Foggy Blue Bird Mondays...

Mondays are perfect for leftovers - food and emotions.

After a week of work and a weekend of social inactivity, Mondays are always a conundrum. Ever notice how the colors are brightest around you when the day is the dullest? But you have to step out of the moment at times to experience it fully. I can only ever chew on Mondays when I am not in them.

Mondays predictably are mundane. Reminding us of the repetitive cyclical nature of life; but sometimes this boring mundane Monday becomes our existence for the rest of the week...month...year. Is that because while Monday's are most dreaded, they are also the safest..? That shrouded in the dread of boredom and apathy, Mondays come to signify for us stability, routine, same-old packaged in a new week.

For once I wanted to experience Monday as a beginning. Not a fear but an excitement. Not the crawly "5 more days to go till Friday" dread, nor an anticipation of Tuesday.. just a warm regard for the day, as it is. All my days from September onwards, start with a foggy outlook and some clear up as the day progresses. Monday's however seem to have the foggiest outlook, not clearing the choking down my throat, even if the sun peers.

But this Monday was different. This Monday, the blue bird sang a song, no less sweeter than another day. The blue bird knows not weeks or days, just the moment. And in each moment, it re-invents life. Just as it re-invented all my Mondays from here on.

So much so that, Tuesday is here, and look at me - reminiscing the Monday blues :)

Living rooted in Knowledge.

Let me start today not with food, but a little story - food for thought, equally flavorful I assure you :).

2 days ago we mourned the loss of our dear friend "Big screen TV". BST as we fondly remember him, was always there for us, waiting at the same spot! BST was grand in size and splendor but with great humility he would light up at our minutest touch. Pleasing, friendly, accommodating and never judging, BST was a true companion.
In all the years we knew him, BST never changed; Sure he added on new channels, and had decent picture quality for HD, but even as LCDs strutted in, BST sat there, holding up his "Plasma" chin.... waiting as life passed him by, and passed those who sat around him. Well, 2 days ago he died; 
And all that is left of him, are a few fond memories, ephemeral as the hearts of those holding them...

To mourn deeply the loss of a broken electronic and obsolete object, one would label ridiculous. When I shared BST's tragic life story with my husband, he said his "nonsense indicator" was beeping :) But what is really comical is how life imitates what it shouldn't. I have often wondered if I will ever leave behind anything more than BST did - or would it be just memories - my vast inheritance to the living?

VegVeda was born out of a desire to find my own answers....  And Food became an essential beginning.. for it is only through proper nourishment of the body that one has the opportunity to discover all the splendor within.

To live rooted in knowledge then, must require that I first live in awareness of what I consume,  then grow to live in mindfulness of my actions and what I produce, and eventually be still in meditation on how my thoughts conceive the universe. Be it the ancient Indian Vedic texts or the Bible, or Teachings of the Buddha, such wisdom is universally available and universally ignored.

These musings are my endeavor to rekindle my search for wisdom;

To aid my own healing and growth....
To give to you all that is worthy in me to offer .....
and
To ask of you to give of your wisdom generously,
To ask of you to share that which makes you whole.

Veda for the Vegetarian-Vegan Soul

The best things in life are... living.

I woke up this morning dismayed, worried, anxious. In moments past and in moments anticipated, I wallowed. And then as the story goes, the living moment - the present - spoke up and gently asked "what about me - can you be with me, I am here now." It's plea filled with love, I could not ignore.

So here I am in my now, in your now - doing the labor of the Soul on what is popularly called "Labor day weekend".  It is an auspicious start, my Indian heritage tells me. Every moment is precious, none more auspicious, my western thoughts chime in.
In this perfect moment, what could be better than to make a beginning.

If you, like me, love animals without wanting or having to eat them then you like me, are searching for another world.
If you, like me, want to start by making a small difference to this world,  perhaps just by buying "cage free eggs" or "organic milk", then you like me are trying to be on the path to something better.
If you, like me, love flavorful food, and do not believe that it needs to have dairy and meat to make it flavorful then you like me are searching for kindred spirits in need of affirmation.
If you, unlike me, eat animals, but are searching for a healthier, more nourishing alternative - even if only partially trying vegetarian food, then I applaud you for the effort.


But most importantly, we are both on the same trek up this soul mountain; So whoever you are, meat eater, vegetarian, vegan - whoever you are soul, I love you, and give to you, as I give to myself.


Let this day begin!

Sumie