A Recipe For Renewal

Wheeeeeeee!!!! It's fall harvest time at the farmers market....

Of COURSE this means undeniable jaw dropping colors and fresh smells that tease your taste buds as they permeate the crisp, cool air. It also means FALL... One of my favorite seasons... And this year, it happens to be a very a moving, progressive, trying season. 

I've recently had the pleasure of both anxiety and accomplishment accompanying my life quite frequently. They hold hands through my present like best buds as they skip their way around all aspects of my life... Truly complimenting each other in a surprisingly constructive manner.

{hardship, like happiness, is what you make of it}

It's a lot like how tang meets earth on the palate. Tang and citrus can break a dish, but it is balanced by the calm undertones of an earthy flavor. When the two meet and partner within the heart of a dish, ingredients are brought together in sweet harmony and the dish tends to let off a warm, comforting glow.

Anxiety (our theoretical "tang") can be so consuming it's hard to focus on anything but the relinquishment of it. So you fight, or you refuse (a, "no thank you helping" as my grandmother would call it), or you learn, and you grow. When choosing to pair that anxiety with hard work and accomplishment (our earth element), we hit a state of equilibrium. The anxiety fades just enough to keep us aware, yet GROUNDED... In harmony. Without that bitter tang behind the need to pull through hardship, that warm, comforting collaboration wouldn't be possible, and we would lose out on some of that wholesomeness of life.

{you rarely arrive anywhere worth while by accident}

You must have a spirit lead courage that transforms anxiety into a will and drive to go and do. Harmonize your bounty of life with the right balance of awareness, not fear... courage, not clash. 

Got some financial tang? Add some earth by making due more with what you've got... Rather than stretching your means for what you'd rather.

Got the relationship tang blues? Trust in the ultimate plan... Trust in your heart. If it's not fulfilling you, or adding to the wholesomeness of your love life, add some earth by finding and focusing on yourself, regrouping, then starting again. 

Tang all over your job? Polish that earthy up by considering your employment as a means to an end... Allowing the possibility of feeding and clothing a loving family within a loving home. Or, take it back to the starting line and reconsider your career choice. It's perfectly possible to merge passion with profession... Rooting into doing what you love. TRUST ME. I'm the poster child. 

Just... Remember to find beauty in the breakdown. Through the hustle and bustle and tang of daily life, notice those colors down the breezy aisles of the market... Plan heart warming hearty meals that reach deep down into your soul, not your pocket. Know that seasons of stress are temporary, and if followed by the grounded drive to grow, you'll be gifted with the harmony that is hardship to happiness... Tang lassoed by earth... Balance.

{good n plenty}

OH, and... Enjoy this recipe... It's sorta the inspiration for this bit of mind work.
 Farmers market fantastic!

Cilantro Lime Red Cabbage Stir Fry over Quinoa 

1 cup prepared Quinoa

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 head of red cabbage (sliced thin)

1 green bell pepper (sliced thin)

1 green onion bulb (sliced thin)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)

1 tbsp lime juice (fresh is best)

-Heat vegetable oil over medium high heat

-Add cabbage, onion, and bell pepper

-Sauté until tender, but not mushy (about 8-10 minutes)

-Add salt, pepper, cilantro and lime juice

-Sauté until cilantro is wilted

-Serve warm over Quinoa

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