Gorse:
Giving Up and Going On

You are most likely to see Gorse people sitting in doctors' waiting offices. Often they have friends and relatives with them. You may hear the other person saying, "My friend told me that Dr. X has worked miracles with people in your condition." The Gorse person says nothing, and his face doesn't brighten with even a hint of hope.

The classic Gorse scenario involves people who suffer chronic diseases. They will have gone to many practitioners for treatment„always without success„and continue to go only for the sake of still-hopeful friends and family members. The Gorse individual has given up.

In Bach Flower Essence literature Gorse is described in relationship to chronic physical conditions, but I have counseled people whose chronic imbalance was mental, emotional, or spiritual. I had a client, who'd been working for years to increase her self-esteem, and had concluded that it was impossible. I recommended Larch, for the fundamental self-esteem issue and Gorse for the feeling of hopelessness.

I view the Gorse condition as any imbalance about which someone has given up hope. This state thus assumes the dimensions of a vicious cycle, for feelings of hopelessness perpetuate and deepen the chronic imbalance.

Ill Health Benefits

Upon first glance, the Gorse individual appears to be a victim, helpless in the grips of a chronic condition, despite his/her valiant efforts to find help. If we look for deeply we can see how this condition meets the victim's needs.

One of these needs is for love and attention. When dear ones search for yet another doctor or cure, they are being nurturing and demonstrating their care and concern.

Also, any chronic condition provides useful protections. It would be cruel, for example, to criticize someone who's chronically depressed. The Gorse parent who is in poor health can't be expected to go on an overnight camping trip with her daughter's Girl Scout Trip.

On a deeper level the physical or other conditions of Gorse people protect them from challenges and growth, from taking risks, from possibly failing, from being afraid of the unknown.

Golden Gorse

Out of Nature's great wisdom, the gorse flower, like the mustard flower (for depression of unknown origins) is a radiant yellow hue. To see it growing on a hillside in England or Ireland is cause for cheerfulness.

Its results when taken internally are similar. The individual who takes Gorse usually ceases to look exclusively outward for help and becomes in touch with his own internal resources. He develops a new faith in the future, and often subtle healing methods, such as Reiki, have a positive effect on his well-being. Physical conditions may often be alleviated. If they are not they assume less importance.

When the chronic condition is other than physical the change may be even more dramatic. The quality of strength and hope can lead people to move forward in their lives with great courage and determination.

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