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Take Paradise With You
I celebrated Easter grandly this year -- exploring the Puna Coast of the Big Island with my friends, Ron and Charlotte. After consuming the requisite hard boiled eggs for breakfast, we broke with tradition and tourism, opting instead to imitate the locals. Sitting in a natural steam cave; lying on a secluded black sand beach where a pod of dolphins frolicked in the sea just like Puff; and driving for miles down coastal back roads under a thick canopy of trees, where the air is so pure it's like breathing heaven.
But in the midst of paradise, I noticed something -- in others and in myself. Something that reminds me of the title of Jon Kabat-Zinn's book, "Wherever You Go, There You Are." This bite-sized bit of wisdom is similar to the sentiment that you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl. In other words, where you are is just the backdrop for who you are.
It struck me with the greatest clarity at a restaurant one evening, when, surrounded by live and lively music, warm Hawaiian air and the lapping of waves, a family of five consumed their meal, looking as unhappy as if they were eating stale baloney sandwiches at a roadside stop in the rain. They had packed for paradise, but they didn't bring it with them.
Paradise might relax, intrigue or excite you, but it cannot save you from yourself. Which is why the only true sanctuary you'll ever find it the portable kind. Cultivating an internal haven, nurturing it whether house-bound or footloose, is the only way to be blissed out when your body finds itself in another world. |
Nurturing the Inner Haven
1. Delight in the small things. Days are made up of moments and moments can offer simple pleasures. For me, it's the thick foam on my soy latte or the way the light paints my two walls very different shades of periwinkle. Or that moment when my partner and I start humming Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" at the very same time. Noticing the small things and delighting in them cultivates an inner haven that can be transported anywhere.
2. Build paradise into your life. What do you love most about "getting away?" (Telling phrase, no?) Whatever it is, build more that into your life, lessening the gap between here and there. More sleep? Reading for two hours at a stretch? PJ's 'til noon? Such choices ease the "looking forward" and "back to reality" syndrome. Because when you build paradise in, you're not quite so eager to "get away" from the life you've created. Or quite so reluctant to hop the flight home.
3. Continually unpack. It's the inner baggage that keeps the light of paradise from reaching our eyes whether we're in the backyard or in the Bahamas. Create a lifestyle where you consciously unpack the insecurity and feelings of inferiority that underlie the habits of worry, self-criticism, complaining and judgment. Instead of yielding to the temptation to tell the same old story to yourself about yourself, tell a new one and make it the truth: you are worthy of your own love.
4. Magic happens. When you bring your own light with you to outer paradise, be prepared for magic! Instead of being caught in your own tourist trap, expecting outer places and events to make you glow, you'll find paradise revealing itself to you. And when it does, it will offer gifts you didn't know you needed and you can't find in any gift shop. For me this trip, those gifts were muscle-bruising laughter, the presence of a humpback whale out-of-season and a last-night, late-hour conversation arranged by angels.
Take paradise with you and when you come home, it will have deepened its roots and sent new tendrils up into your heart.
Til We Cross Paths Again,
Maridel |
One evening my traveling companions and I lingered over the dessert menu, wavering. Instead of ordering, we headed to the grocery store for the ingredients to Charlotte's favorite dessert. You'll read the list and doubt (no doubt) will descend. All I can say is this: if I could slip you a bite and ask you to guess the three ingredients, you never would. It's nothing short of luxurious. Doesn't even need the whipped cream upon which lesser desserts are dependent.
Ingredients
1 package of firm tofu (silk preferred)
1 small bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 regular-size graham cracker crust
(For the larger crust, use 2 packages of tofu and large bag of chips.)
Directions
1. Melt chips in saucepan
2. Pour on top of tofu in blender
3. Blend, blend and blend some more (until very creamy)
4. Pour into crust and refrigerate for 2 or more hours
If desired, add a few chopped nuts to top.
There's an "ummm" in every bite! |
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Free Coffee Consultation
If you have a writing project or idea, I'd love to buy you a cup of coffee (tea or cocoa) and discuss it with you. Regardless of the size of the project or where you are in the process, I'd be happy to give you my thoughts and see what I can do to help. Please feel free to contact me at Maridel@evolvingjourney.com.
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