Day Sixteen

Now that I'm home most of the day, once in a while I'll click on Dr. Phil or Oprah to found out what the newest self help fad is and discover the title of the book everyone needs to buy in order to get the quick fix. It's astonishing to me to see how commercialized and materialized peace and contentment in one's own life has become. Finding sacredness in one's life can be a daunting task if it's approached as something "to get out of the way" or a chore that needs to be finished before moving on to the next thing. There is no formula. There is no solution that fits all. Peace and contentment, and purpose for that matter, is not pret a porter. Being able to be still and listen to what the heart is saying is the first step to finding the sacredness particular to any one person. Too many distractions make it difficult to reflect and I truly believe these self help gurus are just that - a distraction. Sorry Dr. Phil. Sorry Oprah. The world does not need either of you. The solutions are within each of us and it only takes a minute of introspection to start the ball rolling. Quiet introspection, without the pressure of an outcome, soon leads to the discovery of those things which make a person whole.

The things that have always been important to me always seem to miraculously come back into my life after they've been set aside for other pursuits. They attempt to creep in when I'm too busy, but I'm usually not paying attention to them - too many distractions - and so the important things don't have a chance. It's easy to mindlessly wander through life. It's easy to enjoy each and every moment if you allow each moment to be tasted, savored, and pondered. Life is just like eating. You can devour through it or you can enjoy each bite.

Speaking of taste, Bob and I had a wonderfully light and savory dinner last evening. A hand crafted corn tortilla with a few pinto beans, habanero turkey sausage and just a bit of cheddar cheese to add a little fat layer on top, heated in the microwave, and then finished with a few just picked cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse, my killer fresh tomatillo salsa, and a little tillamook sourcream, was just the ticket. No sugar added mixed fresh berries, over-ripe frozen bananas, and 8oz of nonfat peach yogurt, all blended up the previous day and frozen over night made a nice sorbet for dessert.