California Dreamin'

There is no better way to start the week than going to a farmer’s market. I frequent the Mountain View market on Sundays, and purchase beautiful food for the week. This is on top of receiving my weekly CSA veggie box, so there is never a shortage of local, organic food in my kitchen

Thoreau said, “it is great art to saunter.”This is how I like to be in the market, it is truly a place where I can let all of my senses embrace the world around me and be one with that environment. Since losing most of my sight I really rely on my other senses and I adore atmospheres that allow me to fully use them. For example, kale reminds me of lace and small, round pumpkins take me back to my childhood in an instant. I remember the bright colors but am settling into the understanding that I may never see them again. The atmosphere is as alive as the real food on the tables, today a man was playing a fiddle by the train station. The soothing melodies of the fiddle coupled with the whistle of the train were representative of simpler times when everyone knew where their food came from and it mattered to them.

During the Summer of 2004 I was studying sustainable development and environmental justice in Guatemala. While visiting an inactive volcano turned shade grown coffee farm I remember the farmer saying this beautiful thing that has always stuck with me. He said, “there is nothing more romantic than gathering the coffee beans all day with my wife. We work this land together, I love her and I love the land.” Such tasks would seem too labor intensive for most people let alone romantic yet he loved caring for the Earth and spending every day outside with his wife. The following Winter while studying organic agriculture in Brazil, I met several polyculture organic farmers from Germany. They taught me another important lesson. They said, “instead of exploiting all the weeds around the food you are eventually going to harvest, employ them. “ Meaning that each plant, even weeds, have their own special purpose even if it is just to hold the soil and prevent erosion for the other plants that are considered more valuable due to their exotic fruits. This is a lesson that can be used in everyday life, those people around who are super irritating, troublesome or simply lost  are there for a purpose. Help them find their own path, employ the knowledge they possess instead of discarding them like they are worthless members of our ecosystem.

All of these little lessons I have gathered so far have allowed me to take my challenge of losing sight and turn it into a huge asset. I wish to help others find their special gifts so that they can saunter through life and truly enjoy it. I feel so blessed to live in California and each day that I get to be in the sun, telling the chiropractic story, and being around amazing people is the best day ever! I am California dreamin’ and on a mission to spread peace, love and the vitalistic philosophy throughout the world.