Inspirations of Well-Being {2}

8 Experiences That Inspired My Well-Being This Week

1. Deep admiration

Watching as a special someone embarked on the journey that he had envisioned a year ago, a dream that through commitment, endurance, and passion has become a reality.

2. Locally grown foods

This week’s jaunt to the farmers’ market yielded some amazing gems, among which were exquisite apricots that reminded me that even if the sun hasn’t shone much in Seattle this July that it is still truly summer. I also got beautiful radishes, parsley, and dandelion greens. I used the latter–a vegetable rich in carotenoids and esteemed for its digestion-enhancing benefits–along with carrots, apples, beets, and ginger to make fresh-pressed juice. I also used the dandelion greens a base for pesto (dandelion greens, garlic, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper chopped/combined in a mini-prep food processor).

3. Craftswomanship

I love jam. I love locally made/sourced foods. I love entrepreneurs. And so I was really happy while at said farmers’ market to meet Rebecca Staffel–proprietress of Deluxe Foods–and to taste an array of her delicious preserves. She crafts them in the French style and without added pectin. Later in the week, I purchased two jars of her Gingered Rhubarb Jam–one for me, one as a gift for my grandparents. Yum!

4. Organization

In the thick of the Mercury retrograde shadow period, I decided to do a little spring cleaning. My focus: a kitchen closet that houses all things Lela-the-cat (food, toys, catnip, et al.) as well as random household items, a closet that I haven’t attended to since…well, let’s just say it’s been a [very long] while. As I usually do, I found great reward in the order that cleaning and organization can yield. (And in this case the reward also had some financial consideration as well–in that I found dozens of batteries I had squirreled away and forgotten about).

5. Sharing

I love when friends share food with me, whether something they’ve made or found on their journeys. This week I had the pleasure of both. Venkat B offered me a jar of his delicious Indian pickled cherries. And Kim O not only brought me some local honey (infused with honeycomb) from Vieques, but also gave me two jars of homemade goodies: Cherry Catsup and Raspberry-Thyme Jam. There was an extra level of sharing related to the latter, as she encouraged me to enjoy them with my family when I visit them this week. Duly noted and very excited to do so.

6. Right-brain thinking

While words are my go-to form of communication, I love having the opportunity to tap into other forms of creative expression. So I was excited to embark on a collage project, an assignment given to me by Shannon K of In Your Head (she’s helping me think through my vision for Planetary Apothecary as a lead-up to my website redesign this fall). I pored over stacks of magazine to find the images that visually described the feeling of what I am creating. While it was daunting at times, it was really creatively enriching and yielded an amazing discovery process that I could not have arrived at any other way. A picture really is worth a thousand (plus) words.

7. Diligence

I systematically washed, pitted, dried, and then froze scores of fresh Washington cherries–a fruit renowned for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients–to preserve them for later in the year. I love summer fruit & by preserving some it feels like I can preserve a bit of summer.

8. Feedback

I was really inspired by the feedback that I got from you–via email, here on the blog, and on Facebook–about this Inspirations of Well-Being series. Last week, I felt called to create it and I am really happy that you are enjoying it and finding it to be of benefit. I’ve been incredibly inspired by the ideas that you shared with me both on the blog and in other communications. Thank you. I am deeply grateful as your contributions go far in fostering well-being in myself and others.

What inspired your well-being this week? I encourage you to share your experiences and insights in the Comments section.

*** To learn more about the inspiration for Inspirations of Well-Being, see this post.