Borrowing One Another's Eyes: Why Learning in Community Changes Us

This past weekend I had some wonderful young Herbal Explorers in my garden. They arrived full of curiosity and together we used our five senses to get to know the plants in new ways. They smelled the herbs, noticed textures and colors, listened to the buzzing bees and recorded their discoveries in their nature journals.

Watching children experience the garden with such wonder is a beautiful reminder that time in nature helps us rediscover the magic and beauty of the land. Their curiosity also reinforced something I have come to believe deeply: some of our richest learning happens in community.

Not long ago, I read a newsletter from Kelly, the principal of a small school my son attended during junior high. She shared a story that has stayed with me.

As part of a professional development day, she invited her teachers to walk a labyrinth. Each person walked alone, taking the time they needed and making observations along the way. Afterwards, they gathered together to share what they had experienced.

She wrote:

"We all walked the same labyrinth. But none of us had the same journey."

She went on to reflect:

"Each of us had made meaning differently, noticing different things, carrying different perspectives and emotions into the journey. As we listened to one another, our individual experiences became richer as we borrowed one another's eyes, and we noticed things we had completely missed ourselves."

I loved that phrase—borrowed one another's eyes.

It perfectly describes why I continue to gather women together.

Whether we're sitting in a women's circle, making herbal remedies, wandering through the garden or simply sharing a cup of tea, something extraordinary happens when we learn in community. We discover there isn't just one way to experience a plant, a season, or even our own healing.

One woman notices the fragrance of lemon balm before anything else. Another remembers her grandmother drying herbs in the kitchen. Someone else asks a question that changes how we've all been thinking. An experienced herbalist shares years of wisdom, while someone brand new reminds us to slow down and truly see the plants with fresh eyes.

We all arrive carrying different stories.

And when we leave, we've each been changed a little by everyone else's.

Why In-Person Herbalism Classes Add Something Different

One of the beautiful things about herbalism today is that we have access to incredible teachers from around the world. I have learned so much through online courses and continue to value them deeply. In fact, our Essential Herbalism program intentionally combines online learning with monthly in-person gatherings because each offers something unique.

The online lessons provide knowledge, structure and a strong foundation.

When we gather in person, that knowledge comes alive. We harvest together, make medicine together, laugh together and learn not only from the plants but from one another.

Both ways of learning have tremendous value. Together, they create something even richer.

Hands-On Herbal Learning in the Garden

As I've been preparing for Rooted in the Garden, I've found myself returning to this idea again and again.

People sometimes tell me they're worried they don't know enough to join. Others wonder if they've been studying herbs for years and won't learn anything new.

The truth is, both belong.

Whether you're meeting these plants for the very first time or have been walking beside them for decades, you have something to receive—and something to offer.

The garden doesn't ask us to arrive as experts. It simply asks us to pay attention. And when we do that together, we begin to borrow one another's eyes.

One woman notices the bees before anyone else. Another is captivated by the scent of tulsi. Someone recognizes a medicinal plant from childhood. Someone else shares a question that shifts the conversation in a direction none of us expected.

The plants haven't changed. The garden hasn't changed. But because we've experienced it together, we leave seeing more than we could have seen alone.

That is why I continue to create spaces where women can gather. Not simply to learn about herbs.

But to build relationships—with the plants, with themselves and with one another. Because I believe that some of the most meaningful learning doesn't happen when we're given answers.

It happens when we slow down, become curious, and borrow one another's eyes.

Through Under the Linden Tree, I offer hands-on herbal classes, women's circles, and herbal medicine-making experiences in the Denver and Centennial, Colorado area.

Rooted in the Garden grew from my desire to create a deeper kind of herbal learning—one rooted in the plants themselves, hands-on medicine making, and the wisdom that emerges when we gather in community.