbs can be harmful, and they should only be used to address a specific imbalance/dysfunction in the body, and ideally it should be temporary. Dogs and cats instinctively chew on certain plants when they are ill, but not when they are healthy.
Herbs are medicinal plants and not food. In very difficult cases, longer term use of herbs might be beneficial, but I think it’s important to take breaks, so the body isn’t continually ingesting these “medicines.” And if the body is healthy, the body doesn’t need herbs. That’s my current opinion, but I encourage everyone to develop their own insights through their own experience.