Wednesday, November 26, 2008

"WWJE" not original to Nemo

Alas, there is a book out by Dr. Colbert, of similar title, back in 2003. It was a bit controversial in some sectors. Not meant to be a set of dietary rules, by some it was practiced as such. Not our purpose here at Nemo.

Here's a nice blog that may appeal to you. I like this resource very much.
http://sabbathmeals.typepad.com/sabbath_meals/2006/01/but_thats_ancie.html

...and here's a book title that looks really interesting for my gardener buddies:
Skyhorse Publishing > Cooking > Foods Jesus Ate and How to Grow Them
by Allen A. Swenson, May, 2008

Basically, authors I searched describe a Mediterranean-style diet that included lots of fish, whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, and olive oil. Also mentioned specifically in relation to Jesus were
broiled fish & honeycomb Luke 24:42
barley bread, John 6:9 or a form of sourdough
pomegranates
figs
wine (grapes)
olives
saffron (rose of Sharon)
celery
mint
lamb

Challenge: What's a "Sabbath Walk," and could you do one by Dec. 24th?
Enjoy!
V

W.W.J.E.?

Having trouble with that diet? Missing your weight goal lately? Looking for a meditation motivation? Thinking about that "groaning board" you're setting out tomorrow and putting your gym shoes by the front door?

How's this: "I wonder what God thought it was O.K. to eat." I bet I'd do well paring down my own consumables to match THAT menu more closely,... if only I knew what God Incarnate would have eaten.

Now, when I say "God Incarnate," I'm willing to skip the naughty baby-munching deities of the Greek Pantheon. Just to clarify, I'm thinking in terms of the Judeo-Messianic tradition with which I am more familiar. And even at that, I still must reach out to Nemo Bloggers and ask, "Say, What Would Jesus Eat?" (W.W.J.E.) So, as we wait in joyful hope for the next 4 weeks, here's a health-nutrition challenge to "bite" into: W.W.J.E.?

I have a lot of notions zipping around in my head. You too? I can actually hear you saying in chorus, "Kosher foods." Yes, but what was AVAILABLE in 1st Century Israel? What was typical and staple?

Now, for all the gatherings and dinners and wanderings near fields of grain, and even a wedding and a Passover we've heard about, I only recall one time Jesus actually ate something, and it was grilled fish he cooked for himself. So, for starts, let's say, "I'm inspired to eat more grilled fish during the next 4 weeks." See how this works? If you're a veggan, not so much, but you get the idea.

Now, can you come up with any "sides," other proteins, beverages, and so forth, to round out this concept, W.W.J.E? I hope so! What fun!
Happy Thanksgiving, (now that I've ruined it)!
v

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Glory!

What a strange word: "glory." Have you ever thought about it? If any of you have ever contemplated "glory," please come to my assistance, make haste to help me understand what YOU understand.







What if you free-associated-- "glory," "glorify," "glorious"?





Have there been times you've heard it used or used it yourself?





What's it like for you to think about "glory"?







"Why bring up this word ?" you're likely thinking, and "How is this Nemo-esque?" Well, it all has to do with the Appreciative Inquiry idea of "reversing the focus." Reversing the focus is a big help to forward motion over the long haul.







What if, say, you are in training for something like, oh for instance, the January Marathon Weekend at Disney? And what if this training has been lengthy, and up-and-down, and is presently fraught with pre-holiday negativity? What if your self-talk right now leans toward the critical and the limiting? What if you need to hear your story differently in order to power-up during these last weeks?





Now I'm not actually talking about the "glory of the finish line," although that is WONDERFUL to imagine. I'm talking about a more puzzling notion that glory isn't only to be found at the finish line, but is also all around us all the time. One thing Nematodes have figured out long since: the journey IS the destination. Perhaps glory is like that, too.







One morning earlier this month, I accidentally overheard my own self-talk. It was disquieting in its gloomy tone. Not so good to hear. So I lifted my ears to the heavens, and what should come down to me but the word "Glory." And that's the back story for all my questions today. I don't understand it, but I can tell you that when I think of "glory," I can't keep thinking despairing thoughts. It's impossible to still have increases in negative self-talk and at the same time be curious about the meaning of...the existence of...glory.







Here's a poem I associate with an aspect of glory:




Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

7. God’s Grandeur

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil



Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
5
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
10
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.



And here's another one about a glorious creature who takes my breath away:




William Blake. 1757–1827

489. The Tiger

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
10
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
20
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?




So, what are your thoughts on "glory"?


regards,


v

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

85% Santo Domingo Dark

I prefer dark chocolate. Perhaps it is an acquired taste, but I came to savor it, the darker the better, quite willingly. When the wonderful sweetness I still appreciate moves to the background, dark chocolate, the darker the better, whispers. Complexity of berries and spice resonnate on the taste buds. Soon, one learns to hold it on the tongue longer and longer, to ponder, to learn and meditate on Santo Domingo. I understand dark chocolate is good for the heart.

Perhaps if life were wrapped like a Hershey's Milk and a Godiva 85% Santo Domingo Dark, I wonder, would I choose wisely?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A Moment of Greatness Story

I was thinking about "moments of greatness" stories that sometimes build up positive attitudes that build up positive real life. You know, the opposite of nightmare stories. So, with that in mind, I noticed a really great thing this week. I'll tell you the story.

A tall, very dark priest from Nigeria processed off the altar, preceded by a small, very pale man of Italian descent. The contrast of the two was so striking. The little man was only chest high to the priest. There were perhaps 3-, perhaps 4-, decades difference in their ages. They had led most their lives on different continents. So what great story, I wondered, led both of them to be in an unknown urban church on an ordinary day in the summer of the second millennium?

One might wonder: Why was the African man wearing ancient-style Hebrew garments Why was he offering sacrifice like Melchisedech, priest of Abraham of Ur of the Chaldees? And why was the African man presiding over rites so like a synagogue service? And why was the little Italian man helping him? And why was there a life-sized representation of capital punishment? Yes, there was a near naked criminal, a slender man portrayed in execution, nailed still to his cross? What great story could anyone make of this?

From Africa, Southern Europe, Northern Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands, North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean Islands, a handful of people in attendance that morning. Can you imagine? Just a handful, but from nearly every corner of the planet! Yes there they were, standing, sitting, kneeling together in the urban church that summer day of the second millennium.

The greatness of this story is the greatness of the story that drew them all together. And the greatness of the story I told you today is also in the great question that remains: who called them?

My guess is, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you...."

You have a story, too?
Luv,
vm

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Tell Me A Story....

So I had a nightmare. I was awake the whole time, you know. I was just telling myself the story of what my preferred future might look like, when a terrible alternate story took over. The Nightmare Bard attempted to narrate my least preferred future. It was a future filled with negatives notions, clammy fears, and bitter irony. Optimism and hope were the first casualties. What a brazen daylight sortee! What a wicked stab at commandeering my very own internal monologue!

But maybe you could help, here. What do you folks do about night terrors, (even those like mine that happen in broad daylight)? What remedies were tried on you? When the little ones in your loving care cry out in the night, how do you help? I thought about this. How about sitting close and telling a story, until the tight feeling goes away, and the damp brow dries?

For example, once, Janet was afraid to go to sleep at Grandma's house. Grandma engaged the help of then student psychologist-in-residence, Uncle Marty. He thought a gentle story was the perfect medicine. So, Uncle Marty told little Janet the story of Don Bosco. According to this particular narration, Don Bosco's appeal to little ones was his amazing ability to turn white milk into chocolate milk! Can you imagine such greatness? And Janet's response to this effort at soothing? "Nothing helps, Grandma."

You know what would chase the Nightmare Bard away for me? Would you tell me a Don Bosco-type story? What I mean is, please tell me a story about a time when you experienced a moment of greatness. What was it that made it a moment of greatness? (And thanks for turning on the light in the hall.)
Love you, dear Nematodes,
V

Monday, September 8, 2008

Progress

Dear Folks: Things are looking up. Here's a word of encouragement. Just returned from a fast weekend trip to Orlando. What's changed? Seems the JetBlue seats have gotten bigger and the seat belts are more generous. Oh wait: am I smaller around?

Well, last time visiting FL, in late April, I was using a little electric scooter chair to get around because I couldn't walk very well. I also needed a cane. Pain management was hit and miss, and I was eating "lefty." Every struggle issue of April past has improved. Rejoice, folks! Rejoice for us all! With your help, I'm walkin' around like a trooper. The secret? Same as yours: just keep swimming. Say, don't tire of your good work. Steady trembling knees. Strengthen weary hands.

How are you folks doing? Are you giving Team Nemo a try still? Send us all an encouraging word. The new school year has started. Lots of schedules have changed. But do let's try to make that goal and join each other in January. That will be a victory worth a medal, whether or not we cross anyone else's finish line.

Speaking of which, this weekend three of us reached an intermediate goal of significance to us: we are now light enough to ride a Segway! We had a short trial run. FUN!! It was a prize! Losing those particular "Segway pounds" meant so much. High 5s to the three riders in the wind!

Tell us, have you reached any special goals on your way to January's 5K? We could all use a good narrative from you.
With love and blessings,
Avec amour et joie,
V

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"...greater than Whom there is no other."

So, Team Nemo, I've been thinking about you. What happens to your thoughts when you're training away, doing something repetitive, like walking on a treadmill? Do you get into a kind of meditative zone? Do you start thinking about the Big Questions? If not, do you remember a time when you DID think about the big questions? Let us know how it works for you these days.

Today, for example, I was rhythmically treading away when my mind took me to the ocean shore. Do you folks ever remember walking along the water line, the place where the sand is dark and wet, cool and warm, at the same time? Many of you remember, don't you, what it was like to have your feet sink just a bit, leaving a perfect replica in that sand, perfect toes to heel, as you kept cadence with the waves and gulls. Hey! I can see you nodding your heads "yes"! And did you ever watch your feet, step after step, as you walked along the shore toward The Jetty? Where did your daydreams take you then, as you left your young footprints along the waters edge?

If you think back, perhaps to when you were a high school senior or there abouts, and were taking one of these quiet walks, did you think about whether or not there was Anyone out the who cared what you did with your life? Did you think about vocation, about self-donation, about purposeful and meaningful lives? And did you lift up your heart, elevated as it was by the sea and sky, gulls and pipers, shells and all manner of living things along the shore? Did you lift up your heart?

I've lived so long among those of us who avoid saying "God," I feel a bit sheepish dropping the name with you folks today. I've
used "The Universe," and replaced "prayer" with "good thoughts" and "positive energy." An "intention" is still an "intention," though. So, I came as close as can be, just about the length and width of a young girl's final breath, to choosing secular humanism as a better fit for me. Just that close, though, and no closer. I know you understand.

And so, today, as I was rhythmically treading away, my mind kept taking me to the same short distance along the shore. I was in a memory loop: Same sand, same shells, same sea weed, same sea glass, same caw of gulls, same yowls of kids, same umbrellas, same muscle men, same bathing beauties, again, and again, and again. I thought to myself, maybe I should stop right here, imaginatively, and look out to the water. I stopped, turned, and you wouldn't believe what I beheld! I can hardly describe it. There, in the surf, were all the people who had ever held me up in the water. They were all there, in their own time, with the various stages of me in their arms. Yes, believe it! Let me tell you:

There was a young Aunt Stasia, glasses and hearing aid off, bathing cap on, holding a toddler me in her arms, jumping the waves! Yes, my sister Mickey had me, as did her husband Jerry, holding the hands of a curly-haired me, jumping the trickles of white foam at the shore-side of each broken wave: "One-two-three Up-see daisy!!" There was Daddy Bill, and Uncle Marty, ...even Uncle Bill. There was Joe-Joe and Bobby. Once, even, my mother was there...so beautiful, so put together. But I had her hand, rather than she, mine.

And who was there especially? Aunt Pat. She taught me the Great Paradox: When a wave is Very Big, don't run away toward shore, run toward the wave. Then, hold your breath and go under before it breaks. Do you believe that??? My first experience, other than potty training, of counter-intuitive behavior. And that's where I learned the Mystery of Faith, that very day.

Today, as I was rhythmically treading away, and I was transported, buoyant, into the arms of the people I loved most and miss so much. I remembered a time in the waves and sand when I felt so surely that I could lift up my heart to the One, greater than whom there is no other. I could bob in the midst of the ocean back then in the arms of the saints of my life, and believe. I could say then, "Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will." I could say, "Fiat voluntas tuas." It was safe, once upon a time, with Ocean as witness, in the presence of gulls and sky, sun, muscles, beauties, to say then,"Here I am. To say now? "Here I am." What's you're story?



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

"Thank you for making this day necessary."

That Yogi Berra reference in the title of this post came to me this morning. I was thinking about how the unbidden experience of C.R.P.S. made Jan. 09 '09 necessary. Sometimes, folks with C.R.P.S. struggle to do ordinary self-care. It's easy to get upset when that happens, and harder to admit those non-Stoic feelings before running off to knee-jerk downward comparison, like, "I could have hooks!"


Well, I realized that 1-09-09 has become my necessary occasion. I cope because I strive. I strive because I hate pain. But I couldn't motivate myself with pain hatred alone. For me, creative, forward-directed coping works better. Sonja Lyubomyrski (2007)wrote in The How of Happiness that study participants in her lab journaled about their "optimum future selves." So, without knowing that study when this all started, I actually got that future self created in my head . That's the future self that's on the course with you folks, eating close to nature, moving, training...getting better than yesterday.

Yup, you know the drill: "Just keep swimming!"

Sonja's link:
http://chass.ucr.edu/faculty_book/lyubomirsky/

Monday, June 23, 2008

Going Nuts? Best Kinds for Nem-ites in Training

The good news is, eat some nuts. Not all are equally helpful for runners and dieters, though. What's a good anti-inflammatory for us poor 5K trainees ? According to Betsy Noxon, of Runner's World, walnuts do the trick. They are not only rich in plant based Omega-3 fatty acids, they seem to also promote increases in HDL, sometimes called the good cholesterol, while lowering the "bad" LDL levels in the blood. A handful or so of almonds have enough fiber in them that they reduce the absorption of fat and help with a crunchy good feeling of satisfaction. They supply lots of vitamin E, an antioxidant shown to improve heart health and protect against certain cancers. Nut reminder: portion control. (Nuts to that!)

Speaking of that good feeling of satisfaction, let me just point this next tip in the direction of Monica and Marissa, to name just two of you. Dark chocolate, not actually a nut but a bean, really is good for you. Liz Applegate Ph.D., also of Runner's World, brings us joy (Almond Joy?), reminding us of the powerful antioxidant flavonols in the-darker-the-better chocolate. Good for the blood, then, chocolate is also helpful as an anti-inflammatory, important for...me! Eat walnuts dipped in really dark chocolate, I say!

Here's something else I bet you know: don't get the highly processed mixed nuts, with too much added salt and oil. Buy the raw kind and toast them yourselves a little bit in the oven or stove-top. Crunch on!

More from Team Nemo

OK, Bloggers. Time to give high-fives and 3 cheers to those Bloggers out there who are training hard for Team Nemo and the Jan. 9th 5 K at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

First, special shout-out to a Gimpy Blogger who just keeps swimming to rehab a foot boo-boo so she can run the Marathon at Disney that weekend. Another big pat on the back goes out to two Bloggers who are training together every morning by walking for an hour, up and down a big hill!! They are braving all kinds of wild life to do so, including deer and wild turkeys. (Easy there, Tiny Mittens. I meant the fowl, not the adult beverage!) Another Blogger had been doing major strength training until the temperature soared, walking through the sand, taking some of her men-folk along, too! Cheers to you! By the way, she carries a big stick to help climb the dunes! Just amazing! Two other Bloggers are also training together, doing a version of The Biggest Loser boot camp at the gym at least two or three times a week. AND, glad to report, my heart rate walking on the treadmill is down from 164 bpm to a lovely 112 @ 3.0 mph!! Yay! So, I haven't heard lately from some of the other Nemo enthusiasts. How are you doing? We can do this together.

As you can guess, like Gimpy Blogger, I just keep swimming, with a bunch of treadmill-ing as well. I am going after C.R.P.S. symptoms with all my might, faithfully following my home physical rehab prescriptions. The knees and shoulder/neck are improving. The right hand is still a problem. But, at least I "don't have hooks," as a guidance counselor once told one of my handicapped students. (No kidding.) Talk about ultimate downward comparison!

If you are planning on joining those going down for the Marathon Weekend, (please do!), here's a web site you may want to check out. Those registering can also get room rates and a Parks ticket package as well. I understand some people plan to bring down playing cards for apres race gatherings. This could work.
http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/marathon/listing?name=MarathonEventListingPage

Jeannie has designed a really neat Team Nemo shirt, as you probably already know. Maybe she could send you the link.
We can do this!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Loss and Loss

Yes, Natalie, there is a logical progression from, Eating Colors to, Where There is Sadness. OK, not "logical," but, there is connection just the same. Let me try to explain. Subtitle: Skipping Over Bad Feelings May Make Loss (pounds and inches) More Difficult Than It Already Is." (Bloggers with the "Twiggy" look, you read on, too.) Here's an example:

About 6 years ago, I foolishly took my one and only ride on "Space Mountain." I was accompanied by my entire adult nuclear family. I experienced the ride as somewhere between Dante and Faust. The thought, "Gehenna is REAL!" about summed it up for me.

And so, I needed to scream. I opened my mouth, and out came, "I'M OKAAAAY! I'M OKAAAAY! I'M OKAAAAY!!" And so I screamed, all the way until the end. Like, no one in my family was allowed to know how filled I was with feelings of helplessness, fear, regret, anger, and...sadness.

Although we still laugh about this, it was such a revealing metaphor for how I responded to my negative feelings in front of others. I didn't "get it" until very recently. And perhaps this is also true for some of my favorite Bloggers out there. Do you practice a type of Stoicism? Well, here's an expression I've heard that you may find useful: "It works until it doesn't." And is this one also familiar to you? Do you do a "skip over?" That is, do you feel so committed to making meaning of suffering and loss, you skip over the feelings like helplessness, fear, regret, anger...and sadness? This skip over, too, "works until it doesn't."

If we've hit the wall eating colors, and if training for the 5K in January is tough, if the loss of pounds and inches has led us to uncover blockages related to a deeper kind of loss, then, good for us! We ate colors, blogged together, and then, talked about the hardest thing of all, for the first time. The truth will set us thin!

So, if I could rewind Space Mountain, I'd open my mouth and scream:
I'M NOT OKAAAAY! I'M NOT OKAAAAY! THAT'S NOT SO HARD TO SAAAAY! THAT'S NOT SO HARD TO SAAAAY!!!
luv u
V'emo

A Good Thing to Remember

A Good Thing to Remember

I received an important back-channel reminder: Everyone's experience of loss is unique; everyone's specific relational role regarding the loved one influences the intensity and duration of grief as well. It seems self evident, but it really IS a different experience for brothers and sisters, for cousins and friends, for grandparents, aunts, and uncles, for teachers and classmates, and so on. Most especially, research suggests that the impact on parents stands alone among grief experiences. Seligman, in Authentic Happiness, reported that the happiness "setpoint" of bereaved parents shows a downward re-set for a very long time, a very atypical occurrance compared to other situations of suffering. Linley and Joseph, in Positive Psychotherapy, indicated this particular traumatic loss appears different from other losses in it's duration and intensity as well. The unique experience of parents is also suggested by McLaughin's research, gathered from the point of view of nurse-as-researcher.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Follow-up

Two titles:

Suicide-Related Behaviour: Understanding, Caring and Therapeutic Responses
ISBN: 978-0-470-51241-8
Adobe E-Book
224 pages
October 2007

Henri Nouwens, The Wounded Healer

The first title is the one cited. The second speaks to Natalie's post. One memorable concept was Nouwen's discussion of the transformation of suffering into a place of hospitality for others who suffer. Suffering is part of the human condition, Nouwen writes, but it can be either exhibited or gradually exposed, like a wound slowly unbandaged.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

How to Post a Comment

Hi, folks. I've received several comments on the back channel. I'm wondering if you'd really like to post to the blog so we all can share the ideas you've shared with me. If you'd like to post, click on "comments." If you have a g-mail account. click on that, type in the secret word and post. If you don't use g-mail, still post as "anonymous" and sign your name at the bottom, if you wish.
Thanks, all. We all hope to hear from you soon.

WHERE THERE IS SADNESS

Suffering:

Is there a kind of mourning that never ends? If so, could a positive psychology perspective apply to those enduring such a loss?

Columba McLaughlin (2007) writes in her recently published book on self harm and suicide, that, of the numerous people she has met bereaved by the suicide of a loved one, none has fully recovered. Loss from suicide, she writes, produces a powerful constellation of long lasting feelings among family and friends, feelings more powerful, more long-lasting, than those of other losses. These feelings are life altering.

To many who mourn this type of loss, a look at signature strengths that existed in tact and in full range before the loss has the potential of adding pain rather than relieving it. While these former strengths may one day need "un-cloaking," they, too, represent another loss of self for the bereaved. As with help and support of any kind, readiness is the unbreakable law here as well.

But do these former strengths have, in fact, a role to play in how those who mourn seek help to approximate some level of the elusive destination, coming to terms, or to arrive at the mythical place, accepting? What do those, bereaved by the self-harm of a loved one, truly need from a positive psychology perspective? What CAN they tolerate from guided awareness of their now-transformed signature strengths? What can they be offered as they live with sadness, yet long for joy?

Monday, June 9, 2008

Eating Colors

Folks, (Jeannie and Emily in particular), I'm not nibbling on the Crayola 96-s. Not this time, anyhow. The Nemo Team is so nutritionally advanced, I feel certain you've all heard vibrantly colorful foods are vibrantly healthy foods. So let's build one terrific Crayola Plate for ourselves. Take a look.

What colors are good for your eyes, and bones, and increased circulation? Think of those dark green leafy sources of plant omega-3s and folate, like spinach, kale, and romaine. Next, what's a good heart healthy color, that can also increase immunity, and decrease the risk for certain cancers? This is a good one: add red to the plate, with antioxidant lycopenes, in foods like tomatoes, watermelon, and papaya, to name just three. So what could be the color of another cancer-fighter and immunity-booster ... one that's GOOD FOR THE EYES? You've got this one: add orange to the plate now, with carrots or any other carotinoid-rich veggie or fruit, like pumpkin, mango, yummy butternut squash, or our big favorite, sweet potatoes. Gayle, could you give us a hint as to what color to add to the plate for really big memory enhancement? Go true blue! Add the blueberry, aka, the "brain berry," rich in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins A and B. You can also get your blue on with Acai berries from the Amazon, even richer in antioxidants than blueberries. While we're adding brain power, what food is rich in anthocyanins for improving brain function. Hint: Hannibal Lechter thinks these go good with brain. Yes, you guessed fava beans, although I prefer black beans for color contrast on the Crayola Plate. Looks nice; tastes so good.

Now, how about finding some hidden colors you may have consumed today? The UK's Food Studies Agency recently suggested some of these colors may be related to ADHD. So smart you are. You know they are additives. But do you know where they are??? Look around the house for sunset yellow, carmoisine, ponceau 4R, tartrazine, quinoline yellow and allura red. How about checking for "Blue 1, 2"; "Red 3" and "Green 3" and "Yellow 6." Unlike their found-in-nature counterparts, these colors are linked with tumor formation. Found any yet? Check your soda bottles, candies, fruit cocktail, cherries, sausage, baked goods and...don't eat this...pet food. You can find more info at the "Mayo Clinic"- and the "MSN Health and Fitness"- websites.

So, take a look. We've colored inside and outside the lines with our pick of savor-ful, colorful foods that add life to our lives. We've also found invisibly bright food colors that don't. After all we've seen today, I can hear two colorful words from Deuteronomy that sum it up for me: "Choose life."

Saturday, June 7, 2008

From Gayle in Argentina

Give up your day job, Virginia, and keep writing! Ain't seen an aspartame berry yet, and never hope to cross one while culling our own juicy strawberries and blueberries...And I'd rather go hungry than sell our soy and let the Argentine President claim 44-95% of our gross soy income. Oops, gotta run, the horse-drawn cart has pulled up out front with farm-fresh eggs (adorned with a bit of chicken shit?), crispy lettuce, not-pretty-enough-for-export mandarin oranges, and, alas, the same flannelly tomatoes I used to buy in NY. Be here for dinner at 9 or 10 pm—bring some Malbec, please! Besos, Gayle

Gayle Scroggs, Ph.D.
International Coach and TranslatorSan Nicolas, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
tele: + 54+3461+463413 www.essencecoaching.com - Coaching for those who move to be happy or are moved to be happy!
http://romancingargentina.blogspot.com ~ immigrant tales from the land of gauchos, volcano ash, and farm protests
http://positiveexpat.blogspot.com - on how to be happy anywhere

Ponder

What do aspartame berries look like? Have you ever gone hunting for nitrites in the dark? Or even nitrates, for that matter? What if today we thought about fruit of the vine and work of human hands in a slightly more focused way?

What if today we all "pondered" everything we consumed? For those interested in thinning out the "big girl" look, pondering will slow down consumption. For those just interested in trying this out, it will definitely add to savoring each mouthful.

Let's think for a minute about the sweat equity that went into my "twigs and bark" (Uncle John, 2008) breakfast. Geez! My blueberries came from FL. I didn't buy the land they grew on, till it, fertilize it, protect it, plant on it, nurture the seedlings, irrigate them, sweat in the sun to harvest them, truck to market, and buy the gas (! whoa !) to do that! What if it were all about my very own hands, my very own back, my very own know-how to get those berries from evolution to my unworthy mouth this morning?

What if just for today I imaged that I returned to agrarian, hunter-gatherer roots? What if I only consumed today what I were willing to labor for, or hunt, or slaughter, or kill by my own self? Geez, I'd be hungry! Oh, I'd be OK with the agrarian part. I have a little bit of experience there..a LITTLE bit. But the predator part would be hard. I think of fishing with Uncle Joe, dragging nets with Billy, Janet, and Tommy, digging clams with my toes over at the ocean with Bobby Herbert. Yeah, maybe I could do fish and bivalves. But then I think of Daddy Bill and his squirrel traps. Oy Vey! So, today folks, I've made up my mind: local produce and a touch of sea food...and lots of water to keep me full!! Yeah, if I had to sweat for every mouthful every day, there'd be no "big girl" look to worry about.