An education is a dangerous thing to have. With knowledge comes power, and with power comes obligation and the need for a wholelotta wisdom.

It all began when I watched Food, Inc., a modern-day equivalent of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Thanks to filmmaker Robert Kenner, my eyes were opened to the truth behind the industrializaton of food - how big business has sacrificed food quality increase profits. The cow and the chicken are no longer complex creatures belonging to an ecosystem but commodities to be processed, genetically modified organisms are beginning to dominate our landscapes, and single-crop "farms" are depleting the soil of vital nutrients leading to an increase in disease and need for more pesticides and antibiotics. Ignorance is bliss; after seeing the film I felt like crawling into an imaginary void and curling into the fetal position - my understanding of food and American culture was deconstructed before my very eyes. (Paradigm shift anyone?)

Since my curiosity was piqued, I felt obligated to take a stand, for my health and the health of my community. Encouraged by the movie to vote with my dollar, I chose to only buy organic for 40 days. In doing so, I had to give up the myriad of choices offered to me by my local grocery store and get creative with my cooking. Saying no to tomatoes since they weren't in season was difficult, but it also made me look forward to summer when they would be available in the organic section.

During these 40 days I also began reading. What do all of the different organic certifications mean? What is a grass-fed cow? What is the difference between a free-range chicken and an organic chicken? I read In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. I've contemplated joining a CSA. I've bought more food from my local farmer's market. I'm currently reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson as a continuation of my environmental education.

The bottom line is that it's all about stewardship. It's incredibly disheartening how our fast-paced Western lifestyle has disconnected us from the very earth we live on. We favor accomplishing tasks and have forgotten that the greatest joys are found in the process of getting from point A to point B. And this lifestyle has permeated the very core of our culture - our eating habits - as evidenced by the fact that we no longer know where our food comes from, how it's made, or quite frankly what is in it. Eating is a means to an end instead of a daily time to stop, gather together and share.

It's all I can do to keep my feet planted here in LA, where a grass-fed dairy seems nonexistent and where fast-paced is the norm. I daydream about my little utopia; I live in a small community where each of us is interdependent upon the other for the necessities in life, neighbors share meals, and nobody worries about reading food labels because they simply don't exist.

Living in the Interim

Life often takes us to a period where we are meant to rest, to wait, and to grow. These are not the times we yearn for; but times we yearn to move past from, to escape, move beyond to what is bigger and better.

A good thing can not be rushed.

I currently find myself in an "interim" period. As J and I wait to get married, seeing each other only on the weekends, there is a temptation to speed up the process. If I try to fight time, I get tangled up in the weeks and minutes and seconds that will tick by as they will, ever constant, ever steady. The only thing to do is wait, and learn to enjoy the events that will come to pass before this big life change that we are eagerly anticipating.

In my previous post I made a statement about choosing to be happy. Sometimes happiness is not a choice, rather sadness is the appropriate response. In fact, sadness is often the appropriate response to reality. Instead of stating that we must choose to be happy, I'm changing my approach: We must choose to be content.

Therefore, even though I am sad that J and I must have this "commuter" relationship for now, even though the words we say to comfort ourselves are beginning to fall flat, I will choose to be content. I will choose to take each day for what it offers, be it happiness, sadness, or somewhere in between. And I will choose to enjoy this time, the friendships I have in proximity, this final year and three months of "singlehood."

Blessings,

M

"Perfection of virtue is not required of me. Perfection of love is, and that is a very different thing."

Madleine L'Engle

The Beginning.

Alright, the time is ripe. I'm ready to make my first post. It's a little bit silly to make an event out of this - it's not like I have any readers eagerly anticipating the thoughts that are dripping from my fingers.

I've given a lot of thought as to what to write about. I'm getting married soon; write about my wedding? I'm a nurse interested in alternative medicine; write about health? I love cooking; write about my latest culinary creations? None of these topics are any I could write about for any period of time.

So I've decided to integrate them. This blog will be about my experience in seeking a holistic lifestyle. My struggle to balance, to grow, to never stop adventuring.

Join me!

Blessings,

M

...we are only as happy as we choose to be...