One of my favorite practices is to find the wonder in things, if only the outrageous complexity of experience and relationship.
Last night I was thinking about what that phrase means. I was talking with a friend who has a similar enthusiasm for studying, practicing, and teaching yoga, who also has a full-time job/career. At some point in describing the number of hours I have spent studying with John Friend and other Anusara teachers, it came out of my mouth that I have been able to pursue this passionate engagement with yoga because, as others have said to me, “I don’t have a life.” My friend, being in the same society after all, initially went right along with that statement as if it was a perfectly reasonable thing to say.
Then we started questioning it. It is not as though we do not both have rich, full, engaged, active lives. How did the vernacular come up with a phrase that says we do not “have a life,” if we are not so occupied with the things that society would have us do (for the “modern” woman I think this means high-powered career, husband, children, nice house) that we have enough time and flexibility to deeply pursue and explore beyond what we are supposed to do?
Sprout brown lentils for 2-3 days and use while just showing sprouts.
Cook one or more types of whole grain rice (here a mixture of red and brown rice) (I like to use a rice cooker).
Let rice cool. Mix rice with lentils.
Add some oil to keep the rice a good texture. I used sesame oil. You could use the oil recommended for your Ayurvedic type if you are familiar with the recommended oil for your type. Though this does not really resemble traditional kitcheree, the basic/unprocessed elements of the dish –the mixture of rice and lentils and the spicing — are the same.
Add a mix of spices. Here, too, you could vary the spicing according to your dosha if that is something with which you have experience. I used turmeric, ginger, clove, black pepper stirred into the salad mixture and then minced some green coriander seeds from the garden to sprinkle on top. I think a squeeze of lemon, had I had it, would have added extra zest.
Serve the salad on delicate, freshly picked greens–spinach and baby chard would be good, though I used lettuce because it was what needed most to be harvested.
If you are already thinking twice about when and what to acquire (and generally acting on your thinking), this information about “responsible shopping” provides helpful information when you are challenged by those who think it doesn’t matter what one person does. It also provides some useful information that is new or we might not have thought about before.
Given that I do not have an elected representative in Congress (a non-voting one does not really count), it is especially important to me to vote with the dollars that I have.
ps Yes, I know that in terms of being green, the best choice is to live with much less than I do–say, for example, live in just a room instead of a house, but I am not ready to go there.
The sky was a very pretty mixture of blue and fluffy clouds this morning. The first photo I took did not have the Capitol in the corner because the sky was just a little more lustrous and variegated facing more west than south. Although I chose to allow the Capitol into the photograph, it is fairly clear that I was photographing primarily the sky and not the Capitol.
I see people photographing the Capitol almost every day. What is around it usually is of no moment. The point is, for one reason or another, to document being in the presence of the Capitol. It is only the postcard/calendar/art photographers who care what is going on in the sky for purposes of the overall composition.
I wondered whether readers would think that the scene would be prettier if it had mountains or a stream or a lake instead of a building in it. Would they think the sky unworthy of notice if underneath was a parking lot? How much do we judge something by its surroundings? Are we able to see the beauty of the sky regardless of the scenery in which we are standing?
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
