Tell me something good! Do you know that song? Click on the link and give a listen as you continue reading! (But the Soul train video in the link is pretty awesome, so watch that too once you're done reading!) It was written by Stevie Wonder recorded by Rufus and Chaka Khan and released in 1974. I’ve adopted it as my theme song this month. The world is a bit topsy turvy these days and it is really easy to turn on the news and get swept up in the hullabaloo of scary headlines. I find, for a lot of people, it seems easier to complain, worry, rue, and gossip. We’re conditioned in a way to go dark when someone says how are you? We either offer a glib, “Fine,” or we let them know about our aches and pains, lack of work, lack of love, lack of money, lack of anything. I do it too. A friend recently bucked the trend and announced to me, “I am grateful for my lack of lack.” Oh right, I am abundant! We all are, we just need reminders.
So as the year is halfway complete and the summer is halfway behind us too, I’m trying to rustle up a state of mind and state of being that celebrates the blue-ribbon moments in life, so the not-so-great moments don’t stand a chance. The spiritual teachers Abraham-Hicks have a process called “Rampage of Appreciation.” It is from one of my all time favorite books Ask and It Is Given. It is one of my tools for chasing the gloom away and remembering how blessed my life truly is. They teach that the more you find something to appreciate, the better it feels, and the better it feels, the more you want to do it, and the more you do it the better you feel, and so on. The result being the things that you desire can easily flow into your experience.
Sometimes if I am feeling down, I actually wander around my home and say thank you to everything. Thank you plants for bringing life into my home. Thank you refrigerator for keeping my food from spoiling. Thank you windows for allowing the sun into the room. And on and on. It sounds silly, but these little rampages can flip a mood pretty quickly. It also works really well on crowded subways, before stressful meetings, and even sitting in traffic. Be open to the good stuff and it will begin to hunt you down!
I was in the farmers’ market last week missing my far away friends. I was pathetically going from stand to stand just stewing in my own woe-is-me juices and I saw this cauliflower that was the color of amethyst. It was absolutely stunning.
One of my oldest and best friends, Amy, loves the color purple like it is her full time job. She moved to Los Angeles last year to grow her family and grow her business. For over 17 years we lived 2 blocks away from one another here in New York City. I am not embarrassed to admit that many of my days begin with me looking out the window towards her apartment and missing my friend.
So this vegetable ignited my love for my friend and subtly gave my blues a brighter color. I gave a little thank you to the universe for placing the cauliflower in my path. I went to the next stand thinking of Amy and all of the gifts our friendship has provided over the years and I looked down and saw these bright purple kohlrabi! My sad train of thought had already jumped tracks and I couldn’t stop remembering my favorite qualities about Amy. I was flooded with memories of our happy times and I started to get excited about our upcoming visits.
A few bins over, I found these purple peppers and then these purple snow peas and purple green beans! What?! It was like these vegetables had been watered with grape Kool-Aid. I really believe that it took one little cauliflower to open my eyes to the good and magnetize the magical appearance of the other vegetables. I couldn’t stop smiling, laughing, giggling as I retraced my steps and bought every single one of the purple vegetables I had found as a tribute to my dear friend.
Look for the good, my friends! It shows up in the most unlikely places. What you appreciate appreciates! Feel free to give a mini rampage of appreciation in the comments below!
Amy's Raw Salad with Sweet Bacon Vinaigrette
1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1 cup kohlrabi, julienned
1/2 cup purple green beans, sliced thinly on the bias
1/2 cup purple snow peas, sliced thinly on the bias
1/2 cup purple pepper, julienned
2 cups red (purple!) mustard greens, washed
1/3 cup Bacon Vinaigrette*
Toss everything together!
*Bacon Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons rendered bacon fat
3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Put all the vinaigrette ingredients into a jar sealed with a lid and shake vigorously until combined.
Much appreciation to Cheryl Stockton of Stockshot Studio for capturing this amazingly purple food!