Stay connected to the sun....

"Stay connected to the sun...."

Throughout my own journey to wellness I have come across the same question many times while trying to convey the importance of whole foods. "Why would I spend more money and what's so great about organic food?" Honestly the best advice I have is this: stay connected to the sun. I'm going to attempt to explain this in the most comprehensible way that I know how. The sun feeds the grass...The grass feeds the cow...The cow feeds the soil with its waste...The soil feeds the grass that the cow eats that the sun feeds that feeds you. Say that five times fast. Now let's take a glance at conventional farming techniques as it is vastly different than sustainable farming. The chemical feeds the genetically modified corn...The cow eats the corn in a concentration camp of sorts...The cow's waste creates an environmental hazard, due to there being 30,000 cows in one spot causing a toxic wasteland of hormones, antibiotics and steroids...The cow is ill...You eat the cow.

Now cows have an intricate digestive tract that is created to solely flourish on the ingestion of grass. Grass fed by the sun and fed by healthy soil. When functioning in this natural free grazing order of things, the cow remains healthy and thriving. They are in no need of steroids, antibiotics or hormones. When they eat genetically modified corn fed by chemicals they need these treatments to stay alive. It takes a cow free grazing on grass 5 years to reach slaughter weight, it takes a cow fed on conventional western techniques 9 months. By the time they are slaughtered their livers are about 3 times the size they should be and would die very soon if not slaughtered. Why is this important to you? Because if you are eating a sick animal you are setting yourself up to be sick since your body is absorbing the cow.

This applies to any animal you are consuming. You can take this knowledge and also apply it to all fruits and vegetables...it's the same truth. Either what you're eating is being fed by the sun and the earth naturally, or what you're eating is being fertilized by chemicals and unsustainable farming techniques. Do your body a service and reconnect with the sun and disconnect from the chemical. Nothing is more vital than your food. Nothing should hold greater value while you create your budget. If this element in not taken care of correctly we will pay for it in other countless ways. Buying local organic food is an investment in your health, it is the most important investment you can make. I constantly have to remind myself that spending more money on food is my health insurance. I have to "frame" it in the right state of mind. Times are hard for most of us now. But those times can get much more challenging when you add a chronic illness into the mix. And if were eating westernized food, it is truly only a matter of time before we will be confronted by illness.

Everything you order from The Wellness Kitchen respects and follows the guidelines of local organic food. We understand that in the prevention of illness, food is the key ingredient. We also realize that if you are already faced with an illness such as cancer, the best thing you can do is eliminate the toxic intake into your body by the proper use of whole foods. It is our privilege to take care of ourselves and the earth and buying local organic food is accomplishing both. Come see us at The Wellness Kitchen and let's learn together to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us. And as always, this is Sarah, encouraging you to eat peacefully....

"If your ever going to love me, love me now.."

"If you're ever going to love me love me now, while I can know
All the sweet and tender feelings which from real affection flow...
If you've dear, sweet thoughts about me, why not whisper them to me?
Don't you know 'twould make me happy and as glad as glad could be?...
If you knew someone was thirsting for a drop of water sweet
Would you be so slow to bring it? Would you step with laggard feet?
There are tender hearts all 'round us who are thirsting for our love;
Why withhold from them what nature makes them crave all else above?
I won't need your kind caresses when the grass grows o'er my face;
I won't crave your love or kisses in my last low resting place.
So, then, if you love me any, if its but a little bit,
Let me know it now while living; I can own and treasure it.".....Unknown


We hear it all the time. We know we should tell the ones we love that we care for them. But how many of us can say in all sincerity that we live it? Each one of us is met when we enter this world with the knowledge that we cannot know the hour, the minute, the day we will leave this place. Let us not get so caught up in our routine. What "needs" to be done. If I have learned anything worth sharing with you in my 31 years here on this earth, it is that above all else nothing is of greater importance than people. There is nothing more pressing than the exchange of love from one human spirit to another. Taking a moment to kiss your child, to hold a friends hand in their joy, to hug a loved one in their despair. These are the things that should fill our lives and make us feel worthy.

We have one another for a reason and that reason is to love. To lift each other up, to show compassion towards each other. And not just the people who look like us, or think like us, or worship the same deity as us, or salute the same flag as us. We are called to love one another, with no bounds. Let us mend our relationships, let us love people for who they are in all their imperfections, just as we must love ourselves in our own transgressions. Let us not be so callused to the world. Let us open our hearts so that we may experience true friendship, true love, true companionship. Love is the best that is in us, let us share it with each other. Call a loved one you have grown apart from, hug someone, kiss someone you love.....I know last week we spoke of Mother Theresa and her boundless compassion and love. And I write again today about love because love is what has kept me and cradled me in this last week. I write these words to pay homage to it, and the effect that it has had on my life. Come visit us at The Wellness Kitchen. We are here to lift you up. Let us learn together how to nourish our bodies, our minds and our souls. And as always this is Sarah, encouraging you to love often and eat peacefully...

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
Mother Theresa

Take a moment and read this quote again. Think on its deeper meaning and meditate on its simple yet vast reaching truth. This is the greatest call we have as human beings. If humankind could grasp and apply this one lesson, that we all "belong" to one another, there would be no war, no poverty, no hatred, no ignorance. Let us be people that live this quote out daily. Mother Theresa was a pillar of love and compassion. Her life was filled to the brim because she poured herself out and blessed the world with her gifts. This quote speaks to the better person in all of us.

This week brought unexpected challenges into my life. I have to admit I was a little blindsided and had to check myself many times to regain the right mental attitude. For some of you this week you are dealing with health afflictions, some are struggling with finances, for some of you it's broken relationships. Whatever is weighing down your heart, find comfort in the reality that we are all in this together. Look around you and when you see others, see yourself. As this week stretched me, I found great comfort in the love and warmth of my friends. Their compassion and kindness towards me was immeasurable. What would we do without each other? I'm convinced that people are all that truly matter.

If you find it hard to find someone that you can rely on, I would encourage you to first be someone others can rely upon. If you wish someone would just listen to you, be a good listener. If you desire that someone would come alongside you and lift you up, go find someone and impact their lives. If you long to be loved simply just the way you are, love someone unconditionally. It is only in the service of others that we find true happiness and fulfillment. We must step out of our own way, behind our own pain and let our gifts flow to an aching world. Fill your life with hope and compassion for others, these are the things that will cradle you in your darkest hours. When we leave this world all that will be left behind is the love we gave. Acknowledge your place in this world, you have gifts that no one else possesses, share them. Just as we are called to take care of the earth, our bodies, our spirits let us remember that we are called to take care of one another. People are living out their gifts here at The Wellness Kitchen. Loving hands are preparing healing foods. Compassionate hearts are reaching out to the community and offering education, rest and rejuvenation. Continue on your journey here with us. And as always, this is Sarah encouraging you to eat peacefully...

"Seek not outside yourself, heaven is within."

"Seek not outside yourself, heaven is within." Mary Lou Cook

Throughout my past I wish I would have embraced this truth. It is so powerful and can reach out to every aspect of our lives if taken to heart. During this time of rejuvenation, we all look at our lives in hope of determining who we will become this year and the things in our lives that are in desperate need of change. As we glance into 2011 and imagine the possibilities, we must first begin with an introspective look into our hearts and souls. This is where true, lasting change will occur. Most of us begin the year with thoughts such as: "I need to lose weight," or "I need to exercise" or "I need to eat better." These are all vital practices of an external root, but if we want them to become steady habits, they must grow out of the realm of self-respect and self-love. We must not gain this self love because of what we accomplish or how people treat and view us. Our image of ourselves needs to come from a pure unmovable place that is deep within, a place that does not falter with the weather, the economy or the changing of seasons.

If you want mental freedom, if you want happiness, if you want peace, the first step on your journey must be in the direction of self worth. None of us will find this balance from any outer source, it is only found within. We spend massive amounts of money and time on our outer appearances and our persona. We would do ourselves a great service if we were to spend that energy feeding our souls. Out of our heart flows our lives. What is going on in your heart? What do you hold as truths? These are the things that will lead you to treat your body better and flow love out of your soul into everything you do. That is my encouragement to you this year. Make this a year of self ingenuity. You will then see your outer circumstances change, because YOU have changed. Self love begins with the realization of who we are and what we have to offer the world. That path leads to the proper treatment of our bodies souls and minds, out of respect for our being. Come see us at the The Wellness Kitchen to meditate, nurture your body with whole foods and learn. We care about you, your growth and your health. And as always, this is Sarah encouraging you to eat peacefully....

"A persons mind is like a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild. But whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth." James Allen

In life it is easy to fall into the trap of underestimating our thoughts and the power they have in our lives. But the reality is every thought you accept as truth will alter your life experience. It is vital to our happiness and our health that we pay attention to the constant reel that plays in our minds, every second of every day. Listening to our self talk and thought process is an exercise that will benefit us tremendously. Take a second right now to listen in on the thoughts that are whirling around in your mind. Are they thoughts of peace and prosperity? Are they thoughts of self belief and empowerment? Are they thoughts that will benefit you? Your thoughts will bring to fruition the root of their source. Is that root a truth, a beneficial thought that will bring good things into your life? Or is it a disadvantageous thought that will bring distress and confusion to you? The great thing about this process is that once you pay attention to your thought life, you can fix what is wrong and you can train your mind to work for you and not against you. By the exercising of our minds, we find our inner truths.

To those of my dear friends and readers dealing with cancer, I would encourage you to take comfort in the truth that this is your life. Yours and no one else. This is your body; this is your journey. Your path to wellness is paved first by your thought life. Pay close attention to what you entertain in your mind during this chapter of your life. If it is a detrimental thought (a weed), get rid of it. It serves you no good purpose. You deserve the time and effort it takes to make sure you are only accepting what is good for you. How do we change our thought patterns? It is a vigilance of holding up our thoughts to the light of truth. It is a discernment we gain over time. Analyzing our thought life and making progressive changes first in our minds, will then bring outer changes to our lives and our circumstances. Repeating that truth verbally out loud will create new patterns in our mind. Just as we exercise our bodies, our freedoms, our spirits, we must condition our minds. You will be amazed at the useful effects that gaining control of your thought life will bring for you. You are worth the effort. Free your minds my friends, and you will see that freedom play out in your life. And as always, this is Sarah encouraging you to eat peacefully....

"...Each life must follow its own course..."

"Let me remember that each life must follow its own course, and that what happens to other people has absolutely nothing to do with what happens to me." Marjorie Holmes

There is comfort in our connection with one another, in the sharing of our joys and the common struggle of the human experience. This is a faculty given to us to help strengthen our character, so that we may have compassion for one another. It is a healing force in our lives. But we must understand that though we are similar in more ways than we are different, we are all on our own path.

I can't count how many times I have held myself back or entertained ill thoughts, because of my knowledge of someone else's experience. We do ourselves such an injustice when we embrace this non-truth. How many times have you held an aspiration in your heart and your mind has kept you from pursuing it? How much more advanced would we be as a society if we were to look at our lives as a unique experience, and not hold our gifts from the world because we are afraid of failure? Failure that might not even be ours, but a preconceived law that we have applied to our lives due to someone else's experience? How much more life would we embrace and pursue if we looked at our lives as a daily, hourly clean slate? It's all about perspective; how we view love, how we view ourselves and what we consider to be our self worth. These "habits" are created in our minds. Our existence thus far and our view of others experiences, creates this groove where our thoughts tend to go. I would encourage you to embrace your mental liberty and let nothing and no one hold you back from your contribution to this world. We all have something to give that is of great worth. It is important to our life's work for us all to embrace who we are and where our path will take us. Till next time, this is Sarah...encouraging you to eat peacefully.

"The world is round...the end may also be only the beginning..."

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." Ivy Baker Priest

Our minds tend to think and deal in beginnings and ends. Most of us cannot wrap our minds around an infinite space. We are so used to the "life span" of things. It is comforting to us to envision the start and finish. But sometimes this state of mind, this "box" we place life in, does not serve us well. We hold onto the past, and at times our nostalgia is so strong that it clouds our ability to live in the now. But the truth is, we are in a constant state of transcendence. We grow out of the old and into the new. Our souls change, our bodies change and our ideals change. We are in a constant state of growth. Henry David Thoreau states, "Things do not change; we change." So in this rhythmic "shedding off" of the old, it is important to open our minds to the truth of constant growth and not the "end" of things.

While encountering an illness there is one thought that seems to haunt us, " Am I always going to feel this way?" It is natural to worry and fret when our bodies are in pain. But I encourage you to visualize being well. Live in the certainty that your body is made to flourish and be healthy. Just as we must see our lives as we would hope them to be, we must see ourselves as healthy and whole. Dealing with a chronic illness is not the "end" of the good in your life. It is the beginning of your transformation. It is an opportunity to change, and the lessons you take with you will shape who you are and how you deal with life's challenges. It is always our choice how we allow our "mountains" to shape us, and it is a certainty that we will all encounter them.

Have compassion for yourself through these times, be patient with your body and your mind and give yourself time to rest in the truth that you hold dear in your heart. Look to those you love around you, look to the sky, to the earth and look inward to find your spiritual guidance. Live in the truth that life is always changing. There are new beginnings around every corner for you. So much of life is about perspective, and it is of great importance during tough times that we keep our thoughts exactly where we want them to be. In a state of positive well being. And if you are finding it difficult to see through your struggles we are here to help lighten your load. Come rest, nourish yourself and learn at The Wellness Kitchen. Let us come alongside you and start some new beginnings together. And as always this is Sarah, encouraging you to eat peacefully.....