The Smallest Acts

On impulse I purchased

a Meditation-a-Day calendar

in January from the clearance

table at Barnes & Noble.

Those of you who have been

reading along with me for a

while know that I love quotes.

Often, when I read one that

really resonates with my spirit,

I massage the words over and

over in my mind....

And often, that leads to some

deeper thoughts ~

And often, I like to share

those thoughts

with

you.

Because I know, if we were

talking over steaming cups of

tea or coffee, frosty glasses of

iced tea or wine, we would have

a wonderful conversation sparked

by an idea that was born from

one of these quotes.

Here is one that 

particularly

stayed with me:

Put your heart, mind, intellect,

and soul even to your smallest

acts.  This is the secret of

success.

~ Swami Sivananda

Do you live with this kind

of passion, where each day

you greet every task with your

whole heart?

I try to.

Try.

Some days are more 

challenging in this regard 

than others.

But still, I try.

One of my all-time favorite

quotes, from Mother Teresa,

is very similar to the Swami's:

Not all of us can do great things.

But we can do small things with

great love.

Yes, we can fold the warm

laundry with great love ~

for the most basic of blessings

such as life, family and freedom....

Yes, we can put our hearts into

weeding the garden, thankful for

the feeling of sunshine on our

backs, fresh air in our lungs and

the joy of birdsong....

Yes, we can put our mind into

creating nourishing meals that

fuel these bodies that allow us

to do so many things, every day....

Yes, we can put our intellect 

into loading the dishwasher, walking

the dog or writing a birthday card,

honoring the brain that takes care

of blinking and breathing and putting

one foot in front of the other, freeing

our minds to dream as well

as to take care of business.....

And yes, we can put our souls 

into how we meet the world each

day, via the smile to the cashier,

the wave to the neighbor, the hug

we give a friend.....

It's all a matter of passion and

gratitude and how we frame

our life's work, whether that

is done behind a desk, behind

a wheel, behind a rake or

broom, camera or piano ~

or behind little ones, gently 

guiding them forward.

I'll leave you with another quote

from an extraordinary woman,

Helen Keller.  It has been at the

top of my blog page since I began

this adventure in 2010.

I long to accomplish a great and

noble task, but it is my chief duty

to accomplish small tasks as if

the were great and noble.

Love her.

Love you all.

Thanks for inspiring my 

passion, not only for writing, 

but for sharing the

beauty that is this life.

xo

Suzanne

all pictures:  P&H

Soy-anara

With all the lovely
fruits and veggies
beginning to arrive in
our local grocers and 
farmer's markets this time
of the year, I was already
inspired to up the ante
on healthy eating.


So when my doctor advised

me to avoid unfermented

soy, unless it was organic

edamame or soy nuts,

I figured, 

I'm up for this....
how hard can it be?  

I rarely eat tofu unless

we are eating out an

 Asian restaurant.

I rarely drink soy milk 

unless I have a Chai Tea 

soy latte at a coffee shop.

I rarely cook with soy

products unless I am trying

a recipe that calls for it.

{And soy sauce and miso

are fermented.}

No big deal, right?

Wrong.

So,

so,

SO

wrong.

My friends, when I began

reading labels for soy, I found 

that it is omnipresent....

It's in most brands of

bread

vegetable oil

mayonaise

frozen waffles
tortillas
salad dressing

breakfast bars

canned soup

cereals

canned tuna

meat balls

sauces

protein bars

chocolate

cookies

crackers

frozen foods

baking mixes

chips

ice cream
ice cream cones 

carmel corn

rice cakes

pudding

pet food

just to name a few.

So what?  you ask.

There are a multitude of reasons

to avoid unfermented soy for better

health.  The top case in my mind

is that 99% of soy is genetically

modified {gmo} to be resistant

to pesticides and herbicides and

is considered to be one of the 

most highly contaminated

food products in the U.S.

Ugh.

In North America, only soy

products labelled organic are

guaranteed not to be genetically

modified and not to be treated

with pesticides and herbicides.

But even organic, unfermented

soy may be bad for our health,

despite the millions of dollars

that big food companies

have poured into advertising

and label claims.

Why?

It contains plant estrogens,

toxins and anti-nutrients,

which cannot be removed

through processing, and
can adversely affect 
our well-being.

The bottom line?  Soy oil, soy

flour and processed soy products 

such as soy lecithin and soy protein

isolate, are cheap.  And inexpensive

ingredients mean more profits for

the companies that manufacture

the foods we eat.


Even those we assume
are nutritious.

When was the last time you

added soy lecithin to your 

home cooking?  

The ideal way to avoid soy

is to stick to unprocessed

foods or to make your own.

But since most of us do not

have or make the time to

bake our own bread or

whip up our own mayo,

ice cream, crackers, etc.,

it is imperative to read

labels and to know what

you are consuming.

Because knowledge is

a powerful tool for creating

and maintaining wellness
for ourselves and for
our families.

So, I say, 

soy-anara! 

gmo

unfermented soy.

How about you?

The first wealth
is health.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

xo

Suzanne

PS:

You can learn more about

 the soy controversy 

here, 

here,

and

here.

The Season for Growing Young

So much about the

summertime season

brings out my

inner child.

The thwack! of

a bat when it makes

contact with a

baseball.

The slam of a

wooden screen 

door.

The taste of a

juicy, ripe peach.

The softness of

the morning air

before the day

heats up.

The dit-dit-dit

of the sprinklers.

The joy of watching

a seed become a

seedling.

Bare feet on

cool grass.

Thunderstorms.

Porch swings.

Root beer floats.

I was watching

a video blog a

few weeks ago

and the blogger 

reminded viewers

that when we were

little, we would

proudly announce

that,

I'm six and half,

but soon I will be

seven!

And you were very,

very excited at the

prospect of becoming

older.

She pointed out that

it would be oh-so-cool

if we heard adults

say,

I'm 36 and a half, but

soon I will be 40!

embracing our wisdom

and the prospect of

a new season of life.

That's how I feel about

the summer; it makes

me grow younger, at

least for a few months,

as I celebrate the simple

pleasures that seem to

abound at this time.

It's May 18th,

but soon it

will be July 4th!

I have already warmed

the bleachers at 10 baseball

games, often viewing the 

sun setting below the 

horizon. The lights, the 

cheering, the scent of 

popcorn wafting on the 

breeze, take me back to a 

time when life seemed 

like nothing but a giant

possibility.

What summertime

joys make your 

heart

sing?

Can you feel

yourself,

growing

younger?

xo

Suzanne