Helping yourself doesn’t have to be selfish. [Teatime Tuesday]

G’day, you!

Congratulations for getting through Monday.

I still remember that fuzzy, torturous plane ride from Korea back to Fort Hood at the end of 2019. I was so delirious that journey comes back to me only in little pieces–like the shadowed airport terminal around me as I leaned forward on the edge of the pleather black seat, crying into the phone that I couldn’t make the last leg of the journey from Dallas to Killeen.

I wasn’t the only person suffering, though.  When I got sent back from deployment in 2019, my unit lost their battalion surgeon–the generalist who did their non-opioid pain management, the angry advocate who would fight command teams for them, and the sexual assault medical forensic examiner who’d get their important STD testing and sleep medicines for those first life-changing nights after an assault.

In other words, because I was not okay, other people weren’t okay.

You are also important like that.  Or maybe you think your situation’s different than mine–maybe if you’re honest with yourself, you know you’re not living in a way that really acknowledges that importance. Maybe you’re not in a job that matters. But I’d say that’s actually just another example of poor self-care! Because if you’re sharpening and tending to yourself like a weapon, and placing that weapon in meaningful situations, other people will naturally benefit, too.

I’ve literally incorporated that reality into the way I source our teas.  Currently, I only partner with tea suppliers who, through the Ethical Tea Partnership, can trace their tea back to fields where workers receive fair wages and the farming practices themselves don’t hurt the environment. So when you get yourself a Box of Rest, you literally also take care of other people.

I believe that’s the foundation on which all business should run, don’t you? Capitalism can be a beautiful thing if it’s built around the consumer as a producer–your money is, after all, a literal demonstration of your work, your sweat, your time, your self, so I firmly believe no one, no government or corporation, should have a right to take that from you without your consent. Consent is the difference between theft and gifts, after all; between romance and assault. Like how a special romance can produce a child, when it comes to consent over your sweat, your money, as you exchange your sweat for someone else’s sweat, you can both work together to birth a better world. Positive capitalism means you take care of others by taking care of yourself, and then mutually improve the world.

Take this Peppermint Ginger Green tea, for example. It’s got a ton of benefits for YOU.
Peppermint’s been used for nausea after chemotherapy (1) Peppermint is used in pain relief in compounds like Tiger Balm Peppermint’s been used historically to calm upset stomachs LactMed lists peppermint as a potential compound to soothe nipple sensitivity during breastfeeding, or even improve the taste of mother’s milk (2) Ginger’s been put into a Dramamine alternative compound for seasickness Ginger’s consistently one of the compounds we use to reduce morning sickness in pregnancy (3) Peppermint and ginger have “tingly” effects on the tongue and skin that I believe, anecdotally, improve sensitivity to moments of ASMR.

My particular supplier’s blend was TOP 10 Tea-lovers’ Choice at the 2016 Toronto Tea Festival (3Teas) We haven’t even touched on the calendula, sunflower petals, or cognitive and antioxidant properties of green tea– And did I mention this blend tastes fresh, lively, and invigorating–and good tasting teas don’t need sugar, so you can start to eliminate the damage sugar does to your small blood vessels and nerves?

Then, it’s also got a ton of benefits for other people.

You’re funding educational programs and fair wages for tea workers through the ETP You’re helping prevent soil erosion with good plant management You’re helping improve oxygen and decrease CO2 emissions by increasing the tea plant population You’re helping prevent proliferation of unsavory chemicals in the environment Proceeds help me support human trafficking charities Proceeds help me support my own living Proceeds help me buy equipment and airfare for my dream to help people in Paraguay.

You see the miracle here of this positive capitalism? I mean, with this barrage of benefits, how could anyone NOT try this tea?

Bottom line, whether you make shoes for a living or you’re a lawyer, whether you’re buying or working, try to be mindful this week of “positive capitalism.”

Rest adventurously, Jen Finelli, MD, SAMFE, FAWM
Tingles Tea Dragon-Survivor

(1) Mapp CP, Hostetler D, Sable JF, Parker C, Gouge E, Masterson M, Willis-Styles M, Fortner C, Higgins M. Peppermint Oil: Evaluating Efficacy on Nausea in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy in the Ambulatory Setting. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2020 Apr 1;24(2):160-164. doi: 10.1188/20.CJON.160-164. PMID: 32196008.

(2) Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®) [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 2006–. Peppermint. 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 30000911.

(3) Lindblad AJ, Koppula S. Ginger for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Can Fam Physician. 2016 Feb;62(2):145. PMID: 26884528; PMCID: PMC4755634.