Tough Times ~ Monica

"Have you noticed that empathy-producing experiences are great vehicles to channel our love? You can form an immediate kinship with someone who has walked in your shoes, and intuitively know the best way to support them. Believe me, if I ever encounter a mother of small children who is laid up with a broken ankle, I would be able to name ten needs off the top of my head and how to fill them. Also, if your dog ever got sprayed in the head by a skunk at six in the morning while you were trying to pull him out from under a pallet where the skunk was hiding, come talk to me. Tough times not only soften our hearts, but show us how to serve. A true gift will express appreciation, lighten a load, or add value to another person. What a relief that I don't have to shop for it. What a joy to know that we are here to be needed and purposeful, a shining light on the journey."

~ Monica

More at the outstanding blog http://www.blueskiesandshooflypies.com/

Not sure about the artwork, but it may be Alkliso Farrell
http://www.drawdrawdraw.com/

Our true Nature ~ Alice Reinheimer

"We take in the energy of the food we eat and it colors the energy we put out to the world. The world is increasingly full of empty food, food that was grown for maximum profit rather than as a source of nourishment. Empty food robs us of our vital energy and keeps us from fulfilling our intention. We’ve all felt dull and lifeless after a bout of eating crap food, unable to move or think clearly. This is our energy being robbed. This is our life force ebbing.

Many of us realize that we are not just our physical form, not just the thoughts in our minds, not just the biochemical reactions in our brains. We are not our ideas, or memories, or even our connection with others. We realize that we are indeed empty of Self. The paradox is that this ultimate view of our true nature rests on the relative truth that we are indeed made of substance and energy, based and rooted in the Earth and in our community. When we eat we are connecting our true nature to the sublime.

So why is it that we so often forget that eating is a sacred act? Why do we mindlessly stuff ourselves with food we know is not good for us?..........

When we have an intention to wake up and see things as they really are, we can eat to support our intention. We can feel how food nourishes us both in body and in spirit. We can feel how we are indeed part of the Earth and humanity and the greater energies. We can see how food grown in a way that nourishes and support the Earth is beneficial to more than just the land it was grown on. Its influence spreads out in transformational ripples. Every meal we can come back to our intention and reaffirm our connection to the Earth. If we forget or fall off, that’s not a problem, we simply come back and start again."

~ Alice Reinheimer

More at http://soilandhealth.org/blog-post/eating-as-a-sacred-act/

Artwork from  Michael Woloschinow
 http://thesoutherngallery.co.uk/artist-profile/michael-woloschinow