Author: valeriecameronmerritt

Food and eating are a glorious, sensual part of life.  Food appeals to our sense of touch, taste, and smell.  Many even enjoy the sounds associated with food: sizzling, a wooden spoon running across the sauté pan, the water rushing over the vegetables in the colander, or the knife against the cutting board in it’s percussive precision.

I don’t know about you, but I love to eat!! I like the entire creative process.  I like to organize, chop, cook or bake, present, and then sit down to eat and enjoy!

With all of this love of food buzzing around inside of me, I find that it can be directed in one of two ways – towards indulgence or towards mindfulness.  Both are pleasurable for different reasons and with different outcomes depending on the measures taken to balance the two.

I like to embrace whichever direction I’ve taken and also listen to my body so that I can balance with mindfulness if I’ve too long enjoyed indulgence.  When you find it’s time to reset, a cleansing soup can be a helpful tool.  You can go head on, committing yourself to eating this primarily and drinking the broth for two to three days or you can go lightly and replace a meal or two in this fashion.  If you go head on but find yourself needing something additional, consider adding whole fruits, vegetables, and perhaps almonds and cashews.  In the past, I have cut caffeine when cleansing, but would at this time leave it in place.  A cup of coffee in the morning is one of life’s treasures!

The soup can be made of leeks, onions, celery, fennel, garlic, lemons, or spinach.  You can use any combination of nonstartchy greens and alliums covered in water and set to simmer.

Begin by drinking the broth, and when you are hungry take out the greens and alliums to eat.  A drizzle of olive oil on top of the vegetables may help to stay solo with the soup for a longer time period. In the photo below I added herbs for flavor and avocado for a midday boost in nutrients, fiber, and protein.  Some herbs I would recommend are thyme, oregano, and rosemary.

This soup is good for the mind, body, and soul!

I am currently reading a text entitled “Cognitive Coaching” by Arthur L. Costa and Robert J. Garmston.  This aims at creating self-directed leaders and learners in the field of education, however, I feel that the passages apply to us all and our life choices.

Quotes from Cognitive Coaching on Behavior, Values, and Identity:

• “under certain conditions, repeated behaviors may affect beliefs.”
• “values, beliefs, and behaviors are related to identities, which reinforce and sustain identity adjustments.”
• “identity is always a moving target”
• “as we transcend the self and become part of the whole, we do not lose our individuality but rather our egocentricity.”

I especially like thinking of identity as a moving target, for the position that offers in making desired improvements to ourselves and not being confined to a narrow existence.  We can always adopt a new way of thinking, choose to nurture positive internal lingo, and honor the best parts of ourselves.  In this, we can evolve to become more fully who we are at the core and integrate our unique individuality into the whole thoughtfully.

Last week a local storyteller came to my daughter’s school to share tales from different cultures.  In between the two performances she gave at the school to accommodate all six grade levels in a relatively small gathering space, she spoke to me personally about why she does what she does.  A storyteller is a person who shares tales to draw on the commonalities of humanity, to learn from the wisdom of others, and feel connected within our communities.  I felt such kinship with her intention, her purpose, and the importance of her words soaked into me.  She felt that if she could release her ego to allow a story to work through her that she could be a conduit for humor, life lessons, and binding the threads of our humanness. 

I walked away from the conversation carrying a lot of questions and solidifying some truths as well.  She told stories that reinforced thinking already present in me.  One was of a man who was a pot maker, had a few exciting adventures, gained wealth and fame, and after a short time of enjoying all of that – went back to being a pot maker because he enjoyed his work.  I liked this so much for the point of tasks that may be seen as menial by some bringing a great satisfaction to others.  Each task is needed.  Each job calls for fulfillment.  I think the most important question is, how is the work being approached?  Is it done well?  Is there love in the labor?

With the focus on positivity for Wednesdays, I am asking you to think on this with me:  If your heart did not lead you to your work, can your heart lead you to find the value in the task at hand?  Can you approach it with love and care?  If your heart did lead you there, is it a constant guide?

Here’s to loving what you do everyday!

 

When you’re looking for a way to bring more positivity into your life, it’s easiest to place your attention on one thing that’s really good.  Find one thing that you’re pleased with and talk about it a lot.  This will spread the feeling and help it to grow larger within you.  As this becomes your practice and you create conversation about things you are grateful for that bring happiness, it will become second nature to find the good things in your life.

Tell everyone what’s good about today!

 

Something to ponder as the calendar year comes to it’s close, and the sun bestows more light upon us, gathering momentum for new cycles & growth…

“You are what your deepest desire is.
As your desire is, so is your intention.
As your intention is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny.”

–The Upanishads

 

We dedicate so much of our focus to celebration and honoring family, traditions, and spirituality to this specific time of year which can result in unrealistic expectations as well as extra stress depending on the approach taken.

Watching the blossoms on my Christmas Cactus come to life, stretching out it’s joyful red petals, has caused me to pause for a moment and ponder the steady care required all throughout the year that produces these blooms at the holidays. The plant has reserved it’s blossoming for the closing of the year and holds symbolism of the fresh starts promised by a new year.   It reminds me to nurture those things I want to see blossom all along as the days pass and that with time, the care will produce little blooms unfolding all over the place! This is true of friendships, familial connection, workplace interactions, personal expression, and more!

Please remember to nurture yourself and others throughout the year and to allow things to flourish in their own way and time!

 

Tips by Nora (age 9), with afterthoughts from her mother:

1. Never judge someone by the way they look.   Beautiful gifts can come in unexpected packages.  Be open to beauty in it’s many forms.
2. Always be friendly.  Approach others with a smile.  We are all drawn to kindness.
3. Be polite.  Consideration for speech and actions can create a positive atmosphere.
4. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Yes and Yes and Yes and Yes. That’s the ticket!

 

Affirmation:  I am complete

“You are an unfinished work in progress. One of the good things about life’s challenges: you get to find out that you’re capable of being far more than you ever thought possible.” – Karen Salmonsohn

Openended discussions, the never ending cycle of dishes in the sink, the work you did today that will continue to require attention tomorrow: life is always unfinished and you, too, are always in process of becoming – until your physical body ceases to be.

We can also view ‘unfinished’ as always complete.  There is nothing but completion in each moment. As the moment flies off from us, it is complete and we are too.  If our world and us as part of it, are always in process then why not see this process itself as a form of completion?  Celebrating our unfinished states of being and recognizing this as complete in any given moment may help to spread peace in your heart and quiet into your mind.  I wish this for you! Be at peace, with a quiet mind, an unfinished beautiful work in progress, and yet absolutely complete in your exchange with each moment.

Affirmation:

I confidently allow the blossoming of my True Self.  I open the petals of my heart to allow the fullness of my spirit, talents, and self expression.