Holistic Living & a Kinship with Kale

The air was thick with moisture this morning and the cool breeze and strengthening sun reminded me of our trip to Zihuatenejo, Mexico.  We awakened each morning to the same blanket of moisture, a beautiful sunrise that filled our veins like the fresh mango nectar we came accustomed to drinking and the seductive dance of the opaque white sheers as the cool breeze made its' way through the open windowpane.  I swear I could hear the 13th century poet Rumi whispering, "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you;  Don't go back to sleep."

Each morning an intoxicatingly rich pot of coffee served in a charming handmade pottery carafe was left outside our villa as if to punctuate our awakening with a resounding statement, "Good Morning & Welcome to Your Day"!

As I walked out the front door at Standing Tall with my own cup of coffee I couldn't help but close my eyes and take a deep breath of all that surrounded me.  The lush green grass, the chorus of songbirds, and the emerging wildflowers nourished my mind and brought me smack dab in the center of my body.  Like the lengthening of my spine in Mountain Pose and the duality of the asparagus in my garden where the roots growing into the earth are just as important as the stalk growing straight up toward the sun. As I felt my mind filling up with a sense of relief that I had the pleasure of speaking with the sun today, I was inspired to nourish my body with a matching hue of green that was nourishing my mind.

I began gathering items from the fridge and as the bouquet came together with a crisp head of romaine lettuce, a deep green bunch of kale, and rigid stalks of celery I knew I needed a couple of tart green granny smith apples to lend a bit of sweetness.  I began preparing this beautiful bouquet of earthly gifts by carefully washing, roughly chopping and eventually drinking the juice of these nourishing vegetables and fruits.  The resulting fresh pressed juice was a color that paid homage to the opulent spring palate of growth.  I was suddenly struck by the femininity of the juice and I knew I had to put her in a glass that would express the inherent curves of this green goddess. 

I adorned her with one of the handmade glass straws my friend, Nancy, gave me.  I chose the one with the blue, jewel-like glass beads on it because it coordinated so well with my long silky turquoise robe that brushed against my skin with a cool, direct reminder that "we are what we eat". As I sipped the green goddess from her perfect vessel through the transparency of the jeweled straw I realized I was drinking in the kindness of the kale, the sweetness of the apple, the straighforwardness of the celery, & the resiliency of the romaine.  As I tasted the sweet, tart, earthy goddess, I felt a spiritual kinship developing.  I liked her ... I liked her a lot.