EARTH DAY, EVERY DAY

It is true we need a day, a title, a label, an event to remind us that it is Earth Day. Tomorrow, April 22, 2017 is Earth Day around the world and on this day we are not simply recognizing that we live on the most amaaaazing planet, we are coming together to protect what we must hold most dear.

Be a part of it.

Wendell Berry urges us "...make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it."

There are many simple and profound, outward and inward, above and beyond ways that we can praise the earth and be grateful for the beauty of our lives on a planet we call Home.

Put your bare feet in the water, your palm upon the bark of tree, your nose inside a flower. Look up, spin around. Climb a tree, sink in mud, pick something from the garden, pop it straight in to your mouth, then let it linger on your tongue. Dance and sweat and French kiss, feel alive. Think about the food you eat and why you eat it. Get to know your farmer. Eat a beautiful meal that you made yourself. As we join together on a day that has its own title, our thoughts and deeds and focus are on this beautiful Mother Earth. Take deep, deep breaths and imagine clean air and the breath of the universe upon your skin and beyond tomorrow, flooding the lives of future generations.

“We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it. ”

— Wendell Berry

WHEN RAIN FILLS THE CRACKS

A lot happened this week. It is hard to describe the gratitude I felt when I saw the principal standing outside the school doors, under an umbrella, dressed in her professional clothes in torrential rain; or the sorrow that only moments later arose when I saw the beautiful duck or was it a goose? lying in the middle of the road, with its best friend flapping, begging him to get up as the man with slumped shoulders threw bread crumbs in a path leading it away.

In that moment, I pulled my car over, wrapped the bird up and carried it over to the side of the road and placed it down, out of the way. It was a beautiful beast. and I cried. I didn't know what more I could do. I asked the man should I just leave him here? and he nodded yes.

I wondered about those two events, why they fell only moments apart, and how they could resonate so deeply. It made me think about timing and the choices we make - not just as individuals but as a collective whole - how my son's school principal chose to stand out in the rain; how the man sprinkled bread crumbs; how that duck missed its mate; how I held that beautiful beast and looked at the soft white feathers on its neck and couldn't distinguish my tears from the rain.

Every day one of the principals at school is there to greet the children and whether the children are outwardly aware of it or not, they are registering it on a profound level that some one is there to welcome them in. The man scattering bread crumbs didn't need to, but he chose to because saving the other duck mattered.  In that morning, I felt how intimately connected we all are in one village, stretched out along one long road, any day of the year. We may not always register this, but in an instant it is all revealed.

I feel that way about the process of healing, that as deeply personal as one's journey is, the journey is made better by the collective conscious that tells each and every one of us that we're never alone and that we are all part of something bigger and greater, connected to something that says it's ok to be chipped, broken, cracked and fragile, because some one will always hold a door open, or lead you to a safe place, or help you carry a burden.  We're all in it together.  

WASTE NOT WANT NOT: SAVE THE CARROT TOP!

Ever wonder what to do with carrot greens when those fluffy tops are lobbed off ? Carrot tops are more often discarded - thrown away, used as compost, or chicken feed [lucky chicks] - but carrots greens are not only edible, they are highly nutritive, rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Their nutritional profile is similar to their roots and provides vitamins A, B6, C and K, folate, manganese, niacin, potassium, calcium, and thiamin, but they contain 6 times the vitamin C of the root. Yup, just like turnip greens, carrot tops are even more LOADED than the root and tuber.

Greens are among the top vegetable sources for Vitamin-K which plays a role in bone health, limits neuronal damage in the brain, and is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. 

When joined together, Vitamins A and C are ready to kick ass when it comes to protecting our cells. Vitamin A keeps skin and mucous membrane cells healthy and that means they are more resistant to fighting off cancers and diseases caused by viruses.

The fresh green leaves contain 100% of daily-recommended levels of Vitamin C and work in many B-complex groups that are essential to metabolism. Vitamin C acts as a natural antihistamine when fighting colds and allergies; aids in collagen production; has anti-oxidant properties that fight against cancer and protects cells from damage and mutation; and best of all, it helps to keep our eyes and hearts healthier so we can see and feel the beauty that is all around us. 

WHEREVER YOU GO, GO WITH ALL YOUR HEART

It was another amazeballs Saturday.  Juice traffic had a nice and steady rhythm. I want to savor this early season, this slow time to build up to the high season, to grow new muscles so that I am stronger when it gets super-busy this summer. For now, it's time to take it slow and enjoy getting to know everyone. That's what I call Happy Hours. 

Sue and Ron Smith visited the juice bar for the first time. They were spending an afternoon together doing something meaningful - taking a leisurely day trip from East Hartford to White Gate Farm because they had read Pauline's newsletter.  

While Sue shopped the market, Ron and I spent some time looking "under the bonnet" of the Nutrifaster. The celery threads were getting caught up in the machine and pushing it off balance. Ron is a mechanical engineer and explained the Physics behind the imbalance and well, we talk about LOTS of stuff at the juice bar - even Physics, another reason to love what I do.  

Ron is an avid bicyclist who rides thousands of miles each year and he and his wife are the picture of good health. As I was making a juice for Sue we were all chatting away while the Nutrifaster whirred...and then I stopped jamming celery into the machine and spun my head away from the machine and toward Ron...

What would you say if a man you just met said "...and that was the first time I died..."?

I'd say his heart was in the right place. On February 1, 2017 Ron Smith’s heart stopped seven times according to doctors. Luckily, he was in the right place at the right time and an amazing team at UConn Health saved his life...seven. times.  That life-changing, mind-blowing, "heart-stopping" event happened only two months ago and Ron is absorbing how his profound experience has altered his life and his way of thinking. He says,

"I try to pay things forward in life, but I don’t think there’s anything I’ve done, or will ever be able to do, that equals what the UConn Health team did, for how phenomenally they saved my life.  I am very humbled and appreciative.”

Apart from Luck and some mighty divine intervention, there were two key things that saved Ron's life: The UConn Health Team AND his choice to listen to his body and get his symptoms checked out. He didn't ignore the signs or simply "push through" them and that is the first, and most important step in Self-Care and living a healthy life.  

Ron has always been a very active person who exercises, eats right and even reads food labels. Yet, still he suffered from poor heart health.  He shares his story to raise awareness so that others may learn new ways to approach their own health. To read more about Ron's experience, follow this link and wherever you are, Go on, love yourself enough to listen to your body and listen to Confucius, too - "wherever you go, go with all your heart".  We love you!