One thing beautiful I remembered today

I am in a period of transition at the moment for many reasons I won't bore you with now. Let's just say that has brought me back to just a few months ago when I went diving in Malta for the second consecutive year.

Diving has become an eyeopener in many ways and definitely, a new passion.

So without further ado, here's a short video I made with a GoPro we purchased prior to the trip, using one of my all-time favorites songs EVER as a soundtrack.

I hope you enjoyed. The underwater world certainly is to me one of the most beautiful, most inspiring things our planet has to offer. Let's take care of it OK?

As opposition to the beauty intended to be portrayed in the previous video, I suggest you watch the documentaries "The Cove" and "Chasing Ice" (both available on Netflix) so that you can get a clearer picture of what is happening to and in our planet Earth and its womb, the Ocean. Don't look away, if it is happening to mamma Earth is happening to you.

Wanna live longer?

As an addition to my last entry I would like to state the following.

Absolutely everybody fervently vowing for a specific diet claims that their choice is the best one out there and that it's gonna grant you a healthier, longer lifespan. I believe that as long as you make your choices wisely, and by this I mean listening to your own body and its needs, that's what's gonna make you live longer -speaking here only in terms of nourishment- because unfortunately, you cannot foresee your death outside the realm of "natural causes".

If you live too fanatically, living by an eating rulebook, you will almost definitely fail, because you cannot always account for everything that happens around you. Believe me, I say this out of personal experience. There are exceptions, of course, maybe a lot of bloggers, media yogis and foodies, authors of diets and so on, can. Instead, if you allow yourself to break the rules, to make mistakes without punishment and keep going forward even if you think you took a step back, then you will achieve health, because then your mind is at peace, ergo your body is too. Inform yourself though, do intensive research, carry on test drives, make up your own mind and let everybody else do the same, even if it leads them to a whole other path than yours. You don't know if it is the right path for them, but you don't know if it's the wrong one either. So live and let live. You'll get much more out of that, I promise.

In my case, I chose to live as clean as possible. Today my option is vegetarianism. That's one of the main reasons I don't eat meat, because at the rates the meat industry is moving I just don't want to have anything to do with it, nor do I want to eat what they offer anyway. Maybe one day, if I live in a community where it's members account for one another, providing what their fields provide, be it honey, be it beets, be it limes, be it meat (natural death), be it eggs. I will go for it. Because if it comes from balance, it doesn't really matter what it is, it will provide balanced health. Wanna live longer? Lead a balanced life, making all kinds of balanced choices in your habitat, including what you fuel your body with.

My choice, today

My 10 year old nephew asked me a few days ago: And why are you a vegetarian? Don't like the taste of meat? He is not only generally curious, but also very interested in experimenting it himself. Although I think it is mostly because vegetarian options -for the most part- taste so darn good, as his excuse for eating meat is: well, you know, if it is already dead... it would just be a waste!

To be honest, I haven't completely made up one straight answer for my reason to cut meat out of my menu. Normally my answers vary depending on who is asking. But the fact that I couldn't give him a very convincing answer has been hammering my head these days. This is the third time in my life that I've given vegetarianism a go. The first time I had no choice, as it was imposed by my father. The second time was purely out of my love for animals and the cruelty that is involved in the meat industry. Today, I have many reasons that complement each other.

I have been following -on an off, unfortunately- a more conscious path of self-discovery, physically and spiritually. This path has lead me to the understanding of the functions of my body as a whole, and of my digestive system as a part of it, not just a separate automated entity. It has also open the door to the magnificent world of nourishment, the knowledge of the properties of everything we call food. It simply makes more sense now to work together with my inner machinery by fueling it properly and routinely, rather than just allowing it to go on auto-pilot, checking back only when something seems to go wrong. Now, what is "proper"? How to know what the body needs? Well, in my case case it's been 1) research: investigating my options 2) experimenting: I am my own lab and 3) concluding: by making a habit of what feels right. So, my research and experiments -in the end, a very simple pro et contra strainer- leave me with one clear option.  

I am a vegetarian today because MY reality is: I don't NEED meat -or animal products for that matter- to survive. I'm lucky enough to be able to have a choice, and I don't have to fight for my survival. That's an incredible advantage. Plants are pretty impressive, you know? they make their own food out of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. I choose to nourish form these powerful beings and live alongside other animals at peace, regardless of how good they taste. I stand on top of the food chain by default, but that precisely gives me the possibility to decide where I take my aliment from. In my mind and understanding, the closer to the source of riches, the better and eating plants and their derivates is the closest I can get to eating actual sunlight. 

Unclench and let.it.be

I believe that if we can comprehend and accept the changing nature of things we would be more at peace with ourselves and ergo everything/everybody that surrounds us will work better in harmony for our own benefit. Especially that which shakes a negative reaction out of us. Because it is mostly when things don't fit in our way of perceiving what is presented to us in form of daily life situations and people, that we get mad or sad and tend to do or say senseless things. 

If we were to welcome change as the only true constant in our lives, we would suffer less. Because we then know that whatever happens, happens because there is no other way it can, should, would be. It just is. BAM, your mind is free-er. 

I have never been a routine lover, au contraire, I've fought it fiercely. Call it aging or whatever, but I enjoy my few routines these days. I suffer from some levels of OCD -as most of us do, I like to believe- which goes horribly together with routines. Because! I tend to obsess when I break them and end up screwing up even more because I beat myself up about being dumb enough to break them in the first place. "I'm just good for nothing... Why even try?..." I guess most people can to some level relate to this vicious circle. 

I am very good at observing what needs to be done or where I've gone wrong, but very bad at doing something about it. And if something has helped me take the first step ahead after each breakdown, each mistake, each mess-up, each mood, each state of mind, it is to finally accept that I have no power over this, it is simply not the same now and today as it was before and always, unclench and let it go. Once you've let go, you can see it all from a more objective perspective, making it easier to work with.

The taste of water and sunshine

It's been about a week since I saw a dash of blue skies. Whatever is beyond those thick, white clouds, I seem to have forgotten. Besides suffering of post-holiday syndrome, the darkness is seriously bringing me down. There is something mystical that I simply adore about the snow and even though I was born on a day like this, I would give all its beauty up, for eternal sunlight on my skin. That's just my truth. Sunshine brings loads of colors and I am a fool for colors. The most colorful part of my days now are my morning juices.

I am a proud juicer owner. Regardless of what I put in it, it whips up something that always colors me up. To be honest my portions are by no means small, so I feel full for a good hour or so, allowing me the time to put an extra effort in whatever breakfast I feel like. I still consider it to be my most important meal of the day, my mood throughout it is really based on how good and nurturing my breakfast was. And if I start it with a good juice, I'm half-way a great day already. The possibilities are unlimited, so I will not bother you with my favorite mixes. I will nevertheless, tell you what all my juices always have in or right next to them in a shot glass. Now, if I cannot have the sun blind me today this sure makes up for it a little, filling me up with sunshine from within. Spirulina. Where to start with the wonders of this (cyano)bacteria?

I am no encyclopedia, not even nearly an expert on the matter, just an avid user. But I do not want to misinform the reader either, so I will not get crazy about all the benefits it has, as I myself don't even understand all the terminology entirely -yet. But I will share what amazes me the most about its properties.

The fact alone that they use the sunlight to through photosynthesis create oxygen, it's pretty breathtaking and it for sure explains why I feel the need to have some of it every morning when it is constantly dark outside. I think we all know how extremely important for our evolution and lives oxygen is, so I will leave it at that. 

It truly is a whole-food, it has it all! Spirulina contains antioxidants, protein, essential omega fatty acids like 3, 6 and 9, chlorophyll, minerals, vitamins A, C, D, E, and B complex. It is said that it has higher protein than meat, higher calcium than milk, more beta-carotene than carrots and considerably more (around 2300%, that's right 2300%*) iron than spinach. Some of the greatest benefits of possessing all of these properties are that it boosts the immune system and it helps remove toxins from the body.

I think that if we are not able to gaze at the sun each day to feed off its light as we would like to (me and my Qi, who introduced me to "sun eating" and Spirulina), we will settle for having Spirulina in our lives. I've even named my bike after this wonderful aliment.

*Top Ten Superfoods. The Whole Pantry App.