Hi!
For the month of April I thought I would bring back the Minimalism Game and Analog Living. And I added one of my favorite soup recipes. Hope you enjoy it as much as hubby and I do.
Firstly, here is your wisdom for the day—feel free to practice it all month long with me.
Spend a Moment, Every Day, Thinking of Someone to Love~
It is easy to slip into daily irritations, annoyances, ruffles in our feathers. Instead, let’s spend a moment (or many moments) each day thinking of someone to love and watch your attention shift into positivity, not only toward that one person, but in general throughout the day.
Every morning when we wake up, we will close our eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then ask ourself ‘who shall I love today?’ Instantly, a picture of someone will pop into our mind—a family member, a friend, someone we work with, a neighbor, someone from our past, even a stranger. It doesn’t really matter who the person is because the idea is to gear our mind toward love. Once the person to whom we are directing the love towards is clear in our mind, simply wish them a day filled with love. We can say something like ‘I hope you have a wonderful day filled with loving kindness.’ Or, ‘May your day be filled with peace, love and good health.’
You will find that the energy you cultivate in those moments will stick with you throughout your day and become your vibration as you live your life.
Minimalism Game~
We did this one a while ago but it is always a good one to circle back to. Please see attached 30 Days Less Is Now PDF to play along; it is super simple to do. It can be so easy to bring more stuff into our lives and fill all the spaces we created when we purged the last time. It’s okay, no judgment here. That is why we come back to these practices as often as we need.
Every day we will get rid of items in your house, garage, car, purse, wallet, office, etc. that corresponds to the day of the month. April 1 you get rid of one item, April 2 you get rid of two items, April 25 you get rid of 25 items, etc. Let’s all take another run at this and do some spring cleaning, eh?
Analog Living~
I want to bring up the topic of tech again as I feel is it so easy for us all to get sucked back into living digitally. For the month of April I will be going social media free and as little tech as possible. We all rely on tech in some way for our personal and/or professional life so there will always be some reliance on it; that’s understandable. But we will do our best to limit our exposure to EMF, WiFi, 5G, and so forth.
My offering is this:
~Zero social media
~Zero scrolling of any kind
~Zero reading articles online
~Zero reading news online
~Zero reading books on devices unless we are in airplane mode
~Zero communicating with loved ones via text/email
Instead
~Socialize with actual humans in 3D and/or on a landline
~Pick up an actual book and turn a page with your fingers
~No news
~Talk to friends on the phone or see them in person rather than text/email
Let’s spend a month as our ancestors did. (Wow, that’s a statement, eh?) But truly, let’s simplify our lives and go analog together. Who’s with me?
Let’s connect with nature more, without our phones! Stop counting your steps, your REM sleep, your calories, your heart rate, all of it—unplug people. Let’s get back to pure, old-fashioned living shall we? And stop watching other people live their lives. If we get bored and need a ‘fix’ or ‘distraction’ from our real lives then dive into nature, your breath, movement, writing, singing, dancing, drawing, gardening, cooking, cleaning, or anything else except tech! And a good question to start with is ‘Why do we need a distraction from our lives?’
We can begin this in April and practice together all month long. As always, please reach out if you have any questions. I look forward to aligning with you all during this magical month of April as we lighten our load and live a more meaningful, connected, and conscious life.
Vegetarian Thai Coconut Soup with Sweet Potato and
Kale
A delicious, fragrant, vegan Thai coconut soup prepared with sweet potato and kale. An
easy, everyday friendly Tom Kha Gai from the Love and Lemons Everyday cookbook!
Serve with fresh herbs, lime wedges, and sliced chiles.
Ingredients*all organic (but of course)
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1 teaspoon raw virgin coconut oil
• ½ medium yellow onion thinly sliced
• 12 ounces cremini baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• 1 teaspoon Maldon salt
• 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
• 1½ cups water or up to 3 cups for a lighter broth
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 large sweet potato chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper stemmed and diced
• 1 small bunch cilantro (about ½ cup) stems diced and leaves chopped
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• tamari or soy sauce, for seasoning (optional)
• 4 cups loosely packed kale chopped
• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves
• sliced red chile peppers, serrano peppers, or sriracha sauce
Instructions
• Prepare the lemongrass by cutting off the root end and the tough upper stem of the stalks.
Smash the stalks with a rolling pin (*a tenderizer or the side of a wide chef’s knife also
works!) to loosen the layers. Pull off the thick outer layers and dice the inner, tender
parts. This should yield about ¼ cup chopped lemongrass. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, and ½ teaspoon
Maldon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until softened.
• Stir in the lemongrass, coconut milk, 1½ cups water, ginger, garlic, sweet potato,
jalapeño, and cilantro stems. If you prefer a lighter broth, add up to 1½ cups more water.
Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
• Add the lime zest and juice. Taste, then add an additional ½ teaspoon of salt, if desired,
and tamari (or soy sauce), if using. Add the chopped kale and simmer just until wilted, 1
to 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro leaves just before serving.
• Serve with the rice, fresh mint, cilantro, and chile peppers, if using, and tamari (or soy
sauce) on the side.
Enjoy!