In mid October I have the honor of attending The Take Back Your Health Conference in Arlington Virginia. I won a ticket through the giveaway at the fabulous site City.Life.Eats. I think its going to be an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
This conference is taking place in the DC area; About 2.5 hours from my home. I’m going to stay with friends and make a weekend out of it. While Mark is wonderful and incredibly supportive of me doing this, I couldn’t leave him and the kids every weekend to go out of town to attend something that will teach me about health and help me reach my goals. In fact, twice a year is probably max for me leaving the family for more than a day which means my chances to attend things are pretty limited since I live in a relatively rural area, right?
I’m starting to discover that there are opportunities everywhere. You simply need to look for them.
Last Saturday the 10th I attended a half day “Contemplative Practices Workshop” at a local Episcopalian church. Now, the title didn’t mean much to me but the info said we’d be learning about labyrinths and mandalas. Both things I know a tiny bit about, but not much.
Basically I spent a half day with 30 people in a church learning about how to use meditation to connect to yourself and a higher being. There was no talk of food, but I felt so much more centered and peaceful when I left. We walked both an outdoor labyrinth and an indoor one, and drew our own mandalas after learning about their history and background. It was another way for me to learn how to take care of me and it was local. While there some of us started talking and found out that there are different groups that do this sort of thing on the Eastern Shore. It’s just not very publicized.
For the month of September Slow Food USA is hosting a special where you can join the organization for any amount. While not a vegan or vegetarian organization they work tirelessly to promote real food. My local group, Slow Food Delmarava, hosts potlucks, meetings, and is talking about a book club of food books. This is a group of people who feel strongly that food is important and that good, healthy, locally produced real food is crucial. Do you have a slow food chapter near you that you could join?
I point this out because, living in a semi-rural area without Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and yoga studios, I often feel like I am doing this on my own. Ok; Really I feel like I am doing this with all of you who read and respond, but like there is no one I can sit face to face with and discuss what I am trying to do in my life. I have phenomenal people in my life who support me but who haven’t chosen to take the same road that I have. The opportunities for fellowship and renewal with like minded people seem very limited. But they exist. We need to search them out. But they are here. And if they are here on the Eastern Shore of MD, they will exist where you live too. What do you do to connect with people who care about their health as much as you do?
The RA Vegan 