Posts Tagged ‘Love’
Special Aroma
Imagine walking in the door after a long drive home through heavy traffic on a day when the roads are a mixture of snowy and not, and being immediately greeted by the intoxicating aroma of fresh-baked buns just out of the oven.
Such are the hardships I am forced to endure again and again living with a woman who creates magic everywhere her energy gets directed.
Guess what I ate for an afternoon snack. Mm, mmm, good.
If this isn’t living a blessed life, I don’t know what is.
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New Love
My love for ready-to-eat foods, especially cereals, is no secret. That passion fell under severe constraint a few years ago when I became better informed about the impact of excessive sugar in my diet. I quickly came to recognize that I was very much addicted to sugar and took steps to address that fact by significantly adjusting my eating behavior.
One of the most dramatic changes for me, since I already had chosen to avoid one of the highest sources of sweetness: the liquid sugar of soft drinks, was to control the amount and kind of cereals I ate. I learned to pay close attention to serving size.
My rough guideline was based on the World Health Organization’s suggestion to constrain intake of free sugars to 10% (or better yet, 5%) of total calories consumed. I converted that from the very approximate measure of a 2000 calorie diet to allow myself less than 50 grams of added sugars per day.
To allow some occasional treats, I aimed to stay at or below 10 grams of sugar per meal. That required BIG changes in the cereal I eat at breakfast. To stay below 10 grams, I was rarely able to allow myself to have a full serving size.
When it came to my much-loved granola cereals, it was hard to stay below 10 grams without constraining myself to a mere 1/4th cup.
Since Cyndie does our grocery shopping, I relied on her creativity to explore the options available on store shelves. One day, she came home with a package of granola that I had never seen before, Gustola Granola.
Oh. My. Gosh. I now have a new love.
The first flavor was pistachio, pumpkin seed, coconut, & cherry. It had a tantalizing hint of saltiness mixed in with the natural sweetness of the ingredients that I think is one of the great appeals. It enhances the mix of flavors wonderfully. Best of all, in a serving size of 1/3rd cup, there are only 4 grams of sugar.
That is amazing compared to the granola cereals I have previously been eating.
After finishing off that first bag of pistachio, etc., I pleaded with Cyndie to find more. She decided to order online, direct from the source and served up an additional flavor: almond, pecan, cashew.
Just as good to my taste buds and equally low in sugar. I’m in love!
I can’t wait to try the other flavors.
Now when I measure out the normal quarter-cup sized serving I have become accustomed to for breakfast, I can let it overflow just a little and not worry. Only 4-grams in a third-cup!
Every bite is pure joy. Mixed with a fraction of a serving of Fage plain Greek yogurt, I get textures I adore and flavors that are above and beyond satisfying. It’s like a celebration going on in my mouth.
Sorry, Grape-Nuts (5-grams per 1/2-cup) cereal, I’ve got a new love in Gustola Granola.
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Happy
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would you do me a favor
and loan me that smile
for as long as I can remember it
deep into the darkness
of hours and days
away from the laughter
that lights up your eyes
when we are happy
and in love
stupendously in love
but more importantly just
incredibly
happy
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Unintentional Meditation
The truth is, I just don’t know what to think. There is a simple solution for that, though. Sometimes I just don’t.
Think, that is. Maybe that is my version of unintentional meditation.
There are plenty of days that boil down to just putting one foot in front of the other. Some people do a better job of that than others. I believe there is an art to finding a way to carry on with a seemingly endless routine, regardless of having either a preconceived intention or none at all, on any given day.
Being something of a “both/and” person, I have no problem reconciling the odd combination of experiencing two opposing emotions simultaneously. More often than not, it is probably fair to say that I feel both happy and sad all at the same time.
Whatever gets you through the day is okay.
There is an interesting dynamic in the process of striving to become more healthy with time. Like peeling an onion, or zooming in for a closer look, new opportunities for improvement keep coming into view as progress is achieved. It’s as if someone keeps moving the goal line of optimal health farther away as I approach.
Progress begets progress, and so in one aspect, advances –both mental and physical– seem to come a little easier with time. But, there is also a change in the rate of improvement over time which makes it harder to perceive ongoing gains being achieved.
Of course, I have chosen love as my secret –or not so secret– weapon of choice for solving life challenges. I need to remind myself to love myself and send love to others all along the way. It helps to sooth angst over plateauing progress and energize doldrums that might begin to weigh me down.
The biggest success I hope to celebrate someday in my life will be a time when I discover that I am beaming that self-love and love for others without needing to think about it.
Wouldn’t that be a fine ambiance in which to live?
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New Chaos
We almost made it through two days of calm respite at the lake before the universe dished out a new dose of chaotic drama. My sense of orderliness is getting plenty of exercise, whether I want it, or not.
The idyllic afternoon in the water slowly eased into a delicious dinner of charcoal-grilled burgers with fresh corn-on-the-cob. Stories and laughter around the table topped off dinner and lasted until a call to join others by the lodge.
It was dark outside. There were a lot of people gathering on the deck next door. A bunch more were sitting around the fire at the lodge. Cyndie had Delilah on a leash. I was carrying my travel guitar in its case and arrived on the deck, having just walked up from the fire pit. The neighbors have a white dog that looks like one of the miniature mix breeds. Cyndie had been told the little dog was inside their cabin.
It all coalesced into a split-second explosion of dog conflict that revealed Gracie wasn’t inside. I turned to witness the fracas and ended up using my guitar case as a lever against Delilah as people scrambled to separate them.
Gracie was surprisingly calm, but inspection revealed she was bleeding from a puncture wound. The decision was made to bandage her up for the night and seek veterinarian advice today.
Cyndie and I are frustrated by Delilah’s quick transformations from calm to aggressive, but this degree of conflict is a new level that has us crushed.
The night was already laced with heaviness by reports of a community member in the last hours of life after years of cancer treatments.
I was on a quest for a break from life’s pressures, but the reality of new challenges occurring every day is helping me to adjust my focus toward the art of nurturing an intentional peacefulness that surfs above the turbulence which circumstances perpetually roil.
This morning I am conjuring extra love for people and animals and sending it to all the world. New love to sooth new chaos.
Peace.
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Zooming In
You know me, I like to make full-framed photo art on occasion by zooming in on certain features. Here are three I captured on Saturday up at the lake.
We enjoyed some fabulously accommodating weather over the weekend, which came to a dramatic end just as we arrived back home to a powerful downburst of wind and rain. A tornado warning was issued for that very storm cell in the moments after it moved past us to the northeast. Thank goodness it didn’t form any sooner. As of this writing, I haven’t heard any damage reports from neighboring properties further along the path.
If I were to zoom in a little bit on our immediate family, it might reveal some exciting news that was shared at dinnertime on Saturday night. Julian and Allison announced they are now husband and wife. It wasn’t entirely spur of the moment since the couple, who have been together for seven years, applied for a license in advance and prescheduled an appointment with a judicial officiant, but the result is equally surprising for those of us who love them.
The deed was done Tuesday and they went to work like usual the following day.
Ain’t love grand!?
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We’re Humans
Sometimes I imagine that it’s possible a time will come when everyone will understand the same realities. I suspect the ultimate truth will have something to do with love and the fact that “we all do better when we all do better.” (Paul Wellstone quote)
With the recent run of media reliving the Apollo 11 moon landing fifty years ago, I’ve been enjoying the glimpses of the worldwide reaction over the accomplishment. During the subsequent promotional tour that NASA scheduled, the astronauts reported a common reaction from people of all the countries they visited.
The throngs of well-wishers weren’t just focused on what the astronauts did. The common chant was, “We did it!” It was commonly seen as something that humans did to escape the bonds of earth and set foot on a different celestial perch.
Here’s to a day when all humans finally realize we truly are one.
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Relative Something 