Wisdom in the words of Rumi

"Whatever purifies you, is the correct road,

I will try not to define it."

—   -   Rumi

Ah, Rumi, you touch my heart. I only recently heard of Rumi in the past couple of years, when I found a quote that suited me and my love of hoopdance so well that I put it on my business cards: “we came spinning out of nothingness,

Scattering stars…The stars form a circle, And in the center we dance. --Rumi”

Where had I been? How had I missed Rumi? Was Rumi a man or a woman? A woman was my guess. I don’t think I’m all that well read, honestly, but I should’ve at least heard of her/him, right? I bought The Essential Rumi, a thick book full of Rumi’s poems on topics of human emotions, of life, death, love, of the Divine, and I pick it up and read it now and then.

And it turns out that Rumi, a thirteenth century Persian mystic, was actually a man (I was wrong).

Still, I hadn’t discovered this quote until the other night when I was on facebook. Ah, facebook, I’ve learned so much from your site and your faithful users! Sometimes people put their favorite quotes in their profile and I love to read those. This one popped out at me from someone’s page and it’s so apropos. One of my friends recently mentioned that the older she gets, the less she cares about what other people think. Right on, sister! That’s what this quote so perfectly embodies to me.

Whatever speaks to my soul, whatever road purifies me, that is where I want to go. Doesn’t matter what other people may think, they should not and will not be the ones defining my path. And conversely, neither should I be the one defining the paths of others. To me it’s also a lesson in letting go of judgment and, in the process, being free.

give your stuff away day

            As I was out gardening on a beautiful, sunny day last week I had one of those moments where I needed something and wasted too much time looking for it. I was pulling out a bunch of vines and other green ‘stuff’ (I don’t know technical names) from my flowerbeds and I needed a shovel for digging up some of the biggest dandelions I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t find the shovel in the garage. Had I left it in another flowerbed? I walked around the house and looked. Nothing. It had to be in the garage. I looked again. There it was, huddled by the three snow shovels. What? I thought, WHY do we have three snow shovels, especially considering the winter we just had?

            I had the sudden urge to overhaul the garage as I looked around and saw endless toys, bikes, scooters, yard paraphernalia, a broken chair, tools, kites, and on and on. I think we could survive just fine with half of all that stuff. But throwing stuff—good stuff—away makes no sense, and then I remembered the annual event coming up in May that is officially known as ‘Give Your Stuff Away Day.’ It’s a huge recycling event, and something I’d love to see in every community.

            It’s so simple. On Saturday, May 12, just set items you don’t want out on your curb or in your alley and they’re free for the taking. You’re gifting items to someone who can use them and you’re uncluttering and you’re treading lightly on the Earth. It’s a triple win. Plus, the next day is Mother’s Day (a holiday I’m not crazy about but that’s a whole other column). What do I want? A clean garage. Thanks in advance to my family, who’ll help make that happen!

            Some ideas:

            Put a sign out that says ‘FREE’

            Electronics, tools, toys, clothes are all acceptable. Even plants and potted trees!

Nothing that’s been recalled, and no chemicals or paint (these go to the Household Hazardous Waste Center)

Check out www.giveyourstuffaway.com for more ideas.

Carrying joy inside

            “Whatever we once had that was beautiful, but is now gone…is inside us now. The ‘beauty of beauty’, the ‘joy of joy’ is never lost.”

            I love this quote by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. As I’m going about my days, full of energy and able bodied, as I’m digging in the earth or holding a child’s soft hand or teaching a dance class—all of these things that I love so much—I sometimes think of what life when be like when I can’t do these things any more or when my children are grown.

            What will fill my days then? Will I be sad, lonely, lost, without my kids in daily life and without so many of the pursuits that make me feel alive and that anchor me and give me purpose in my life?

            How did my grandma, who loved to cook so much and to show love through her cooking feel when she was unable to cook anymore? She never expressed outward sadness to me about it when she gradually lost the ability to make meals like she used to, or when she turned to heating microwave meals or making sandwiches. Later she couldn’t manage even that anymore, and later still I sat with her and spoonfed her as she worked to recover from a stroke. She lit up like a Christmas tree when my dad visited, her son and her tie to her life as a young wife and mother. I think she carried the joy inside.

            “All that has ever been beauty and joy and love in your life, no matter what happened next, no matter what broke, or became unable, or died or went away…all the beauty and joy and love in your life is inside you now.”

            I hope to dig a little deeper, hold on to a hand a little tighter, to dance just a little more and to soak up the feel of the breeze on my face and to carry that joy inside always.

Digging in the Earth

            It’s that time of year again—time to get my hands dirty and grow some things. It’s such a thrill to see daffodils blooming and tulips coming up. My lilacs are starting to bud! Everything’s ahead of schedule because of the mild winter, though I hope this doesn’t mean we have a scorching hot summer.

            A couple years ago we built four 4 by 8 foot raised garden beds and started a vegetable garden. This is something the kids look forward to and love. Most of us  probably live on suburban lots, so what’s great about raised beds is that they’re compact and pretty much an instant gratification thing sinceit only takes a couple of hours. Plus, it’s cool to eat food you’ve grown yourself. My kids think it tastes the best.

            I encourage anyone to try their hand at growing some of their own food, especially families with kids. Did I mention my kids LOVE it?

            Let’s start with building a raised bed. We built ours in a sunny spot in the yard with cedar boards and got some soil from GreenCycle to fill it. Building raised beds may sound like a lot of work, but I’m actually a lazy gardener and didn’t want to dig up all that grass (and then deal with where to put it). I laid down thick piles of newspaper, put the bed ‘frame’ on it, and filled it with soil. Voila! The grass dies and the newspaper composts. Raised gardens also dramatically cut down on weeds, which sounds good to the lazy gardener.

            Now, what to plant? I recommend carrots, tomatoes, peas, and/or beans. Herbs are great too. We started seeds indoors last week, so if you go that route now is the time to do that. I always buy heirloom seeds or plants, so that I’m not giving my money to companies that grow GMO crops.

            And if you buy seedlings later in the spring, also look for heirlooms. I like to buy from independent nurseries, especially Garden Thyme, who sells heirloom tomato plants in the summer.

            Since I’m a fan of keeping it simple, some of my favorite gardening books are those written for kids, like Garden Crafts for Kids and Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, both covering ways to get started on your gardening adventure, composting, and easy projects to do with your kids. Happy Gardening!

Have hoops, will travel (Feb. 14)

   

Super Hoopers!

           

            With Super Bowl XLVI a recent memory, I had a chance to make some fun memories with a girl I like to call my ‘Super Hooper.’ Hooping makes the world go round, for us anyway, and even though I don’t follow football and didn’t have any plans to venture anywhere near downtown, the mild temps and the lure of witnessing the city transformation for this ‘once in a lifetime’ event drew us in.

            So we went, hoops and music in tow. ‘Super Hooper’, aka my daughter, Lily, didn’t take long to warm up to the atmosphere. She likes the spotlight and we wove through Super Bowl Village, hooping at different spots along the way. She rocked up to three hoops at once and grinned big. We made our way to a spot where we stayed the longest, on Meridian St. in between Georgia and the Circle.

There a man was playing an array of drums and blowing a whistle. He saw our hoops and motioned us in. Lily started spinning to the music he made, lighting up the night with an LED hoop. A small crowd started gathering around the entertainment, now including a guy in a football jersey dancing and clapping.

            She beamed when some in the crowd came up and put some dollar bills in her little ‘tip jar’, giving Lily her first hoop money, which she’s put in an envelope and hidden in a top secret spot in her room.

            We made our way up the monument steps and hooped there too, alone and looking out over the Circle. She said she didn’t want to leave and we stayed a little longer before heading home, glad we’d packed up our hoops and gone on an adventure out into the world as Super Hoopers. 

You’re eating engineered food, but you don’t know it

             Experimental food. Food that has been engineered to produce its own pesticides. Food that isn’t labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients and, since it’s a new thing, we humans have no idea what the long term effects on our own health will be. Welcome to the 21^st century food supply!

 I’ve known about and tried to avoid GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) for years, but lately have done some more reading and gotten riled up all over again because of how prevalent these ingredients are in our broken food chain.

In a statement from the Center for Food Safety, most Americans say they wouldn’t eat food containing GMO’s if it was labeled. But neither the US or Canada, unlike most industrialized countries, require foods containing GMO’s to be labeled at all. That’s messed up. We have a right to know what we’re consuming. And if you’re buying and consuming commercial brands of cereal, conventional milk, factory farmed meat, soy, and on and on, you’re consuming genetically engineered food.

One of the biggest biotech conglomerates engineering these genetically modified crops and seeds is the one that makes toxic Round-Up. This is what the agribusiness is now—huge conglomerates making chemicals and supplying engineered crops to the masses.

This is what I hate about food shopping. I have to examine every freaking ingredient label for what I want to avoid. High Fructose Corn Syrup? That’s GMO corn. Nope. Milk containing rBST or rBGH? That’s genetically engineered hormones to make cows produce more milk. Nope. Factory farmed meat? Those animals have been fattened with GMO corn, which is most certainly not their natural diet. Nope.

I’m losing my appetite just thinking about grocery shopping.

Here are the ‘Big Four’ common GMO ingredients to avoid: Corn, Soy, Canola, and Cottonseed oil. Be aware and concerned about our food supply.

For more info, check out:

Organicconsumers.org—Links to articles and calls to action

Truefoodnow.org—A Shopper’s Guide—great reference for brands to look for and brands to avoid.

Millionsagainstmonsanto.org

Committing to eating healthier in 2012

With 2012 and New Year’s resolutions looming on the horizon, I thought I’d briefly cover a topic I get asked a lot by those who know I’m pretty health and environmentally conscious: what do you eat?

             Basically, I strive to eat real food—food that’s as close to its natural state as possible. I’m not a vegetarian, I do eat meat occasionally and I try to eat local meat when I do. I eat real butter and have whole milk on my cereal. I use half & half in my coffee (which I’m always trying to cut back on). I buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. I cook beans a lot and use them in recipes for protein and other nutrients. I try to buy local eggs when I can.

            We’re lucky here in this area to have a grocery bin delivery company called Green B.E.A.N delivery. They deliver bins of fruit and vegetables—many are organic and local when possible. They have lots of local items you can select from the menu, and it comes right to your door.

            One thing I hear a lot is that it’s expensive to eat natural, whole foods. Yes, you’ll pay more for your food generally. My philosophy is to pay more for better food and eat less of it.

I drink mostly water. Soda and most fruit juices are pure empty calories with food dyes and tons of sugar. Diet soda—though calorie free—is probably also one of the worst as far as negative effects it has on the body. I do have a sweet tooth and love almost anything sweet. I have a sip of soda a couple times a year and eat cookies and ice cream more than I should (I’m committing to reducing my sugar intake in the new year).

I don’t love to cook, which is kind of a bummer, but I try to cook extra when I do so it’s less work overall (there’s another resolution—stock the freezer with extra meals).  Here’s a lentil soup recipe that I’ve adapted and can cook up quickly: One bag lentils, rinsed and drained, one can spaghetti sauce, one chopped onion, 4 -5 carrots, peeled and sliced. Add ingredients to pan along with 1-2 cups water and cook till lentils and carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add more water if soup is too thick. Enjoy!