Quality of Life

Some people like to say, "Eat well, do good, get exercise, and die anyway," as some sort of excuse for partying, being unhealthy and/or being inconsiderate. This logic has no place in a happy, fulfilling and successful life. Regardless of when you die, you want the life you live today, and tomorrow to be the best life you can possibly have. There is no excuse for not doing the best for yourself and the best you can for those you love. Even if I were going to die in six months, I still would continue my diet exactly as I do (if not do even better) because I want the highest quality for my life. The quantity is quite irrelevant.

~Raederle Phoenix Jacot

"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?" ~ M. C. Escher

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Dose of Fun

Have you gotten your dose of fun today?



I love this video for a number of reasons. For one thing: people don't change unless the consequence of not changing is unbearable... Or they change because changing looks like fun. And guess what: we'll all have to live through an unbearable situation unless we see fun opportunities to change.

This is something I'd like to strive to achieve with rawveganism: making it as fun for others as it is for me. Yes, it was through hardship that I came to a dietary change, but that doesn't mean I have to wait for the world to fall to hardship to follow and jump on the healthy, economically and ecologically beneficial bandwagon. Rather, I'd like to show others the beauty, the flavor, and the fun of food in it's natural, most potent and pretty state: It's raw state.

Fun and happiness do not come from owning stuff.

Happiness and satisfaction does not from earning tons of money.

Happiness, satisfaction, contentment, thrill, fun... It is within experiences, within people, within emotions, actions, and the pride in a good deed done. Lasting love is contentment. Fun is a better reason to change for the better. It's a way to live a life that grows, expands and becomes wonderful effortlessly instead of through trial and tribulation.

Related entry: An unexpected benefit of going raw: discovering how fun it was to create and invent new dishes, discovering how beautiful food could be...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Stuff, Stuff, You NEED More Stuff!!!



Here it is: The Story of Stuff



Stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff... Oh, I need more stuff because it fills up my time which I must idle away because I have not thought about my goals... I need these new light-bulbs for holiday decorations to impress my neighbors, I need these new shoes to outshine the other woman at work so I can get a promotion so that I can make more money so that I can buy even better shoes to outshine the women at work so that I can get another promotion... I liked my holiday dishes but now I want new ones to impress guests... I have lifeless hair, I'll just buy gels and hair milks for it without ever reading their ingredients, and I won't worry about if my hair gets less healthy in reality because it'll look better superficially while I pollute the planet... Oh, stuff, stuff, stuff, I love my stuff. Don't touch my stuff. I need my stuff. Stuff...

Related posts of mine:

A Corporation's Purpose

and

The Inter-relationship of Economics & Health

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Women's Rights

I was looking at this beautiful artwork by Kris Manvell, which you can view by clicking here, and I read the description, which goes like this:

This picture expresses two subjects that are very close to my heart: Gaia (mother earth), and all things feminine (what some might call, the goddess).

We are all part of this earth, every human being, be they male or female, black or white, Turkish or British, we are all equally important.

Since the days of Emperor Constantine, on through the Inquisition, women have been brutally murdered, tortured and relegated to second class citizens because men want to rule. Conservative estimates say 20 million were killed. Their crime? Literalist Christianity labeled them witches.

In reality they were Gnostic (Shamanic) leaders: herbalists, healers, empaths, midwifes and teachers. They understood and worked with nature. These wise people were all but wiped out. They were removed from history, so all that remains is some superstitious footnote in our history books, labeling them pagans (a Roman insult).

Women were even written out of the bible, relegated to the role of prostitute or virgin. The great libraries, such as Alexandria, were burnt, partly to remove all evidence of the female role in our ancient history.

Originally, before Christian literalism took hold, women were held in high esteem and with profound respect. Men understood that they held the key to an area of understanding that had to be taught to them - by women. This part of our history is not generally known about, or even acknowledged, so I wanted to help bring this topic to light – especially as – in these dark times, women’s rights (such as they are), are being further eroded. I wanted also to express my fear for the health of our planet, our mother earth. Turkey’s greatest assets, its natural beauty, its women and agriculture are under threat.

A dear Turkish female friend of mine said to me, why did you paint a woman? I have no interest in looking at a naked lady; she said she would rather look at an olive tree. I said, but all things on the earth are part of this amazing creation, everything. We look at a tree in its natural state, naked, so why not a woman? We look unashamed at a beautiful flower, a magnificent view or sunset. There is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to fear. Men’s crude urges can be managed, why should women’s freedom be threatened because they choose not to?

There was no sexual motivation in this picture, this is merely my attempt to celebrate women and to show that the feminine side is equally, if not more important, than the male side of life. Mother earth sustains us, as do our mothers, so let us celebrate this fact. If a creator was afraid for us to see our natural state, surely we wouldn’t be born naked?

~ Kris Manvell

I had some thoughts of my own after reading this:

My comment: Women's rights concern me a little differently than most people. I actually feel that today's modern woman is one of the biggest threats to femininity that there is. The "working" woman, the "athlete" woman, the "strong" woman, the woman who always wears pants and never a dress, or the woman who is afraid to be naked, or the woman who doesn't ever want to "depend" on a man, etc, etc, etc... All of that was a great whip lash back against men. It was great to have the right to work, but now, women are shunning other women who want to be house wives, who want to sew, wear dresses, and cater to their men.

Kris Manvell's response: I feel the same. What you are saying is women who want to be like men. I love strong women – women like you – but to me that is the embodiment of the feminine. What is missing is empathy and compassion. I desire that women can be themselves – not ape some masculine idea of what humans should be like.

My comment: I love to clean, sew, craft, draw, write, paint, read, make meals, keep house, nurture, massage and create a romantic atmosphere. Feeling feminine and beautiful is very important to me.

Kris Manvell's response: I can see that It sounds lovely. Your partner is a very lucky guy:)

My comment: I have no desire to be "equal" to a man by being a "like" a man. Women are just as valuable by being women.

Kris Manvell's response: Maybe more so.

My comment: There is nothing "less than" about mothering, home schooling, being creative and crafty. These are valuable -- extremely valuable -- and our society is lacking in them because people are no negative when you do these things.

Kris Manvell's response: Totally. In my relationship we have a similar dynamic – but I share many of the (perceived) womanly roles. I do most of the cooking – I am the nester – the one who makes things nice (aesthetically speaking). I tend to tidy... We both clean the house – I tend to wash up, etc. But Ekin is breast-feeding and generally with Kaia, our son. I am the one that supports us financially – but I am doing as much as I can to help Ekin set up her own crafts business with her sister. We find a way to share. I work at home – so it is a juggling act. I want to be with Kaia – so my work probably suffers a little, but then I don’t actually believe in work – and what is important to me is sharing our lives together... I want to home school him – as I did my other two sons and nephews... Being creative is essential. And extremely valuable.

My comment: I've had so many people tell me that I'm "lazy" because I refuse to work a day job.

Kris Manvell's response: Be a wage slave... Why be that??? I refuse to be.

My comment: My husband can testify to the fact that I'm far, far, far from lazy.

Kris Manvell's response: To me it is not even an issue.

My comment: I love putting hours into creating the perfect meals, a clean and beautiful home, into gardening, into exercising and improving my body, reading and educating myself... I don't believe it degrades me in any way to clean up after my husband. If both people in a couple work a day job, then they should split the choirs. If one person does the majority of the money-earning, then the other person can compensate by preparing all the meals and doing all the cleaning. There isn't anything wrong with that. In fact, I'm perfectly supportive of house husbands!

Kris Manvell's response: Me too. I have this wonderful vision of the Bronte sisters... I mean that in the nicest possible way. When I first met my partner – the most important thing was for her to be free and for us to live – not work to live.

My comment: My point is, people should be able to fill the role they feel they are meant to fill. Anyone who strives to improve the world and educate themselves should be appreciated for who they are, and not degraded for what they're not.

Kris Manvell's response: Totally. You paint a wonderful picture. When I talk of women’s rights I have to be careful how I speak of course, being a man. But I am so glad you have said all this on this posting – it balances it beautifully.

My comment: Thank you for being part of the solution Kris. You rule. :D

Kris Manvell's response: You too. Love, Kris

My further letter in response:

I think it's nifty how you said you don't believe in work. Come to think of it, neither do I. In a natural world, there is no work. There is gathering wonderful food under the sun, nourishing the body and the mind and the Earth all at once. When you combine that with the company of someone you love, there is no work involved at all, it's a winning situation for everyone and everything involved.

As you gather fruits and eat them, you spread their seeds which allows the plant to grow in many new places. As the juice dribbles off your chin into the soil it nourishes the the plants which in turn nourish all of the animals. As you chew and swallow the fruit it nourishes and energizes the body. And as a bonus, any healthy natural human being eating a fruit is enjoyable to look at. I know I like watching my husband bite into a beautiful fresh plum. (This comes to mind because he ate a plum this morning on our walk together.)

I also like how you said the most important thing is being "free to live" not working to live. That's an excellent way of putting it. A friend of mine, Andrew, likes to say that it makes no sense to trade five days of slave labor for two days of "freedom." He points out that you have better odds in a casino than five to two.

I understand it's tricky to try and say similar things as a man. I often want to say things about "white people" versus "black people" because I grew up in a ghetto area and have been in three serious relationships with black men who considered themselves to have a certain level of "black culture." This life-long exposure has brought to the surface many realizations for me, but most of them I can not speak about because it is offensive coming from a white person, even though many black people have the same observations and thoughts. It's a tricky balance.

:D

~ Raederle



Photo taken February 5th 2011 on the Iron Horse Trail, Walnut Creek, California
Raederle Phoenix, photographed by her husband
Note: I was walking backwards at the time, believe it or not...



We all have the freedom of choice. Any faith is acceptable, as long as it is not disruptive or disrepectful of other faiths. Any orientation is okay. Any race, gender, geographical location: it's all fine with me. If you're a husband who lives off the money your woman makes, and you have a healthy happy relationship where you both are satisfied, then it's not my place to say it's wrong. I think any arrangement where two people love each other, live together, and are happy with their lives is a beautiful arrangement. More than two people? Sounds fine to me as well.