I'm thankful for growth and maturity. 

Let's just start there.

Beloved. . . what?

It’s that time of year again. You either love Valentines Day or hate it, depending on whether you have a special someone in your life. This time around I discovered that special someone is myself. I have truly become my own beloved and the feeling this truth gives me is rich and serene. When I first heard that phrase - “become your own beloved” - I thought it sounded really new-agey and cheesy. Perhaps because I had yet to discover the richness in it and really own it. I’m on my way to having a deep knowing of it now.

“There is a secret about human love that is commonly overlooked: Receiving it is much more scary and threatening than giving it. How many times in your life have you been unable to let in someone’s love or even pushed it away? Much as we proclaim the wish to be truly loved, we are often afraid of that, and so find it difficult to open to love or let it all the way in.” –John Welwood

A long to-do list sits before me, but I set it all down to plan my birthday dinner with friends even though it’s more than a month away. 

Remembering Pleasure

I’m looking at the menu of a local vegan restaurant about which I've heard rave reviews, but have never been to. Listen to this first dish: whole wheat tortilla with spicy butternut and black bean chili, ground walnut chorizo, zucchini tahini nacho cheese, scallion, avocado and roasted red pepper sour cream served with blue corn chips. Just reading the description of this first item makes me want to go shopping at the local market and fill my basket with fresh ingredients to whip up an amazing feast. The restaurant has just opened a cocktail lounge too, with “fresh juice cocktails” like The Lemon Bomb with lemongrass and cardamom infused vodka, fresh lemon juice, agave and soda.

The Power of Play