Nourish Your Life

I love to learn!  There are so many ways to “learn” available for us!  In September, we think about going “back to school.”  Going back to the formal education; and…I am all for it-after all, I teach at the college level…but I do recall reading a quote by Albert Einstein:  “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” And, there is something to be said for that!

And so…as I ponder the different ways there are to learn, I first think of my stepping stones: nature, simplicity, gratitude and and how my newest stepping stone, education, all fits together.

Ponder with me, be curious with me, if you will…How do YOU view education?  Do YOU prefer “formal” or “not-so-formal” education?  What part does education play in YOUR Stepping Stones?  How do YOU learn from them?

I certainly am curious   Are YOU?

Stay tuned, as we ponder this together

We are home from our family vacation, and what a wonderful and wonder-filled vacation it was!

My husband and I, our children and grandchildren, all gathered together (under one roof) for close to a week.

We arrived Monday evening.  On Tuesday, I was the first to get up and decided to go exploring.  It was a very “hilly” area and I LOVE hills.  So, up and down I ran; found a trail to climb; at the top was a beautiful clearing (like you would see on a Disney movie).  I returned to it often.

  After my exploration, I headed back to our cottage.  When I walked in, what did I see?  Everyone in my family sitting around the tables with their lap tops or Nintendo games.  Good grief!  My first thought was, “I don’t belong in this family!”

The remainder of the week, I ponder this thought…and reflected on each family member and how I connect with him or her.

My lesson learned?  FAMILY is not about “what we do,” but “who we are.”

And…WHO are WE?  We are a family! 

Last week, my coach Jo, gave me a quote to ponder. The quote is: “We wander for distraction; we travel for fulfillment.” Hilaire Belloc.

I have been pondering that quote, and to me, it seems just the opposite is true: “We wander for fulfillment and travel for distraction.”  Maybe I should change it to: I wander for fulfillment and travel for distraction.

This week we are on a family vacation; 15 of us in a five bedroom (three bathroom) cottage on Round Lake, Michigan.  I shall get up very early to go wandering and pondering. 

Does “fulfillment” come on “Higher Ground?” I wonder? (As I wander and ponder?-sounds like a song..:)

What are YOU wondering about today?  What do YOU think about that quote?  Where does YOUR fulfillment come from?

Today is my first Wednesday on the 100 mile diet.  I had decided to just eat the veggies from our home garden…Early this morning I picked tomatoes, zucchini, kale, cucumbers, and one smallish carrot.

Although I had decided to just eat these vegetables, we do have a local farmer with beautiful chicken eggs.  Why not!  An omelet for breakfast; hard boiled eggs on a veggie salad for lunch; don’t know about dinner yet.  Maybe gazpacho?

I need to find some local grains.  Sure wish quinoa was grown locally!  I wonder???  It is so easy to cook, and I have so many recipes for it!  Salads, soups, side dishes, and even desserts!

Maybe next year I can grow it myself?

How are YOU doing on YOUR 100 mile diet?  What foods are YOU able to find?  What are YOU looking for?

I have spent the last few weeks “leveling out” on a little bit “higher ground.” I have worked on all of my steps; gratitude, nature and simplicity.  Eliminating tolerations, keeping a gratitude journal, taking hikes in nature, the 100 mile diet (which has been the most fascinating), and many other baby steps that have taken me “higher.”  I then “sat” at this spot for about two weeks-just to observe my higher ground.

I have now become restless to climb higher!! I am thrilled by this discovery!  Thrilled and a little un-nerved by it.  What will the higher ground look like?  What will it take for me to get there? 

Will you go with me?  Are you ready to “climb higher?”  Let’s go!

It is the last day of June; I have been climbing to Higher Ground for 30 days now.  Have I made it a little higher?  I wonder…

My stepping stones are nature, simplicity and gratitude;  cemented together by God’s Love and Peace.

The beginning of June, I began with Simplicity by eliminating tolerations.  My first go-through went very well; got rid of alot of “stuff.”  Somehow, though, tolerations have a life of their own, and continue to pop up again.  That’s OK.  Simplicity is not as simple as I thought it would be; I have discovered that it is a process, rather than a goal.

Next, was Nature; eating locally, sustainable foods, choosing foods that are grown within 100 miles of where we live. I am still discovering WHAT foods are grown within 100 miles, but this really has been an adventure! …and I LOVE adventures!

The final “stone” I have worked on is Gratitude.  I truly am grateful for the sunrise and sunset; and “life” in between…Tomorrow, July 1st I begin my Gratitude Journal.

What else will July bring, as I climb a little higher? 

How was YOUR month of June?  How did YOU climb ”a little higher?”  What will July bring for YOU?

What will take me a step higher on “gratitude?”  I used to keep a “gratitude journal,” but somehow got away from it.

It is time to go back…just as a tiny step higher…

I recall the quote, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough.”  ~Miester Eckhart

Today I will find my Gratitude Journal, or perhaps buy a brand new one, and – before I go to bed, write three things I am grateful for.  This is JUST the beginning…and I am grateful to begin…

How about YOU?  Do YOU have a Gratitude Journal?  How will YOU begin?

I need to go to the library and get a copy of the “The100 mile diet.”  It has been awhile since I read it.

So far, I have chosen SATURDAY as my “100″ day.  It will be the easiest as I go to the Farmers Market on Saturday morning.  I am beginning the first Saturday after the first day of summer (which is this Sunday, June 21.)  So, I have about a week to figure this out.

I know my 100 mile radius.  (To figure YOURS out, go to 100 mile diet and “click” on “find your 100 miles.”

Now, I need to figure out either 1) what foods are produced in those 100 miles, or 2) what foods do I want to eat and then find those foods or a suitable substitute.

I emailed my book club (we worked on reading and discussing this book together) and asked for their help with this.  Diana Dyer suggested that I make a list of foods and we would brainstorm how to get them.  Thanks Diana!!!  Our next book club meets June 24.  Just in time!

Have YOU found YOUR 100 mile radius?  What foods will YOU be eating?  What “day” have YOU chosen?

“You eat.  Willingly or not, you participate in the environment of food choice.  The choices you make about food are as much about the kind of world you want to live in as they are about what to have for dinner.”  Marion Nestle, “What to Eat”

I am reading an excellent book, “Go Green-Get Lean” by Kate Geagan, MS, RD.  Kate’s premise is that while you are reducing your carbon footprint, you will also reduce your waistine!  Check the book out of your library and give it a “read.”

There is much to the benefits of eating locally grown foods-including being deemed a “locavore!”  …and, how does this effect MY Journey to Higher Ground?

I already eat fairly low on the food-chain and we just planted our own vegetable garden (tomatoes, peppers, peas, corn, beets, spinach, kale, zucchini, cucumbers and carrots.) 

I wonder if I could follow the 100 mile diet ?  I will begin journeying a little higher by commiting to eating foods that are grown no further away from our home than 100 miles!  Everyday?  NOPE!  But, I will begin with one day a week…

AGH!!! What-the-heck have I just commited myself to…Yes!  I CAN do it one day a week!

How about YOU? What will YOU commit to; what will take you a little higher?

What do I preach?  You are what you eat.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say: You are what you ATE!

Our body is remarkable!  EVERYTHING we put into our mouths becomes part of it…The macronutrients: carbs, protein and fat; the micronutrients: vitamins, minerals, water; and now phytonutrients: including antioxidents which we are learning more and more about each day.

The quality of our food, which affects the quality of our body, begins with how and where the food is grown.  Is it grown locally?  Has it been shipped thousands of miles?  Was it sprayed with pesticides?  How were the animals treated? …and many other questions.

As we continue our exploration of “we are what we ate,” these are all factors to consider.

What are YOU eating today?  That is who you will become…