Do you believe in fate? Some of you may believe in fate, but I don’t. Instead, I believe life is the accumulation of events. I like the analogy between life and quilting: life is like a quilt made up of the patches we sew together. The quilt is where we end up, but it consists of the fragments we put together. I wish to share a few pieces of the story that I’ve been creating about how a Japanese immigrant connected with her roots through a natural lifestyle.

Born in Japan, I grew up in a family where my great grandmother and grandmother, my parents and my sister and I, lived under one roof. As I look back on my childhood, my family embraced the traditional approach to life, including health and well-being. For example, my dad used to grow medicinal herbs in our backyard and make homemade tea to strengthen our immune system. Daily I had a mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey for general health benefits and used aloe vera on our minor skin problems. Remembering back then, my family much appreciated the gift of nature and the wisdom passed down through generations to improve our health – that stayed with me even though I had to seek out medical treatments from time to time.

After moving to Canada as a teenager, I stopped taking the traditional medical approach altogether and came to embrace Western Medicine more and more. However, years later, I had a wake-up call when my health deteriorated significantly after welcoming our second baby. It seemed like it all started when I got infections on the stitches after C-section delivery. I struggled for days with excruciating pain. The pain was so bad that I couldn’t walk or keep standing up with my back straight. Then I got pink eye from my newborn, although I don’t know how he caught it. The next thing I knew, I got hit by laryngitis, and I lost my voice. Right after that, a walk-in clinic doctor stated that I had mononucleosis! I thought I couldn’t handle any more bad news. Unfortunately, the doctor also found a calcium buildup in one of my saliva glands during a checkup. After the surgery to remove the stone and the gland, I thought I could finally leave the health crisis and start a new chapter in my life. Well, shingles were the last straw. Devastated, I felt I lost control of my health completely.

Due to this experience, essential oils piqued my interest when a fellow mom user first introduced me. I was looking for something natural to improve my health and apply to our little ones, particularly when sick. At this point in my health condition, I felt I had nothing to lose – Essential oils thus spoked to me in particular. Although the idea of oils seemed foreign to me initially, I soon realized the holistic approach was quite similar to Traditional Medicine I grew up with. Like the medicinal herbs that my dad used to make homemade tea with, essential oils are condensed herbs in an aromatic liquid form for general health and well-being. How did the oils help us, then? As we got into a habit of using oils daily, we noticed our sleep improved and our energy level increased. Our immune system strengthened, and the number of our walk-in clinic visits gradually decreased. As essential oils enhanced our health and lifestyle, I started sharing the therapeutic effects with those around me. Naturally, that became my lifelong passion and led to the launching of my oily business!

As I tried to adapt to North American culture, I’ve changed in the ways I think and interact with people in many ways. However, I’ve never forgotten my roots. I realized essential oils bring me back the warm memories of my dad and his herbs. Perhaps it is because essential oils and herbs have versatility in common, though preparation methods are different. For example, I think about the herbal tea my dad used to concoct for us when I take an oil-infused supplemental drink in the morning. As I sip a glass of water with lemon oil in the afternoon, I also think of the apple cider I used to drink to purify the body. When I apply fragrant lavender oil at night, I remember the aloe vera plant we had to help soothe sunburned skin. To me, essential oils are more than just fragrance – they signify rootedness or deep ties with my home.

As roots grow deep into the soil, the tree starts flourishing above the ground. Similarly, as I put down roots here in Canada, my identity began to shape and solidified with age. Essential oils provided me with a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with my roots and naturally take care of myself and my family. Now, let me ask you a question –

What is your background?
What connects you with the roots you identify with?