Lessons in Balance

How many best friends am I allowed?

Several years ago, I went to a memorial service for the mother of a dear friend I've had since grade school. I was so impressed by the number of people who told me that they were Heidi Paik's best friend because I didn't know that you could have more than one, BEST friend. (read more)

 

 

Related posts: Reverb 10 - Friendship

Photo: Home and Garden Webshots

Reverb 10 - One Word

Reverb 10, The Prompt:

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)

My Response:

This year, I received PROOF of the power of practice. Although I'm always amazed and grateful when it happens, I've gotten used to seeing the physical improvements in my body through my yoga practice. But this year, I can honestly say that the practice of conjuring up a set of emotions while practicing, has really taken hold.

My teacher, Jehangir Palkhivala is responsible for bringing this into my life. For the past 5 or 6 years, while practicing and teaching yoga, I hold a feeling of Joy rising in my body as I inhale, and the feelings of calm and contentment when I exhale. It's now a reflex action that happens even off the yoga mat. I never intended for it to happen but I'm ecstatic that it did. (Did I just inhale as I wrote that?)

The word I'd like to describe 2011 is ABUNDANCE. If I'm going to be feeling joy and peace every time I breathe, a little extra helping of everything can't hurt.

 

 

Image: Image Chef

It's Simply a Pot of Soup

If there's a philosophy behind the making of soup, I believe it's a simple one. I used to love the allegorical tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne and D.H. Lawrence and now, find more joy in the messages that stream from my 8 quart pot. I crave simple answers.

I once asked artist Tadashi Sato what his lifetime goal was for his art and he said, "I'd like to paint one broad brush stroke and have people understand everything I have to say in that one stroke." I learned that it takes practice to make it simple.

That is why the whole concept of  43 Things  appeals to me. It narrows everything down to 43 Things and with practice, I'd like to pare it down to just 1 Thing. I'm already beginning to see the way everything interrelates. Of the suggested 43 categories, I'm focusing on these 5 Things as I plan, cook and eat a bowl of Lentil Soup:

      #2. Learn New Things. I've been cooking soups and stews for years but never diced the vegetables or held off on the salt until just before serving as the recipe (linked below) instructs. The result is a quick-cooking soup with all the vegetables retaining their flavor.

     # 8. Cook More. I'm trying to be more mindful of what I eat, to eat regularly and be sure that I'm getting enough of the right nutrients. I love the freedom of cooking for one but I need more incentives to cook. Since this soup was so easy and quick to prepare I've made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks with different ingredients.

     #13. Be Healthy. I've decided to make my way back to a plant-based diet, free of animal products but I don't want my iron levels to fall back to where they were 5 or 6 years ago. Anemia is not the animated-Asian picture I have in mind for myself. The lentils in this soup are high in iron.

     #19. Have More Friends. Twitter has introduced me to a lot of interesting people and as long as they're real and courteous I like to follow people of assorted political, religious and career interests. Still operating though, as in face-to-face relationships, is the law of attraction and I thank Twitter for bringing me Stefan Pinto's 10 Healthy Foods article along with Leslie Ashburn's Easy Lentil Soup recipe.

     #27. Be More Organized. The foods on the list provided by Stefan (@stefanpinto on Twitter) are things you'll always find in my kitchen (lately though, no tuna):

1. peanut butter
2. oatmeal
3. brown rice
4. garbanzo beans
5. tuna
6. black beans
7. lentils
8. corn
9. frozen spinach
10. sweet potatoes

Since those foods are always in my pantry, I must like them and I've started to look for new recipes containing those ingredients.  Leslie's (@MacroHawaii on Twitter) Easy Lentil Soup recipe, calls for lentils and corn and I've also used sweet potatoes and cooked brown rice.

Everything around me is conspiring for me. It's as simple as that. The hard part is getting over the belief that it's supposed to be hard. That's where practice fits in. As I continue to add to my list of 43 Things, I want to hang on to these thoughts:

• What's the One Thing that I want?
• Everything is interrelated, just connect the dots
• Rest assured that everything works for me
• Believe in the simplicity of it all

Try making the Easy Lentil Soup and see what profound message appears for you. Then please come back here to tell me what it was.

Photo: Real Simple