“That was her magic, she could still see the sunset, even on those darkest days.”
Inspired by my dear friend, whose days are beginning to brighten with faith and hope.
REVITALIZE Picnics!
The recipe for a perfect evening: food + friends + conversation + nature. The better, the better.
As an outgoing introvert, I meet so many amazing humans, but prefer to spend one-on-one time with them. Lately, I noticed I was saying to each one of them, "Oh, I can't wait for you to meet my friend, you'd love them..."
So this is how the idea of REVITALIZE Picnics was birthed- to gather all these lovely people together. Praveena and I will be hosting these with the intention of building authentic connections around plant-based food. Soul food, in a real, holistic sense.
Join us for our first REVITALIZE picnic next Saturday, 9/17 at 4:30 pm at San Leandro Marina. We'll be across the volleyball courts, facing the water. Just bring your sweet self, a vegetarian dish to share, a blanket, and some things to eat with. We'll stay until sunset and celebrate this beautiful thing called life together. Hope to see you there!
The Rapture of Being Alive.
“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
From today's sunset run along San Leandro Marina...
Full Bellies and Hearts...
Last night was another amazing evening hosting beautiful people and enjoying delicious food. I love watching how the unique mixture of flavors, textures, stories and personalities around this table magically mix and unfold as the night grows long. Full bellies, minds, and hearts. I'm so grateful to make art in this way with my dear friend Praveena. Stay tuned for our fall REVITALIZE dinner. Check out some pics from last night's menu HERE.
Finding Purpose in Your Pain
Last week, my friend and I were talking about being refined by fire. Some of the most heart-wrenching experiences in life have gifted us with the greatest lessons. Anyone who's felt loss or pain has a greater appreciation and empathy and knowingness that resulted from those times.
Climb on... (Mines Road, Livermore)
If you asked them, most would willingly walk through that fire again because it made them who they are today. Out of all the various friendships in my life, these individuals are the most beautiful humans. They have found purpose in their pain. They now seek out opportunities to guide someone else climbing those same hills, wondering when it's going to end, curious what's around the bend, anxious for a respite. They are a trusted authority because they have lived that same story. Advice is real, raw, and true from these people.
My friend describes the depth of pain from her divorce as "enough for ten women's lifetimes." She is intentional about using her past pain for a bigger, greater purpose. Hurting people seek her out. She is the one they call when they're suicidal and can't fathom living another day. She speaks life and hope back into them, and gets them climbing again.
Even if there was once shame in our stories, there is so much power in sharing them with those who can benefit from our journeys. By deciding to do this, we are harnessing the stronghold they once had on us, and using that power now for good. There is always purpose in our pain, and it's up to us to find it. Lives may depend on it.
PRESSED!
I love surprise packages. These arrived today in the mail, and the timing couldn't have been better. I wasn't feeling in the mood to go grocery shopping after a long drive back from San Diego yesterday, so enjoying one of these bars was the perfect real-food snack after my morning swim.
My favorite? Cherry apple chia...
KIND bar has done it again, this time with only fruit, veggies, and chia in their all-new PRESSED by KIND bar. It's nutrition made simple. No preservatives, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, no added sugar, and all that jazz. Basically how real food is supposed to be.
Whether or not you're pressed for time, these bars make the perfect snack. Stash them in your car, your office drawer, your workout bag or in your purse, and I promise you'll never be hangry again.
REVITALIZE Dinner: Summer Edition!
Folks, it's that time again... We have a few more spots left for our 5-course plant-based dinner on Saturday, August 20th. Enjoy delicious, local, organic summer produce picked at its peak and prepared in a creative and vibrant way. Hope you pull up a seat with us. We'd love to have you join us! More info HERE.
***Update*** We are now at full capacity for this event, but keep your eyes out for future retreats/event dinners!
Space That Matters.
You never know how much space you occupy in another person's life. I'll never forget the conversations over coffee that shifted my attitude and perspective in a positive way. The handwritten letter mailed to me during my freshman year of college that I have folded in my drawer with simple, beautiful words of truth that I still pull out from time to time. The afternoon my friend made homemade soup for me but I was too sad to eat, so we just sat together, and that in itself nourished and warmed my soul. I don't think these people even remember these things- to them it was just coffee, or scribbling out a letter, or making lunch. Kindness naturally flows through their veins.
I've been changed by this. I realize the power of our words and the importance of our time. And how seemingly small things to us can make a big difference to someone else. The space we occupy in other people's lives, and the space they have in ours- Love exists there.
Beginning Over and Again.
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over and again with the summer.”
Goat Hill Trail, Butano State Park
Your Trail.
If you were lucky enough to have a trail named after you, what message would you convey through the terrain? Mine would begin deep in the forest, to give what every human spirit yearns for- to be absorbed and enveloped inside a beautiful living thing.
Ewoldsen Trail, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
It would climb up steep switchbacks, and the top would have sweeping views that overlooked the fog. A reminder that clarity exists above the muck and confusion.
It would curve along the coastline with the vast ocean below because to feel small, but somehow significant, is one of the most honest expressions of truth. Mine would tell a story. In every language. Without any words.
McWay Falls, Big Sur
Ewoldsen Trail captured this story perfectly.
Just Sing.
“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
