Tag Archives: organic foods

Eastbound and Back, Day 12, Surprise Ferry Ride

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

May 10, 2024, Aboard the Ferry to Port aux Basques- On a hunch, my host and I went to North Sydney, and checked with the Marine Atlantic office, as I had not received a confirmation of my ticket to Newfoundland, only the deduction from my bank account-back in November. We found that, voila, I was on the manifest-but that there was concern that the ferry scheduled for tomorrow is likely to be canceled, due to rough weather. So, I was given a slot on tonight’s ferry.

Fortunately, my car and belongings were only an hour away, at my host’s place in Eskasoni. After going on a couple of other errands, of mercy and sustenance, and visiting with another person who was experiencing family difficulty, I bid farewell to my hosts and headed to the ferry terminal. Two hours later, here I am on en route back to see some other friends made two years ago, and to see what new friends will appear.

A less pleasant surprise is that my i-Phone and this laptop are no longer connected. Maybe it’s a bad USB cord, so I will see if purchasing a new one, on Sunday or Monday, will let me resume sharing photos. Hmm, it is charging the phone, so maybe it’s not the USB cord that’s the problem. Will try again with the USB port itself, on Sunday or Monday. In the meantime, I will continue to take photos of Newfoundland, using the phone camera-and some day be able to share them on this blog site.

Conversations with my hosts today centered more on pastoral responsibilities. How do we help the sick, the troubled, the homeless, to get back on track. Ernie said that, in a severe situation, we must not let the perfect be a barrier to the good and necessary. If some foods are not organic, or not in keeping with someone’s strict diet-let those foods work, in a pinch. He gave the example of Wonder Bread, which he has yet to see become moldy. Since Ernie is an octogenarian, and I’m not, I give his testament a few grains of salt. Those of us who can afford, and do have access to, healthier options should share them when we can. It is often survival, however, that matters most.

In a few hours, we will dock, so now it’s time to nod off and be ready to drive up to Corner Brook, when the time comes.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 72: Wheatgrass

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Personal Values, Striving

August 11, 2020-

Whether on the road or, as is the case now, keeping vigil at Home Base, I am always on the lookout for new elements to incorporate into my life-especially if they are proven to enhance people’s physical, mental or emotional health.

Certified Pure, Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils have been part of my regimen for seven years. Organic foods have been in the mix for nearly that long. This year, I have added microgreens and raw milk to my diet. The latter is good in shakes, which are a fine meal in the present dry heat-at least once a day.

Wheatgrass juice is the most recent food to join my wellness plan. It does two things, right off the top. First, it gives my hands and arms some old-fashioned exercise, as I cut the grass from its bed on a porous cardboard tray, place it in a manual juicer, tamp it a bit with a pestle and grind it into pulp, using a small glass to catch the juice. I then pour the juice into my quart measuring cup, noting that the yield from half the tray is 2 ounces of juice. That is the maximum recommended for one day, though one may stretch it over two days, if the budget is tight.

What are the benefits? I will provide a link to a more comprehensive list, at the end of this post, but so far, I have felt more energy, sleep a bit better-even in the heat and have been more regular.

Here is the more polished list of potential benefits. Note that “may” is used for most of the possible benefits, per FDA rules.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/wheatgrass-benefits

The Road to 65, Mile 92: Balance

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

February 28, 2015, Prescott-  Over the past several days, we Baha’is have been participating in Ayyam-i-Ha, the gift-giving days signaling the approach of our liturgical year’s end.  We then will fast for the final month of the year, at least those of us who are between the ages of 15-70, and whose physical circumstances do not pose a risk to health.

During this time, people have indulged in a bit of fol-de-rol, online, regarding a certain multi-coloured dress.  I’ve weighed in on the matter, tongue in cheek, and see no harm in such activities.  All the same, the heinousness of many, around the world, also continues.  Angry, misanthropic men indulged themselves in the wanton destruction of ancient treasures, in a museum of Mosul, Iraq, much as they savage Christian and Muslim alike, in the territories unfortunate enough to have fallen under their control.  The same process repeats itself in northern Nigeria, western Myanmar and pockets of the resurgent nation of Somalia.   No one in those places is safe.

Here at home, a human monster is using a motor vehicle as a weapon, aiming it at other drivers, striking their parked vehicles and generally trying to instill fear in a peaceful neighbourhood, towards God knows what end.

Every community has to deal with the unbalanced.  For me, it is well that I have personal faith and its various avenues towards achieving balance in my life.  I am grateful for my friends and family, for the essential oils and organic foods that have kept me out of harm’s way, physically, over the past year or two. It’s a tough row to hoe, being mildly autistic yet capable of holding positions of responsibility and, most importantly, being able to see other people’s point of view.

The Hopi world view was presented, nearly thirty years ago, in a film entitled “Qoyaniqatsi”, or “World Out of Balance”.  Man’s departure from the world of nature was a central theme of this film.  Nature, by itself, struggles to maintain balance, and by itself is generally successful in that regard.  Humankind can maintain balance, in itself and with nature, only by following physical and natural laws, of which “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the most basic.  To achieve and maintain balance, one must feel connected with all things.

It is the disconnect that many have felt, for some time, that underlies the savagery we see, continuously, in so much of the world.  There are no easy answers to resolving the rage of Islamic State, Boko Haram, the Burmese Buddhist extremists, al-Shabab or any of the bullies who who cause distress, to a lesser extent, in communities around the Earth.  There is, however, a slow process of regeneration taking place, simultaneous to the destruction.  Balance will be restored, and in one state of being (physical or spiritual), each of us will see it.