I hope that everyone has enjoyed this incredible weekend! The weather has been sunny and shiny, and there is so much to celebrate!

I spent a lot of my weekend spending time with people that I truly adore, and I tried to soak up every minute with them. I currently have a very close friend dying of cancer, and she was moved into a hospice this past week. I have gone to visit her, and at my last visit yesterday, I simply watched her sleep.  Many people find the concept of faith very difficult to comprehend, but I find that we do it all of the time without even knowing that we have it.

Faith does not have to be spiritual or religious. If you believe in something, then you have faith in it. It is as simple as that. You trust that something will happen or you trust that someone will be there for you. You know that you will be there for yourself or that you will do something that day. Why do we ever lose faith? Well, that’s a great question.

There are things in life that create doubt in our minds. There are instances where we feel hopeless. Perhaps something happens where we do not have enough confidence in our abilities to perform, or perhaps we feel discouraged because we witness something sad. However, one cannot lost all faith altogether. There are many different aspects of faith, and where one may falter, another one shall still exist.

As I watched Anna sleep, I realized that she has absolutely no fear. We all go to sleep at night with complete faith that we will wake up the next morning. Not many people go to sleep afraid that they will not wake up. Sometimes we place the most faith in the things that are the easiest to do, and we do not even realize it. Ironically, the petty things in life gain most of our attention, and we tend to create mountains out of molehills.

There are so many facets of faith in my life. Whether it may be spirituality or religion, my belief in the co-op to create good and to feed hundreds, supporting local farmers, knowing that I will run today, knowing that I will eat raw and fabulous foods today, knowing that I will take a deep breathe today, knowing that I will receive a hug, and knowing that I will show love to myself and others. The list can go on forever! I have faith that individuals support the same mission that I support, and every time that I see a volunteer come to help in the co-op, I gain that much more faith that good is happening in the world. Each person that has come into my life shows me good. Anna has been one of those people, and she has only brought more faith that anything in life is possible when you just know that you can.

The act of faith is a simple act of believing that something will happen. It is an act of belief or knowing. It can apply to any aspect in your life. Faith does not have to be deep or complicated, and it exists everywhere you go. Faith depends on your perception. How you view it will affect how you view life. If you see faith as little acts, it will surround you. Surround yourself with faith, and surround yourself with loved ones who support your faith, no matter what that may entail. Once you see the world as a world of faith, limitless possibilities can happen.

Good things are in store, and growth opportunities surround you. If one chooses to see each situation as an impossible burden, he will see it in his life everywhere, and he will live it. The challenge is being able to look at any situation and to gain faith from it. Our hearts can only grow and expand to share this passion with others. If one chooses to believe that faith is as easy as waking up with a smile on his face, he will not sleepwalk through life. We all have the amazing ability to LIVE and LOVE in life. Let us not let these opportunities pass by us!!! We are so blessed in limitless ways, and this reason alone must bring us hope. This reason alone brings us faith to take each step one day at a time. If we go through life without it, it is as if we are sleeping through life. Sleepwalking through life prevents any good from brightening your life! Wake up! Let us rejoice in every action and trust that good will be given and received. IF WE CAN SLEEP IN FAITH, WE CAN LIVE IN FAITH!!!

You all bring faith into my life, and I thank you. I have faith that you will have a blessed week filled with many growth opportunities, and I send many hugs!

I hope that everyone has been staying warm! Thursday was definitely a night to remember. I bared seven hours straight in the freezing cold (literally!), and there were several other volunteers by my side who love the co-op enough to stay and to help sort the shares. We had SO much fun, and it was so invigorating to be able to share that experience with others. After Thursday night, Saturday morning was a breeeeeze! The cold weather is like having natural refrigeration outside, and it can be nice if you open yourself up to the fresh air!

Speaking of fresh air, I have fresh thoughts on perspective. I want to share a story that helps to illustrate how beautiful food can change your perception and even your thoughts. My father and I were driving around, and I don’t even remember what we were talking about, but we were reflecting back to each other our thoughts on a certain issue. It got quiet for a moment, and then out of nowhere he says, “You have a pretty brain.” My father’s first language is not English, so I understood that he really meant, “I like the way that you think.” However, his short phrase hit me as profound beyond my understanding. Our brains are programmed in millions of different ways, and they are affected by literally everything. Ironically, we can control many things with our thoughts and with our actions. What surrounds us affects our mannerisms, our jargon, and our perception in life; yet, we choose our surroundings or the “foods” that feed us everyday.

Many people do not think that what they eat, what they do, or who they are with will affect their thoughts. Beautiful foods create beautiful thoughts. Rather, nutritious foods nurture healthy thoughts. When I refer to foods in this paragraph, I mean to say that foods can be anything that affect our health–not just something that you eat. When my father said that I have a pretty brain, he did not mean that my head looked pretty today; rather, he was enjoying listening my perception and the way that I see things. It is food for thought. I attribute my healthy thoughts and my determined outlook in life to the colorful and lively foods that I eat. When one eats foods that truly nourish his body, his mind will also be fueled. This fuel can create infinite motivations. Fruits and vegetables have energy. These energies resonate at higher frequencies than processed foods such as Twinkies, junk foods, or any packaged goods. The foods literally hold life within them, and the fact that they do not have an extended shelf life is proof of this. We use that energy to create health and vibrancy in our own lives. What a beautiful thought!

I truly believe that eating healthier foods fosters healthier thoughts. The healthier that we become, the more that we tend to seek healthier environments with which to surround ourselves. Most people do not realize how sick they are until they begin to take care of themselves. They are numb to life, and the unhealthy foods that they eat and the unhealthy patterns in which they participate keep them sleepwalking through life. There is no spectrum of joy or excitement, and there is no motivation to help others or help oneself. Eating raw foods awakened me to life. When one eats raw or eats produce in abundance, he feels more energy and more abundance to do more good. You simply feel good!  What cause us to falter are the temptations created in society. We create our own evils; yet, we have the choice to change them. We have the choice to lead different lifestyles, and we have the choice to put whatever we want in our bodies. No one can force you to put anything in your body that you do not want to absorb. I do not have to eat raw foods. I can eat anything that I want, but I choose to eat raw, beautiful, and colorful fruits and veggies! I find freedom in this decision, and it has created more freedom in my life than I can possibly describe. I can only hope to share this joy with others to spread this message of love.

I do have a very pretty brain, as we all do! We all have beautiful minds, and we gorgeous thoughts when we open ourselves up to experience them! I hope that you choose to nourish your body so that you can have a nurtured mind, and I hope that you are able to spread this energy with others! I also hope to see many of you this week!

Hugs!

I hope that you have had a wonderful and warm weekend! For me, it has been a weekend of learning and reflecting, and I have had the blessing to be around sooo many that I love. Being around those that I love has literally showed me so much about myself- good and with room for improvement. When we are around people that are just like us, it is interesting to see our weakest links. It is almost as if we are looking in a mirror, especially when we are with family. We see manifestations of our actions living within them, and there is always so much to learn and to change should we choose to accept the mission to better our lives and even the world.

This past weekend, I broke through a perception of mine that I have held my entire life. I learned that just because others around me may not believe in my lifestyle, my schedule, or my need to share the message of raw foods, it does NOT mean that I need to pretend not enjoy my life while I am around them. In other words, why share in their misery when it is not your misery? Why spread that energy when there is a much greater energy to share?!

Growing up, playing the “victim” or acting miserable from a “bad” day was a popular game in my family. On occasion, it can still be a game that is thrown around from time to time. We all have our own family habits in which we participate and may not even know it! I realized that just because others in my family play this game, it does not mean that I have to participate. Someone may comment that they cannot believe that I live my life so “full to the brim,” and they apologize for me. Without thinking in the past, I have always said thanks and shared in the sympathy until I asked myself, “Why am I apologizing for my busy schedule?? I LOVE my life!” I began to laugh as I realized that I may share this sense of “misery” with others, but I secretly LOVE my life—and this is why I live it! Why do I need to share in that misery, when I can share in a joy with myself and spread that joy to others!? We have become actors in the wrong game! Yes, I am living my life to the brim, but I see myself as living with a life overflowing with possibilities and excitement! Who says that being busy is a bad thing? There are absolutely NO limits to anyone’s life, and if you enjoy living your life, share it with the world!

No one is perfect, but we all find ourselves disappointed in our abilities sometimes, whether it deals with our time-management skills, our organization, our communication, etc.  We will think that perhaps we are not good enough or what we do is never good enough, and then we feel hopeless. Sometimes, we feel as if others will have the solution for us, when in reality, we hold the solutions to our own lives. The choice is ours. I used to think that there was a perfect way to do everything, until I realized that life is perfect no matter what. I realized that no matter what I am doing, I am doing it because I truly love it.  If we live our lives in order to share and to give with others, it changes our complete outlook on life. Furthermore, if we live our lives truly for our physical, emotional, and spiritual betterment, we are sharing the greatest possible gift with not only ourselves, but also, we are sharing the gift of health and happiness with others simply by living as an example.

Living with complete acceptance opens a heart for new possibilities, and it brings an abundance of joy into life. Once one opens himself up to all possibilities no matter what, he will find that his perception on life will change as well. We are all boxed inside a limited way of thinking according to society’s standards, and learning to break free from that blocked perception literally breaks through “impossible” barriers. Who says that something is “bad?” We all have different perceptions on issues. Life is what we make it. Similarly, life is how we see it. If you see your day as a “bad” day, then it is manifested as a “bad” day. I do not believe in bad days, and I do not believe in having “ups and downs.” I perceive all experiences in life to be growth opportunities, and each experience escalates us upwards in life towards more health, happiness, and abundance! Each day is simply a ______ to learn how to make life more enjoyable for ourselves. The lessons that we learn make life better and better should we choose to accept the lesson and change our habits to create a better life for ourselves and others. What good is a lesson if we do not change to manifest the blessing in our life?

Life is already perfect! Everything that we do, we do because we choose to do it. Every conversation, every task, every thought, we have the power to create magnificence within that moment and to make life enjoyable within every second. Who says that you cannot?!?

Even if there are things in your life that you desperately desire to improve but feel as if you are not in the place in your life to improve them, it does not mean that you cannot try to manifest that in your life at any given moment. We are never stuck in one place. The most beautiful part about life is that we have the choice at every given moment to enjoy our circumstances no matter where we stand. No matter where we are in life, it is perfect. Life can be fun even if you are broke, old, sick, “miserable,” or even tired. When we come into a place of pure acceptance, we attract wonderful possibilities. We can only create more perfection as we live each day in that mindset. Life is truly perfect should we choose to view it that way. We hold the power of perfection in our own hands.

This Christmas season has already been about sharing and about enjoying time with others—this is so incredibly enjoyable. I cannot even tell you how many people have shown kindness to others, and I have been a bystander of these miracles. Watching others give and being the receiver of any gift has been incredibly humbling. While it may be the season, I am still simply heart-warmed by all of the love that is spread around at this time of year. I hope to share my food with everyone, but also the life-altering power of positive perception. Along with living healthfully, it holds the potential to create a more beautiful world.