Bright flower greetings Reader,

It’s Monday morning.

You know what you need to do. It may even be written down in a tidy list in front of you.

And yet, somehow, you cannot get yourself to begin.

Hornbeam is famously associated with the “Monday morning feeling”—that sense of looking at the day ahead and wondering where you’re going to find the energy to get into gear.

But what kind of “I can’t” are we actually experiencing?

Is there simply too much?

Or can we just not get ourselves to begin?

That question brings Hornbeam into an interesting conversation with Elm.

Kathleen suggests that perhaps Elm and Hornbeam are best understood not as an either/or, but as companions.

The plants themselves add another layer.

Hornbeam is sometimes called “ironwood.” Its wood is exceptionally hard, heavy and strong. It burns hot and slowly. Historically, it was used for tools and other purposes that demanded durability—the kind of material that simply keeps doing the work.

Elm presents a strikingly different story: fast-growing, historically cultivated for its usefulness as building materials, and is extremely susceptible to disease.

A tree deeply entwined with human ideas of productivity and work.

What might these two plants have to show us about effort, capacity, and our relationship with the things life asks us to do?

That’s what we’ll explore when Ruth and Kathleen spend two hours with Elm and Hornbeam on October 8.

Bach Flowers in Contemporary Practice Part Four begins this Thursday, September 24, with Holly and Pine.

If you feel drawn to join us, you’re very welcome.

​Learn More About Part Four​

With warmth,

Ruth, Kathleen, and Rochana
​The School for Flower Essence Studies​

Questions? Reply to this email or reach us at hello@floweressencestudies.com​