Down In The Valley Of Goblins

Goblin Valley has been on the top of my - Places to Go to Get your Butt Off the Lawn Chair 2015 List.- Despite living in Utah for the past 7 years I had never heard of it. I came across some some pictures at the beginning of the year, daydreamed a little, and pinkey swore to myself I would go ASAP ( As Soon As you-have-Pesos).

Come August, we rounded up 9 of our closest anddddd not-so-closest-friends and packed up two cars to their maximum capacity. As usual I was micromanaging everything and had to make sure we had we didn't leave ANYTHING we needed behind (what if someone loses a button? Sewing kit = necessity) but before you assume that it was my fault that we left an hour and a half later than we planned let me say -
1. Thanks a lot, super rude of you. and 
2. It wasn't even my fault at all.

We got to our campsite at about 11:30 pm, full of dreams and leg cramps. Thank goodness we are all so resilient. I could hardly sleep because I WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE POTENTIAL FUN THAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN I WASN'T SLEEPING. Logic, ladies and gentleman. Come morning, with that hella pretty gold light the rising sun created, we participated in the most important meal of the day, strapped our over sized fanny packs on and made our way to the most important part of the trip.

The Hike: Ding Dang Canyon (It's Utah, It is our moral obligation to replace every bad word, even in the naming of our canyons)

The Hikers: Just a bunch of innocent 20-ish year olds who didn't know what they were getting themselves into

We started the hike with such optimism. Optimism we would later need to cling to as we risked out lives. One of us was even shoe-less - by choice - (this isn't a new millennial idea of a good time). This hike has the best variety of terrain, views, and material. The chunks of granite along the trail were so gorgeous it could easily be made into the Kardashian’s counter-tops. It was fairly easy…. until we hit our first problem. There had been a lot of rainfall a couple days before making there some left over deep stagnant puddles. No big deal, this is what being the wilderness is about!  We'll get our legs wet! 

But after a while these puddles stopped being puddles and more like an unknown abyss of swimming water. It was practically a paper-rock-scissors battle to see who would go in first. Imagine a big bowl full of leftover orange soup so thick you can’t see the bottom of your bowl and you’re trying to find a spot to rest your spoon but it just keeps sliding into the unknown deepness of your soup! Now, imagine some sticks, and some spiders with small bodies a really long skinny legs who can swim ON TOP of this soup and I think you kind of get the idea.

Despite the 1 foot drops we had to navigate (we got real lucky at some parts) and the fact that the super sketch water up to our chest, it was hands down THE BEST hike I have ever been on. All in all, a 6 mile hike that should have taken about 3, 3 1/2 hours ended up taking us SEVEN. We were just happy we came out with all of our body parts still in a somewhat working order.

Library / Letter to a Hindu

Three words: Educational, valuable, reflective

A few more: A bit of history: You’ve probably heard of Leo Tolstoy, author of those pretty large books such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and other highly acclaimed literature. He was also that russian guy with a really large beard, a Christian anarchist, and a believer in non-violence. In 1908 Tolstoy wrote a letter to the editor of an indian publication, Free Hindustan. It was later passed on to Gandhi who translated it from Russian and published it in an Indian newspaper.Then started a letter correspondence between Gandhi and Tolstoy. In fact the last letter Tolstoy wrote before his death was to Ghandi

In the letter Tolstoy argues this: That only through love could the people of India free themselves from the British and that only the through the nonviolent application of love, in the form of peaceful resistance, will there be an alternative to violent revolution  Tolstoy believes that the only way to answer evil is with love.

Here's a taste: "A commercial company enslaved a nation comprising two hundred millions. Tell this to a man free from superstition and he will fail to grasp what these words mean. What does it mean that thirty thousand men, not athletes but rather weak and ordinary people, have subdued two hundred million vigorous, clever, capable, and freedom-loving people? Do not the figures make it clear that it is not the English who have enslaved the Indians, but the Indians who have enslaved themselves?... If the people of India are enslaved by violence, it is only because they themselves live and have lived by violence and do not recognize the eternal law of love inherent in humanity”

For bookshelf or borrowing?: My copy looks like a mangled mess from notes and carrying it around. I’m adding it to my folder of essays I love. You can buy this in book format, but I printed my copy for free online.

Manifesto/01 Food

I am not the poster child for healthy eating even though I talk a lot about it. I don’t always do a good job. I really love In-N-Out and frozen Little Debbie treats are my top-notch comfort food. Sometimes. I don’t give two craps about red dye #40! I used to spend a lot of time being that really annoying person that would tell you all the things that were wrong with your food but still be real hypocritical about it. Like when my friends would eat at McDonalds and I’d get all faked misty eyed and ask them if this was a cry for help, as I would slow-motion-dramatic put a single french in my mouth, never breaking eye contact.  

I like to stay relatable.

Despite all my shortcomings, I like to think I still know a decent amount about what it looks like to eat real, wholesome, healthy food... I just also happen to know what it looks like to fail at it.

I moved out of my parents house (and into a barn with mah friends) for a hot second at the beginning of the year, which was very fun and very hipster of me. I learned many things by doing this, but for the sake of typing space, here are three:

1. I am not equipped to share a sleeping space with 2 other people Or anyone for that matter.    God left that out of my pool of talents. I should not do this for mine and everyone else’s sanity.   

2. I should really re-think the amount of books I have

3. Eating healthy, whole, good feelin food is HARD. (It also didn't help that I kinda didn't really have a kitchen.)

It was also really interesting to examine the changes that happened in my body and mental health when I changed my diet in such and drastic way. I went from eating a balanced plant based diet to struggling to figure out how to eat anything but granola bars.  It took an extreme effect on my ability to function day-to-day. I was constantly lethargic, achy, moody and depressed. I didn't realize that this was in part due to the way I was eating, until I moved back in with my family.       

        

After being back home for a couple of months, I’ve made some new commitments to the way I interact with food. I realized that not only did my diet change affect my body but it also affected the way I thought about food. Where I previously looked forward to my next meal and was excited by food, I then found myself frustrated and putting off eating my next meal because I resented food.

I’ve spent a lot of years consciously observing the way my culture, community and peers interact with food.

My conclusion: It’s weird.

I do agree with the philosophy behind Hippocrates words, “Let they food be thy medicine and medicine thy food” but I also love the point Michael Pollan makes in his excellent book, In Defense of Food,  “Indeed, no people on earth worry more about the health consequences of their food choices than we Americans-and no people suffer from as many diet-related problems. We are becoming a nation of orthorexics: people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.”

He then goes on to then goes on to describe researchers efforts to compare cultural attitudes about food,

“He showed the words “chocolate cake” to a group of Americans and recorded their word associations. “Guilt” was the top response. If that strikes you as unexceptional, consider the response of French eaters to the same prompt: “celebration.”

This further proves to me how unhealthy Americans relationship with food is. We spend more time reading calories and percentages than we do content, we pick food for the claims on its labels. We no longer eat food in pleasure and celebration, but as a necessary evil that we have to participate in, in order to stay alive.

If you are like me, and believe there needs to be a big change in our American diet and food system, then may I suggest a first step may be changing our beliefs about food and the way we interact with it.

To me, eating healthy means a lot of things. It means choosing food as close to its original form as possible. Food that that is colorful, complex and recognizable. If I can't pronounce it or it’s unfamiliar, I don't eat it. It means choosing food from companies that are ethical and sustainable and not buying into marketing labels and trends. I means giving yourself permission to  experience pleasure through the act of eating,. I believe in an intentional diet, of being conscious of my food choices whether they be beneficial to my body or not. it’s intention that allows us to enjoy that pleasure while also allowing us to enjoy the long-term benefits of healthy consumption.

Michael Pollan’s philosophy is simple, (can you tell I like him?)

________________________________________
FAQ

How do you feel about diets? vegetarian? vegan? raw? paleo? laguna beach? Jenny Craig?

I’ve always been very anti-diet. BUT that being said, I want to be clear that I talk about diets I’m not talking those who have to eat a certain way because of an allergy. I do find a lot of value in plant based diets and I know many people who are vegan,vegetarian, raw etc. for a variety of reasons. I find a lot vegan, vegetarian and raw food to be delicious.

I think that if how you eat prevents you from enjoying your food or causes you to be obsessive and feel guilty about eating any differently than what you diet says to, then that's a problem.

Any diet that includes pre-made frozen meals falls under my BS category

“But like, why does it matter how I eat? we’re all going to die eventually”

Let me tell you how many times I get this comment

too many times.
This is how I feel about that comment

I just don’t even bother spending the energy to address this comment because it’s like the crappiest logic and 9 time out of 10 the person saying it doesn't actually care about what they eat or what you have to say in response, they just want to argue.

Do you just love being cliche crunchy granola girl & wearing your Birkenstocks to farmers markets?

Yes, yes I do. I love my Birks. I think everyone would be just a tad bit happier if they all owned a pair.

Sooooo like ‘sugar-free’, ‘fat-free’, cereal with vitamin labels, margarine, what’s the deal?

It’s all crap

crap crap crap

I could have gone a lot of different directions with my post, but I chose not to address anything super specifically. But because I love you, here are my 4 biggest pet peeves when it comes to buying “healthy” food. Please be a smart human and do some further research

Sugar free: if it says those two words on the packaging I never buy it. Why? because the sugar it does contain is aspartame. Aspartame = EW. NO. BAD. and while we’re talking about it all refined sugars (high fructose corn syrup, white sugar, brown sugar, etc.) are like a bad ex-boyfriends. They pop up everywhere, they won't leave you alone and they cause a lot of problems in your life. I recommend getting a restraining order. There are alternatives people!

Fat free: is another big marketing scam. You body needs healthy fat to process your food properly. Fat free food actually makes you more fat. Get the fat.

Vitamin claims on processed foods: there is a big difference between synthetic vitamins and whole food vitamins. That is all.

Margarine: is the devil. Avoid at all costs. If they can’t believe it’s not butter, neither should you. Organic, not messed up butter is GOOD for you.

What’s your secret to never being sick?

THIS IS MY FAVORITE QUESTION THANKS FOR ASKING

Garlic. it is god’s gift.  Thanks to garlic, I’ve only had one illness worse than a cold in 2 years. But even if I have a cold, a couple garlic cloves later and its going down faster than Sodom and gomorrah. 

How to be like me: Take 2-3 cloves, cut into pill sized pieces, swallow with a green smoothie (for some reason this helps me smell less like garlic). repeat every 1-2 months or when feeling a sickness coming on. I do not recommend blending the garlic into your green smoothie. I tried that once and had a lot of regrets

But am I going to smell like garlic? That's gross. People won’t like me.

not being sick > smelling like garlic for a day

Other resources:

-Documentary suggestions:

-If you want to learn about GMO’s I recommend the GMO OMG

-If you want to learn more about sugar I recommend Fed Up

-If you want to learn more about our food system I recommend Food Inc or Hungry for Change

-If you  want to learn more about plant based diets I recommend Vegucated

Books

-In defense of food- Michael Pollan

-The Omnivores dilemma- Michael Pollan

-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle- Barbra Kindgsolver

-Fast food Nation - Eric Schlosser

-The China Study- T. Colin Campbell

Self study #1

Acceptance makes you stop. sit down. stare everything in the face. and say ‘Okay’.

It’s an active surrender. a circular conclave. a salt mine of self-created stories and discomfort

Change,
is not the enemy. 
It is the teacher

And when you walk into the house of acceptance.

It gives you a welcome basket of compassion.

Reminding you, 
that you are not obligated to complete this work. but neither are you free to abandon it.