To Bee or Not to Bee

I wrote this in response to a message I received from one of my students who had heard that honey wasn't good for you because it was made from bee waste. She was, at the time, at a point in her life when she was unsure of what her purpose in life was meant to be. Here's my response .....

......My thought then is this - if honey is bad for us because it is waste from a bee then is oxygen bad for us because it is waste from plants??!! Or is it just a matter of perspective?

I've spent the last few days hanging out with dandelions - harvesting the blossoms to turn into sweet medicine for winter so that, when all the world is white and stormy, I can open a jar of that golden goodness and bee immediatley transported back to a warm, sunny day in the Shuswap, when all the world was green and gold, on a day wherein I was privilege to one of the miracles on Earth - the ancient and oh-so-intimate-and-delicate dance between plant and pollinator - the bumblbee engaged in her ancient, ritual of relationship with the dandelion - harvesting sweet nectar to bring backto hive, to transform into food that will keep her hive alive during the winter. In her short life she will have lived a privileged life - long days filled with playing in the sun, dancing among all the beautiful flowers - not questioning the purpose of her life - living completely in the moment. She is thus a manifestation of the wisdom of the Earth, the alchemy ofNature, the siral of Life, and in partaking of her sweetness - her honey - we too become part of that ancient, delicate ritual and yes.....how sweet it is!!!

On that note - pass the rose petal honey, please!