We have run a few competitions here on Steemit, and this has been by far the hardest to judge!
In the end, we had 10 Steem to spare. We'd decided to award Steem as no one is getting paid in SBD at the moment, given the price drop, and we figured this is only going to go up in value, right?
This was incredibly, incredibly hard to judge, and in the end we thought there was nothing else to do but spread the winnings out amongst a handful we thought were outstanding. We judged these posts on a combination of things - the struggles people may have had overcoming a hardship, the way they illustrated their response both with language and with images, their ability to make us go 'wow!' and the relevance to the topic.
Honestly, we wish we could give all of you a bonus! However, rest assured that the more we get support off you guys, the more we can bring support to you - keep up your wonderful work, and we look forward to reading your posts.
There's been so many people supporting this contest with their upvotes and comments and we are totally honoured to be part of this amazing collective. We really value each and every one of you!
@walkerland 2 Steem
We not only loved her story, but how well it was put together - the photos and words combined to make one moving and beautiful post. She had a really rough time as a kid, and a knowledgeable Aunt figured out she needed allergy testing, which resulted in an allergy list hundreds of pages long. This ended up in a life long love of natural medicines but also a desire to be heard - because when we're suffering, it's not woman's hysteria, people!
@wildlocusthoney 3 Steem
Chaga, chaga, chaga! This post was fab because it had such a gorgeous story behind it - love and chaga and northern lights! He reflects that:
Each time I fix a pot of Chaga and enjoy its earthy goodness I remember my lumberjack friend, the Northern Lights, the inestimable fortune I have in my wife, our honeymoon, the wild places I have harvested from, and the Creator who must love me very much to bless me with all these things, and I say "Thank you".
So super sweet.
@porters - 1 Steem
This natural medicine member loves natural medicines so much she wrote two posts in response to this competition. We were moved by her story of recovering from paralysis, from which she had family, nature, comfrey tinctures, arnica and music therapy to recover, as well as the love of her son.
@terranovaearth's extraordinary ayuahuasca story wins 3 steem. We loved the detail of her journey and her bravery struggling with PTSD. She writes:
Right now I'm closing one of the most difficult chapters in my life. For now, I'm done working on myself so thoroughly digging up the past. I'm done with therapy and I said goodbye to my loved ayahuasca. I'm doing so well, that I'm making plans to return to work. I can't wait to get my new self out there and I'm looking forward to use all my insights, experiences and teachings to help others with their illness or challenges in life. And showing them how natural medicines, food, supplements and other great alternatives are available for us.Until this day I thank the ayahuasca, I thank Mother Earth for taking care of me, carrying me when I couldn't and providing all these beautiful natural remedies. I feel more alive than ever.
@metametheus writes about his pathway to Chinese medicine here and we are rewarding him with 1 steem.
He writes:
Had it not been for those sessions however, I’m not certain I would have finished my degree, or gotten my life back together so quickly. I understand now that my body was sending my signals that I needed to make serious changes in my life. I needed to let go of the old life I had left behind, of friendships that were toxic, and expectations that were unrealistic. I also needed to start looking after myself, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I finished that degree (Anthropology), and many years later began studying Chinese Medicine myself, completing a degree and opening my own practice. I even began to teach Qigong, albeit a different form. But it was that initial experience of acupuncture that was the difference that made a difference.
We'll leave you with the lyrics he included in his post - they are really appropriate and lovely and worth reposting:
To the soul's desires,
The body listens;
What the flesh requires,
Keeps the heart imprisoned.
What the spirit seeks,
The mind will follow;
When the body speaks,
All else is hollow.
— Depeche Mode
If you'd like to join us on the Discord, we'd love to see you there - here is the link: https://discord.gg/X69k4sa. We'd love to encourage you to use the #naturalmedicine tag so we can find you easily and give you some love in the form of upvote, and resteeming too if we love it! We'd also be so appreciate of anyone who thinks they might be able to delegate - every little helps!
Wow, thanks!!!
Congrats everyone.
Thank you very very much! Good articles everyone!
Thanks so much for the STEEM and thanks so much for putting on this contest I really enjoyed the posts that came in. such wonderful stories and sharing of knowledge!
congratulations everyone, thank you for sharing your wisdom with us all xx
I have tears in my eyes. You made me cry again @naturalmedicine It feels like everything is falling into place right now. I'm glad I found this community. Congratulations to the other winners. I'm gonna catch up on my reading now... ;-) very curious about other people's stories. Thank you all!!!
Happy to be of service. So glad you found us
Thanks so much for including me! I loved this contest, and appreciated every single story that was shared. I learned a lot of new things that I'll be incorporating into my own life.