Inspiration
- To really learn something requires contemplation and thinking — even as the reader — and over time this leads to new insights, which is one of the most rewarding experiences I have come to know. It’s the reason why I get so excited when a patient asks me a question I don’t know the answer to. I want to learn more each day, ask better questions, create and connect more dots, and engage my curiosity. Peter Attia, MD
- Cooking is not merely a time-consuming means to an end, but is itself healing, meditation, and nourishment…my Zen teach Suzuki Roshi commented, “You are not just working on food, you are working on yourself, you are working on other people.” We sell ourselves short when we concentrate on instant relief and instant gratification and do not see that work is how we make our love manifest…By cooking we share in the effort that sustains our lives; we share in the bountifulness of our world…So handling food can also be an expression of sincerity and appreciation, working with so many living things. Honoring the ingredients, we can work to bring out the best in the food, in ourselves, and in one another.
Edward Espe Brown, Tomato Blessings & Radish Teachings - … in quietness and solitude, the spirit can inform us about the particular mission and service that constitute the heart of that person’s life … Not everyone is meant to become an artist on a grand scale, but each of us can formulate our significant encounters for ourselves and, in time, communicate them to others. … Just as physical exercise makes healthier bodies, artistic exercise increases the spiritual well-being. The increase in spiritual health, in turn, increases the spirit of a society which benefits from all the individuals who attempt to turn their lives into better works of art.
Milenko Matanovic, Meandering Rivers and Square Tomatoes – The Art of Crafting Visions, 1988, p. 61 & 87 - Regret is REWIND – the longing to change the past. Fear is FAST FORWARD – the desire to control the future. Depression is PAUSE – the stagnation of trying to keep life at bay. Freedom is PLAY – a thrilling free-fall into the juicy aliveness of Now.
Jeff Foster - Vicky REALLY appreciated Woody Tasch and his “slow money” philosophy. He says “Let’s sit down together, break bread, plant seeds and otherwise conspire about how to spend less of our time blaming, bombing, droning, attacking, arguing, vilifying, denying, lobbying, scaring, taxing, legislating, regulating, investigating, prosecuting and protesting…and more time…investing. Starting with food. Starting with the soil. Starting with investing ourselves in a collective, conscientious, entrepreneurial, neighborly, heartening, peace-loving and vital public conversation.
Woody Tasche - Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman - It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we are in between stories. The Old Story—the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it—sustained us for a long time. It shaped our emotional attitudes, provided us with life purpose, energized action, consecrated suffering, integrated knowledge, guided education. We awoke in the morning and knew where we were. We could answer the questions of our children. We could identify crime, punish transgressors. Everything was taken care of because the story was there. But now it is no longer functioning properly, and we have not yet learned the New Story.
Thomas Berry (as quoted in Thank God for Evolution by Michael Dowd) - When you engage emotionally and mentally with one point of view or the other you empower that position. You add to what is being polarized, you add to the conflict, you energetically support the discord. Remember, what you resist persists. It is the pushing against that actually gives strength to the cause you are fighting against. Any time you declare a “war” on drugs, poverty, obesity, you are energetically adding to the strength of what you want to eliminate.
Humanity’s Team Daily Inspirational Message, 10/13/13 
Authenticity is a daily practice. Choosing authenticity means cultivating the COURAGE to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, exercising the COMPASSION that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle and connected to each other through a loving and resilient human spirit; nurturing the CONNECTION and sense of belonging that can only happen when we let go of what we are supposed to be and embrace who we are.Authenticity demands WHOELE-HEARTED living and loving – even when it’s hard, even when we’re wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we’re afraid to let ourselves fell it.Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite GRACE, JOY, and GRATITUDE into our lives.
Brene Brown, PhD