rest is best

....or about getting to know your body. It is invaluable  to listen to and understand your body, to learn to read its signals. While it is easy to pop a pill and not give a symptom a second thought, it is helpful and eye-opening to look at symptoms as an expression of something that is going on in your mind. After all, body and mind are inextricably linked.

A headache is something that can oftentimes easily be deciphered as lack of rest, or a cold (need for rest again), or a subconscious issue that bothers you, or a looming decision that's got you in a tizzy, or something stressful going on. Popping that headache pill will eliminate the symptom, at least temporarily, but it will not solve the actual problem. So it makes sense to tune in and go a little deeper to try to understand what caused the headache.

A pulled muscle's provenance is easy to identify and the treatment is straightforward. But, again, popping that pill helps to cover the pain, while it does nothing for actually giving that muscle the rest it needs to heal. Besides, why did you pull it? No time to warm up? Impatience? The answer may be to slow down. And the pulled muscle does that for you.

When something is not quite right in my diet my stomach makes itself known right away. Whether too much meat or carbs, not enough greens, too much sweet stuff - my stomach tells me.   Stress, too, shows up in my stomach.

Two questions to ask yourself about a symptom are: "What does this symptom prevent me from doing?" and "What does this symptom force me to do?"

Breaking a leg prevents you from running around, having a cold makes you rest, losing your voice forces you to be quiet. There can be a lot of symbolism between a symptom and your particular need at this point in time. Don't ignore that need. By simply suppressing that underlying emotional or physical need your body will show you in a different way what it needs.

So - tune in.

P.S.: I also invite you to reread an earlier related blog post "are accidents really accidents?"

no plastics for my food

I don't like to store my leftovers or homemade hummus, mayonnaise, apple sauce, or catfood in plastic containers. Plastics leach the chemicals BPA (bisphenol A), also used in the linings of canned foods, and phtalates into the foods and drinks that are stored in them. Moreover, heating or microwaving food in plastic seems to worsen the effect. Whether we are talking plastic food storage containers, or plastic water or soda bottles, it's all the same. I also try to avoid buying foods that are sold in plastic. Trader Joe's recently switched their organic peanut butter packaging from glass to plastic jars and I stopped buying it. Instead, I now buy organic peanut butter at my local supermarket that carries it in glass jars.

I also stopped buying seltzer and got a home soda making machine.  Not only do I no longer send all those plastic bottles to recycling, I also know that our own water is superior in quality and taste, as is of course the seltzer made from it (and who knows from what water source the commercial seltzer comes from).  Granted, the home seltzer bottles are made from plastic, albeit BPA free plastic (one hopes); in addition the home made seltzer is made to order and consumed immediately, while the store bought seltzer sits in a hot delivery truck in its plastic bottle for hours and perhaps days, and then on a supermarket shelf for more days, and weeks, and perhaps even months. 

Inert materials, such as glass, stainless steel, aluminum or porcelain are safest for food storage. Glass works best, though, because it is see-through. I save wide-mouth glass jars (they are more practical than the narrow-mouth ones) in all sizes from peanut butter, salsa, pickles and such,  and reuse them to store food. I also use Pyrex glass bowls with plastic lids (the lids don't touch the food) for leftovers.

Play it safe, play it glass.

it's not about the destination

There are various English versions of the destination verse, which goes something like this: "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. " When I was a child many girls kept a Poesiealbum or poetry album.   We would give it to people we knew - family, classmates, teachers, acquaintances - and ask them to write something to remember them by. Some of the verses, as I reread them, mostly from classmates, are only memorable because of their utter sillyness, while others (mostly from teachers and family members) are true philosophical musings or really good life advice.

I found one in my album, by 19th century Austrian writer Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, which is another version of the destination verse. Loosely translated it says: "Upon attaining your wishes you will definitely miss one thing: the  journey towards your wish."

If life were about the destination we would all rush to accomplish - what? Dying? So we can probably all agree that life is not about the destination. But what about all the other little things we do all day long? This morning my yoga class was a bit strenuous and I just wanted it to be over - until I caught myself in mid-stream. And then I recognized that I wasn't doing so badly, and that I was actually gaining strength.

It's not worth doing something if we rush right past it. Granted, there are things we enjoy doing, and there are things we don't enjoy doing; and it's good if you can arrange your life so you can do more things you do enjoy, than things you don't enjoy. But things are easier with less resistance, as I experienced this morning. And when it's over, it's really over. So, stay with the moment, with the experience, because none like it exactly will ever come back.

You may also want to reread an earlier post "why is 'Now' so important?"

a tale of soft boiled eggs

I love a soft boiled egg for breakfast. It is such a simple comfort food, deeply nourishing, warm, and creamy. When my husband was little he used to get soft boiled eggs only when he was sick. His mother would bring it to him in bed with buttered toast strips she called "soldiers." In Germany soft boiled eggs are standard breakfast fare and served in every hotel.

When I was small we would have soft boiled eggs for week-end breakfasts with some buttered toast (no strips) and sweet & sour Swedish herring we called "Piepfisch" or "beep fish"(don't ask me why - a question for my parents). My sister and I would only get the little egg white hat, the "Hütchen," which my dad would slice off with one swift chop of his knife. I never knew why we didn't get a whole egg then. Was it about not eating too much protein, or was it to save money? Another question for my parents. But when I was finally allowed to have a whole soft boiled egg all for myself I knew I was a big girl.

When my children were small they would share an egg, because my son only liked the yolk, while my daughter only liked the white. In my attempt to vary our breakfasts (such as yoghurt/kefir/milk with cereal; bread/toast with stuff on it; French toast; croissants on Saturdays, pancakes or eggs on Sundays) I make soft boiled eggs about once a week, and definitely on days my children have tests - as a good brain food and protein base.

I bought our egg cups in Germany because I couldn't find the kind I wanted over here.   They sit solidly on the table and have a rim around the egg holder to rest your spoon and place your egg shells. I also bought the special little plastic spoons over there - horn spoons are fancier, and silver spoons alter the taste of the egg and oxidize the spoon.   I cook my eggs, which come from a friend or a local farm, for five minutes. That cooks the egg white just enough to become firm, but leaves the deep yellow yolk nice and runny and almost hot. I am more timid and don't slash the "hat" off with my knife. Instead, I peel the top, then lop the hat off with my egg spoon. And I do dunk buttered toast "soldiers" into the yolk. Mmmmh....

the whole kit and caboodle

Two recent articles made me aware of a truer meaning of sustainable agriculture and where we need to go next in our farm-to-table awareness.

The first one was about the enormous waste in the EU (and likely in the US as well) created by discarding produce that doesn't look perfect even though it is in good condition and tastes just like its more conformist looking counterparts. A young Portuguese woman started a produce cooperative named Fruta Feia or Ugly Fruit to market and sell such imperfect produce at 20%-30% less.

The other article was from chef Dan Barber on widening the premise of sustainable agriculture and including in our food choices also those crops that are typically used as cover crops to replenish the soil.  Soybeans, kidney beans or cowpeas (used as animal feed) are typical nitrogen replenishers for the soil. But Barber was talking about a much more sophisticated and complex crop rotation that is needed to keep the soil fertile and full of minerals, which guarantees not only superior taste but also mineral and trace element rich foods (less supplements you'll need to take). Such other crops might include rye, barley, or buckwheat, all little used in this country because less marketed and less known.

Sustainability, in agriculture and elsewhere, is about a wasteless circular process, in which all "waste" becomes a reusable base component for the next process in the circle, thereby eliminating the idea of "waste" altogether.  A sustainable farm would not buy outside fertilizer, seeds, and pest management products, instead using the farm animal manure for fertilizer, using crop rotation, crop variety and inter-planting as main pest control techniques, and saving its seeds from one year to the next.  Being able to sell its cover crops in addition to its "main crops" makes the farm more  viable and eliminates further waste.

The whole idea behind truly sustainable agriculture is to embrace every part of the agricultural process, the whole kit and caboodle, whether it's the little used rye (here in the US at least), the funny looking strawberries, the carrots with a nose or legs, or the lesser known fava beans (I made a fava bean hummus the other day that was as delicious and tasty as a chickpea hummus).

enjoy your week-end, really

What is it always with this Thursday/Friday frenzy before a long week-end? The pace picks up frenetically, everyone seems to need something very urgently before close of business on Friday, nothing can wait until after the week-end - as if we were closing shop for the next three weeks.   But in light of the fact that we are back on Tuesday morning it's really quite absurd. Many things can wait, and how is a three-day week-end so different from the regular two-day week-end anyhow? In this country - and in Hong Kong, where I lived for a bit, as well - many people feel guilty about taking time off. Culturally, virtue is seen in working long hours (even if they are not all so productive), slaving (or looking as if) away for the bottom line, bowing to the Grand Poobah of profitability and money, and fearing job loss otherwise. Many European countries give between four and six weeks vacation (on top of the many religious holidays and sick leave), and their economies are doing just fine.

We need time off to clear our head, to sleep in, to get out of the métro-boulot-dodo routine (French for the never ending subway-work-sleep grind), pursue our hobbies, spend time with family and friends. Time off refreshes us, it balances us, it puts things into perspective. Lack of sleep and too much stress shorten our lifespan.  Without playtime life is dull and drudgery.

Time off is a necessity in order to perform optimally and creatively, it's not frivolous luxury. Enjoy your week-end and don't feel guilty about your time off.

watching my plants grow

I grew up in big cities and I still have somewhat of an issue connecting with nature in a big way. Big nature as in wild water rafting, mountain climbing, several-day bike trips, overnights in a lean-to in the woods and stuff like that. I don't feel comfortable in big nature because of a lack of guidance and experience.   Instead, I connect with little nature in the form of my houseplants or my vegetable garden. I get really excited when seedlings emerge from the soil in early spring, and I love accompanying them on their growth journey through the season towards becoming fully grown vegetables.  It's a bit like watching your children grow and develop and change and come into being.  

Discovering little green tomatoes among the greenery and then seeing them grow grow grow into big red ripe juicy fruit we can actually eat is awesome and so rewarding.  The whole process is a bit magical to me.  When I find a ripe zucchini lurking under its big protective leaves it is like finding a present or a prize.  And I love bringing the flowers from the vegetable garden into the house, a bouquet of purplepink chive flowers, or perhaps a few sprigs of white and gangly arugula flowers together with a few sage flowers.

I don't think it matters how you come to appreciate nature, how you connect with it, how you come to respect it - as long as you do it in your own way.

my favorite word is "sure"

That's what my friend said a few days ago. And she is right.  Can you imagine how easy your life became if everyone of your requests was answered with "sure?"

Imagine you asked your son to clean up his room and put away his clothes, and he replied "sure."

Imagine you asked your coworker to help you figure out some computer problem that has been bugging you for days, and she answered "sure."

Imagine you called the plumber to fix your leaky faucet and asked him whether he could come tonight at five, and he said "sure."

Imagine you asked your boss for a reasonable and well-earned raise, and she simply said "sure."

Imagine you asked a friend to help you move a heavy item over the week-end, and he said "sure."

Yesterday afternoon I was relaxing with the newspaper. I had about fifteen minutes before I needed to get dinner going in time to leave for an evening meeting. Just then my daughter asked for help pulling her spring clothes down, and putting her winter clothes up and away, something we had been wanting to do for a few days.   I grumbled something, I didn't want to be bothered, I stuck my head back into the paper, then I remembered that little magical word "sure,".................and went up to help her.  She was so happy and surprised and said "I thought you weren't gonna help me?"

By saying "sure" you say "yes" to life.

rushing to yoga

My life is pretty busy and I love my Slow Yoga time. It brings me right back down into myself, relaxes me, grounds me (which means regaining a healthy perspective on things), all the while keeping me limber and flexible. So why did I not go to yoga yesterday?

I was rushing around the whole day, getting things done, driving a half hour to pick up my vacuum cleaner that needed servicing, coming back (another 1/2 hour), getting something else done, helping with homework, doing some actual work work in between, picking some emergency toilet paper up at the supermarket - and always thinking in the back of my mind that I would make that 6:15 yoga class (after missing the 12PM class). We weren't going to eat until after 8 so we could all have dinner together. But returning from yoga around 7:45 with no dinner prep work done beforehand would have meant either rushing again or eating really late.

"Enough," I said, after finally being back home at 5:50. I would have had to leave my purchases sprawled on the counter, changed, rushed back out to make that class, rushed back and hurried to get dinner on the table. What was the point of rushing to make that yoga class in order to relax, just to have to hurry again to get dinner on the table?  So I didn't go.

Instead, I slowed down with a sigh of relief,  sat down with hubby for a glass of wine while chatting about the events of the day, then prepared dinner in peace and quiet. Sometimes all that rushing is just not worth it.

the soft glow of candles

I love candles. The more the merrier. Lit, of course. There is something mystical about a live flame - the flickering, the color range from blue, to white, to yellow, then orange, and the changing length of the flame, depending on the wick and how it burns.   Candle watching can be quite mesmerizing and meditative.   But what I think I like most about candlelight is the soft and uneven glow it lends to the surrounding space. It adds more depth than the even and flat light of a lamp. "Mom, can I blow the candles out." Before children are allowed to light them they want to blow them out.   Poof. Then they graduate to being allowed to light them with adult supervision. Perhaps you remember how special it was when your child was allowed to light a candle for the first time?

Candles are another one of those quality-of-life things that we should use more often. Outdoor candlelight in the summer feels different from indoor candlelight in the winter. Candlelight adds magic to so many different settings. I like to light a candle when I take a bath.   It makes me feel pampered. Sometimes I light a candle on my desk when I work, it gives it a special feel, it seems to soften the energy. When I light candles on the table for a birthday breakfast, a celebratory dinner or a dinner party, it not only makes it look festive, it also sends the message "it's special."

Christmastime is a time for red candles - on the tree (yes, we use real candles in special German holders that screw directly into the tree trunk), on our Advent wreath, and throughout the house.   A special table setting will look great with colored tapers to match the decor. Most other times I like the elegant glow of off-white candles.

Flickering candles on the picnic table on a hot summer night make the world stop in its tracks. I like the soft glow of candles in weighted paper bags along a walkway, on some rocks in the garden or on a beach. Two summers ago in Italy, when their grandma was not well, the children lit a candle for her in every church we visited.   At Halloween tea lights in little and big hollowed-out and carved pumpkins, inside and outside, announce the beginning of the dark season that candles help to brighten so beautifully.  I like lots of tea lights placed in clusters or rows. It's like tulips - one looks skimpy, lots make a statement. And no birthday table in our house is complete without that special single lit birthday candle and a bouquet of seasonal flowers.