Health Literacy

I heard someone speak yesterday about Health Literacy.  Much like becoming Culturally literate this pertains to educating oneself on the benefits of health.  Let's face it, we walk around every second of everyday in our bodies but do we truly know them?

Our society is bombarded with one diet after another...is it 8 glasses of water a day?  Or is it 10?  Should I eat veggies?  What if I can't spend the $20 on an organic baggie of apples?  What then?  Do I just toss it aside, grab a pizza, damage and inflame myself more????

Much like my determination to live an intentional sustainable life, I'm going with the one step at a time approach.  My brother became a vegan not long after our mother died.  At the end she was a chemical, pharmaceutical concoction and it deeply frightened us both.  Something shifted and when he attended a talk regarding the book "The China Study"  that quantum leap occurred.  I will never forget his determination; the vidalia onions, the chick peas, the one meal building on one meal.  He got it. He began to view his body as a whole system - A microcosm of the macrocosm.  A leaf on the mighty oak.  A star in a galaxy.

Fast forward....65 or so pounds lighter (and he Never really looked fat to me!)  He is a beautiful, graceful, human BEing.  A lighter spirit.  His body has become an exquisite vessel with which to move that soul from A to B.  If you talk with him now as to the 'why' his view has changed.  In the beginning it was to 'feel better' 'drop some fat' 'attain longevity'.  Today he will tell you somewhere in the last few years that all got woven into some new beliefs 'not taking more than my fair share' 'treading lightly' 'harming non' and my favorite; 'Was I so obtuse as not to see how my consuming was damaging things I hold sacred?'  Now he is humble, eats simply, enjoys good health, and tries to encourage gifts of sustainability and wellness at the holidays.  This boy, this man, never ceases to amaze and enlighten me.  BUT here is the key that our modern medical world has finally caught up with, that he understood in a moment - He is a whole system an entire universe in the flesh, and now treats himself and those around him accordingly.  Nothing is separate, his mind, emotions, physical health etc.  And somewhere deep down, don't we all know this to be true?

Once we compartmentalize we are begging for a mess.  I can tend toward being a complete workaholic.  After a few weeks of crying, not sleeping, depleting all my stores of vitamins and minerals my body just stopped.  STOPPED.  I went to get out of bed and spent the next 4 days there...bewildered...afraid.
The journey of a thousand miles truly begins with ONE STEP.

Start now, in this moment, on your 'health literacy'.  Start with one glass of water.  Start with one short walk, one deep full breath, one article on the mind/body connection, one class, one seminar, one thought of gratitude for the vessel you've been given and build from there.  Remember it took every moment from the beginning of time to make THIS moment  -  to make YOU.  Keep carrying the good, the bad will become to heavy and you will have no choice but to lay it down.

The only way around is through - Good Energy and Health to you!

Chicken Pot Pie and Homemade Butter Honey Bread for the Clan

5 Tablespoons of butter
1/2 Cup Vidalia Onion Sliced
4 TBSP Flour
2 Cups Chicken Stock
Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
2-3 Cups Bone Pulled Cooked Chicken
1 Cup of Peas
1 Cup Cooked Carrots
1 Stalk Celery Diced

Heat Butter and onion and cook over low heat 10 min or until soft and lightly brown.  Add Flour and stir until blended.  Slowly dribble in stock and stir  until thick and smooth.

In a glass pie dish layer Vegetables.  Mix chicken with the above sauce and pour in.  Cut up 3 cups of bread into thick cubes - brush w a bit of melted butter.  Layer over top and back in a 425 oven about 20 mins.  Bread topping should be browned and ends a bit toasted.  Enjoy :)

Turning the Corner

The light of summer slowly, subtly, in its gentle lushness, has turned the corner.  Never can I pinpoint the moment this occurs, it is much like the welcome surprise of a full moon...The soul looks up and sighs "Ah there you are my friend".

Sitting on my small deck which overlooks the bird sanctuary, I could see the dimness coming early on the other evening.  It wasn't a storm, it was simply a gentle cloak of hushed light that presented itself to all who took note.  Time to prepare.  Time to make ready your harvest plans and sleeping arrangements for the blankets of cold that will render the lands soft and dreamy.

Life flittered by all around me.  My neighbors rushing here and there, kids to bring, activities to attend; hurried.  But this moment for me spoke of cold lemonade in the waning heat.  It whispered reflection, creaking wooden swings, sleeping dogs and tired sprinklers.  It quietly demanded deserved attention for the display of fullness the summer pinnacle brings.

4 days off gave me the serenity to witness it.  4 days off gave me the nudge that the kids were rested, content.  It gave me time to listen to my small clan here in our Hamlet of Hamburg..."Can you make your homemade bread?" "I've been really wanting a chicken pot pie."  The body knows what we don't and it presents its needs.  We need settling, comfort food and cozy.  I was so grateful to have the time to meet these desires of my people.  When I tried to explain it to the teenage boys I got a roll of the eyes "Mom, there isn't meaning in EVERYTHING!"  They know there is...We all do.

Take the time, enjoy the light, acknowledge the cues our bodies were meant to live by.  4 days reassured me to keep going on the path I'm walking.  Take care of your obligations, then take care of your soul and your clan.  Work and race a bit less so you may simply BE more.

A View of Wellness

A Place of Wellness

Last night we had horrific rains here in our Hamlet of Hamburg, NJ.  It was a storm like I remember from childhood - trees bending like yoga masters, rains hard and gray - sideways at times.  Not as much lightening as the last one but enough to keep you humble.  I remember we had a screened in porch at my dads.  It was a summer home that had been converted to a year round residence when we made the jump from Brooklyn to' the country'.  This porch was up high, almost perched in the trees.  We would sit on this old red porch furniture with yellow and green cushions and watch the summer storms roll in.  My mother was chronically sick and we were broke, broke, broke.  I never knew that until I was almost an adult.  I thought every daughter passed the time with her dad watching the storms, counting the seconds/mileage between the lightening and thunder.  Well fast forward about 35 years and yesterday was the same storm, an old friend come to visit.

It was around 5pm when it subsided and my 13 year old son Michael (whom is as raw as nature himself) surfaced from a video game and said he was going to go for a walk.  I was putting on my shoes and going to ask him the same.  We smiled that 'Yes!" and off we went.

We have a 3 mile loop outside of our developement (townhomes) and it's old school Hamburg.  The homes are the same ones from when I was a kid, the lay of the land the same, the roads all intact - nothing has been moved.  If you squint hard enough you can block out the only addition from the last 25 or so years which would be high tension wires.  The center of the loop, which is a large island of fertile ground, seems to be a series of feed fields and meadows all interconnected by these chambers of trees and bramble that arch like doorways to one another. Many times I wonder what would happen if I let the urge overtake me to get off the road and just walk right into that world like a CS Lewis character - Would I find myself or lose myself - sometimes both seem a wonderful and mighty option...

So here we are, mom and her 13 year old son (the very fact that this is totally normal to him, even cool, fills me with gratitude on a daily basis - Thank you God!).  Everything was so still.  So very cosmically lush and green so much so that the leaves of high summer seemed  surreal and bigger than normal.  The dripping darkness leading into the forest took on an otherworldly obscure vibe.  We were witnessing the medicine of the Universe.  The dust had been stormed away from the foliage and the thirsty plants were now drunk on rain and nectar

We rounded to a goat pad and emu - it's got no business being there (not in a bad way mind you) it's detached from everything and just placed in this spot,  There are two trailers used as shelters left open and we could hear the goats shuffling around - not sure if this storm was at its end.

We walked on talking admiring the yard vegetable gardens we came across.  My heart is happy at the resurgence of these 'Victory' type gardens. It goes on my mental checklist of humanity, reassures me that in small ways we are moving in the right direction.  It also makes me long for my own dirt to work.  Fuel the fire, go ahead, I know intention moves mountains and I will have my dirt one day!

We came to the great bend in the road where a babbling run of water from an old time snow melt makes it's way under ground and across the street.  This water seems to feed the center land of our loop.

Down further we walk very slow.  Horse boarding.  AKA Dream like moments.  Stuff of fairy tales.  Horses on both sides of the road, Majestic.  The bow their heads and graze.  Brown, Black, Spotted.  You can walk right up to the fence and there they are chewing and peaceful.  My son and I pointed them out to one another marveling at their beauty.  On the left is a small barn with Mules and miniature horses.  Beyond the fence a scant amount of cattle and 2 horned bulls. They regarded us with a glance only and continued their damp feast.

Everywhere there was a dip in the land one could find a water source.  This appealed to my Aquarian nature: Water to me is Moveable Life.  My son turned to me, gestured grandly at all we surveyed and said, "This is just the way it's supposed to be, isn't it?"  But he already knew the answer in his heart.

If I could've bottled that moment, that smell, that dampness, those views - I could have cured so many people of unhappiness, of mistrust, of lost faith....  I urge you to walk after the rain, open your eyes and your heart.  Find these Places of Wellness, they are there if you only look.                     Good Energy to You.

Tea

Woke up today and no coffee would do.  My Celtic kicked in big time - there is only one drink that will satisfy this, I can hear it in my Nana's Scottish Brogue 'Aye Tea'.  When the need for tea takes hold there is only one thing to do...brew!

Growing up and living with Nana & Popa for stretches of time,  I became very comfortable with this drink of fortitude.  Tea sometimes gets a bad wrap as a poor relative in a java junkie world.   I'm not saying for one second that there aren't mornings where I thank the powers that be for that coffee kick (Give it to me baby! HIT ME!!), often claiming to get through a work morning "If I could infuse it I would".  Both bevs have their place, but where coffee is the high speed sprint, tea is the meditation, the slow and steady, the corrector of all things.  Its mystique is shrouded by protocol, ceremony, and to this day when you think of a quintessential tea ad it's usually an ancient bearded elder propped up in a lush environment in proximity to a sort of spring of life...

As proud Scots we'd love to claim we put tea on the map (we can be shameless!). But we must give credit where credit is due; only the Chinese can make such a claim.  They called the drink 'Kia' which morphed into 'Cha' and later 'Te'.  Legend has its discovery quite by accident.  An emperor was enjoying boiled water in a garden and tea leaves blew into it.  He tried it! He loved it! The rest, as they say my friends, is history.  And speaking of history...Tea has a pretty prestigious place throughout time!  As tea migrated it became available to the Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  The desire for Tea helped link the East and West with trade routes.  It arrived on our shores in the beginning of the 18th century.  Well, we all know what happens when you tax independent hearts - The Boston Tea Party!  Tea lovers everywhere will tell you the War of Independence was sparked by there beloved drink! (I know it's a stretch but just let us have it, ok?)

The medicinal purposes of tea abound.  And many plants in nature can be transcended to tea.  I know science can back this up...to a point! HOWEVER science can only go so far, then faith kicks in - It is in that gray metaphysical area that I've always been most cozy :)   I truly believe Tea is good for body, mind, and soul!  Being a Scot, any crisis, joy, sick belly, birth, death or chill, could be cured with this bark colored boil.  Fever calls for an embelishment of tea with a shot of whiskey(!!!)  (The Cure-All of Scottish Culture)- A Hot Toddy and you will sweat that fever out, trust me. You will be back to your fields in no time.  

Stuff of Legends? Placebo? Perhaps...but if I'm learning anything on this journey it's this: Sometimes things cannot be explained, but hundreds (let's make that thousands) of years of 'test studies' in caves, on ships,  in the damp misty places, near the grave, across the moors, in the chill, near the fires, with the sheep, with the babies, sick in your bed, all of THIS that is the ebb and flow of a full rich life,  as well as the recommendations of those that came before us is good enough for me... Tea is a good drink, it'll get you through.... Tea anyone?

I Dream

Finally downgraded from 2 FT Jobs to 1 1/2 jobs.  Money is a bit tight but my sanity is much better!  I need that time - I felt like a robot I craved the higher thought that quiet time brings.  Seems kinda funny, I went to school for Lit ended up working in the medical field.   I am trying to move to a more sustainable life/existence.  I visited a farm in NY state, Cold Antler, and attended a workshop - ya know when you've never read or seen something before but the second you do your belly calms and it all resonates as truth?  Well that's exactly what happened.  Now I am on a quest to live a life more in line w my deepest desires!  How will I ever make this happen?!!  I finally took stock the other day - I drive home from work and go slow past farms and horse fields longingly looking at them, I have farm pics above my desk @ work and when it gets too much I mentally put myself there, I'm awake every day between 3&5AM and know it would be perfect timing to feed livestock, I hang in Tractor Supply for no reason, I stare at meadows,  I am surrounded by an arsenal of books pertaining to self sufficiency, farming, permaculture, canning, poultry, knitting, all with a bit of a prepper type bend...

HOWEVER,

I am in a townhouse that I bought at the height of the real estate market.  Please read  (lovely and not a bad place to be sucking wind through a tough unloadable housing market SIGH)  at the mercy of utility companies (no alternative heat source-and im a girly that needs a crackling fire).  At the mercy of 'The Association' (Yes i pay them $240/monthly to tell me i CANT have a laundry line...or plant vegetables...or leave a bike outside...and yesterday I came home to Pesticide Treated flags in the grass EEEEKKKK!)But most nights... very late... by the light of the moon... I Dream Big (yet small) 

I was married before and lived a life of consumption, a disposable attitude, but I woke up one morning and realized I was infected w the 'More' virus More this, More that, More Money, More More More...  The only cure was to admit the bottomless pit of consumption went against the fiber of my creation and it just had to end.  So here I stand today.  A regular girl, a regular job in town, w dreams of being downwardly mobile, financially independent of the ties that bind one to a previous life of excess, and lovely thoughts of meadows and streams, grass under foot, of woodfires, homemade bread, fresh eggs, rabbit stew, gathered greens, words and their meanings.

I once was told the first step in changing is awareness - and that has proven true.  It proved itself w my divorce (he was planning a grotto'd pool - I wanted chickens and compost), it proved itself w my desire to sit by a stream instead of in a mall (I now get strange w the concrete linear mall type environment - not easy for a jersey girl to admit), it proves itself everyday w my preferance for full spectrum sunlight as opposed to fluorescent lighting (It sucks the life from my bones and Im sure this will be scientifically documented one day).  I will no longer apologize for who I am, MY AUTHENTIC SELF.  I will no longer try to put myself in a different mindset to please anyone - I shall no longer censor my soul.  I gotta be me - there is no other choice :)

I am on a journey and it's going to be small steps , but I will be moving in the direction of my dreams.  This blog was my gift to myself a couple of months back.  But now I've more time (1 1/2 jobs opposed to 2!), Higher thought (aka walks in cathedrals of  local forests, attending foraging lectures, medicinal plants and the like) And decisions, discussions and an ever open accepting heart. I am a mother, a minister, a woman, a soul on a quest... There has to be a better way for me than the way I was living.  This is the written beginning of that journey.

Got a dream boy? Got a song? Paint your wagon and Come Along!  Where am I going? I don't know! When will I be there? I ain't certain!  What will I get? I ain't equipped to saaaaay but who gives a damn?! Who gives a damn?! Who gives a damn?!  We're on our way!!  

-One of my dads fav movies Paint Your Wagon!