2026 MWHC Keynote: Herbalism as Activism: Simple Medicines for Complex Times with Jiling Lin

Herbalism is activism. Ours is a simple medicine. A beautiful medicine. Ours is a roots-down people’s medicine to rest, move, connect, nourish, and create alone and together for communal resilience. In these complex times, let’s unite people, plants, and the planet for our common good. Together, we will explore community-based lifestyle medicine principles through the Five Elements of East Asian medicine: resting with Water, moving with Wood, connecting with Fire, nourishing with Earth, and reflecting with Metal. Self-care is community care. Loving ourselves, each other, and the world, we reciprocate care in all directions. Love in, love out. Together, we rise.