Care a little about somebody other than yourself

This past weekend was packed with lots of sun, outdoor time and socializing. It was a wonderful holiday weekend. I haven't been in the States for a national holiday in some time and many years since I celebrated the 4rth at home. It felt good to be festive and celebrate something uniquely American in the country instead of out. Sunday we took an excellent hike in the woods. The weather could not have been better and we were feeling quite jovial and expansive when we stumbled across a huge stockpile of used fireworks. In the middle of this fiasco was an empty liqueur bottle.

We just stood and stared. Is this 1976? WTF? Whoever decided to light off fireworks in these woods managed to get everything in, but couldn't figure a way to carry it out. It was ugly, stupid and a realization of how far we haven't come since the Keep America Beautiful commercials in the 70's. Uuh....

Happy Birthday America, God Bless and Good Luck.

Vitality Through Veggies

I have been reading This Crazy Vegan Life by Christina Pirello. I first discovered Christina through her cooking show on public television. Christina Cooks was on at four in the afternoon on weekdays. I would dash home and stare fascinated by what this woman was doing......suggesting. I would sit completely enthralled, but also totally overwhelmed. This was way more than I had ever ventured to do!   My introduction to a vegetarian lifestyle came when I moved into a non meat eating household and later through Neal Barnard's food for life. My housemates were all practicing at different levels, some were eating junk cereal all day and only one was cooking.  She relocated to San Francisco shortly after I moved in but by the time I moved out, vegetarianism had kind of stuck and I moved on to fuller cooking and a vegan approach. That's when I  discovered Food for Life, I cooked up a storm from that book. I have always enjoy the kitchen and I cook a great deal.  By the time I discovered Christina Cooks I was preparing all my meals from my own kitchen and felt I had seen and done it all, but she introduced new concepts and I realized I had never eaten so clean or consciously. Christina talked about sustainable living, buying organic and local, and living green. With time, my schedule became over crowded and my life unbalanced.  Eventually I lapsed back into red meat and other sundry.  As yoga grew into a larger part of my life, vegetarianism has ebbed back in. This time around things are very different.  It's not an all or nothing venture and I am no longer cooking for one. In order to make this work I need a balance and there lies the challenge . The past four days I have been cooking vast meals from her book. I have been unable to get past the first two days of recipes although I have cooked large meals every day for the past week! Unfortunately I do not have the time to shop and cook at this level every day. We are all feeling energetic and healthier and I fully intend to keep moving in this direction but at a realistic pace for my lifestyle.  I'll cook a bit, freeze a bit, store a bit and concentrate on dinner. I can't do it all, I can't even do half, but I can do something and that's enough for now.

Good health and happy cooking everyone!

June 30, 2009

The June 30th advice for a year in living your yoga states Chocolate is one of the sacraments.
Being truly alive to our sensations is to be truly alive to life. Sit in a quiet place and take a bite of your favorite chocolate. Hold it in your tongue: let it melt slightly. Taste it fully. Enjoy the smell. It is not the chocolate that is the practice; it is the ability to be fully alive to each moment. Cultivate this practice today.

Very nice, very nice.....

Heart of Change

lately I have been saying to myself, " Be the change. Be the change" I walk my dogs, go about my day, grocery shop, write reports, go to meetings , pay the bills and I tell myself over and over" be the change... be the change." There is something internal going on inside of me. Something profound that I am at this point unable to articulate yet feel in every fiber of my being. So Friday I am in yoga class, burning off my karma and opening up my heart chalkra and my teacher Jenna says,

"If you wanna make the
world a better place
take a look at yourself and
then make the change."

ahh.... thank you girl, that was perfect and to you Mr. Jackson, I really didn't know you very well but I am very sorry things were so terribly painful for you. I hope the next time is much better. Thank you for the message, I'll take it to heart.

Sweetness

Goblin Market

Morning and evening

Maids heard the goblins cry:

"Come buy our orchard fruits,

Come buy, come buy:

Apples and quinces,

Lemons and oranges,

Plump unpeck'd cherries,

Melons and raspberries,

Bloom-down-cheek'd peaches,

Swart-headed mulberries,

Wild free-born cranberries,

Crab-apples, dewberries,

Pine-apples, blackberries,

Apricots, strawberries; -

All ripe together

In summer weather...

Christina Rosetti

The Finish Line

I don't need to win, I just need to cross it. One more week, one more slightly insane seven days with a lot of small finish lines in between. Keep breathing, stay cool, concentrate and then I'm FREE!

In the coming months I'll be checking out some interesting yoga teachers and sharing my impressions. Exploring This Crazy Vegan Life with Christine Pirello, adjusting to the new and exciting changes in my ever changing life, and studying for my qualifying exam.

OK! Yeah! Lets do it!

Have a good, good feeling week everyone.

I can do it!

It's a bit like this for a while. lots of meetings, paperwork, construction on the house ,massive changes in the personal life and a cracked car window. Looking forward to breathing in a green Summer with lots of yoga. See you soon !
Miss. S.