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“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
John Muir
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Hello friends,
The mountains were calling, indeed. & begging me to stay in their meadows a little while longer than intended.
What began as an intentional visit to the mountains to harvest Western Mugwort with a fellow forest frolicking, dirt worshipping, plant lovin' gal ended with quite the unexpected adventure due to a flat tire.
The takeaway: when life throws you a flat tire, life also throws you a little more time to commune with Yarrow in mountain meadows on a beautiful day. Giggles tumble from your belly, singing songs of little deer as you await your guardian AAA roadside assistance angel, who appears in the form of one badass woman! Sometimes, you're better off asking for help, even when you're totally ready to do the hard thing yourself. This could've been seen as a big inconvenience, or as I chose to see it, a saving grace. I'm hitting the road this week, California bound, and grateful that this flat tire arrived in the most peaceful and safe of circumstances, while providing the opportunity to be "stuck" in sweet company at a location that was absolutely ideal, and necessary, for my spirit.
Keepin’ that nourishment from Thursday's magical, adventurous spirit dripping into my body with a steady reminder that I’m capable of handling whatever life serves up, there are myriad forms of support surrounding me, & the bitterest of moments, & plants for that matter (I’m talkin’ to you Mugwort) taste so much better, delightful even, when you can appreciate their offerings fully. Life is one wild ride, or a slow, careful drive to an air pump when your spare tire is super low. So on that note, everyone...make sure your spare tire is full & ready for ya at a mountainside moment's notice
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MIND
Sometimes, I'm so well insulated in my ancestrally informed health and wellness bubble that I forget people actually still drink Big Gulp slurpees. Duh, of course 7/11's still exist and sell these practically death sentencing drinks. Can we just make consuming and/or selling a product with THAT MUCH SUGAR in it not the American standard, please?! Or better yet, can we shift our worldly paradigm to one where slurpees and the like don't even exist anymore? Ah, a girl can dream...
I came across this image just shortly after my revelation that people still choose to indulge in slurpees, and thought, maybe, just maybe, they aren't aware of the amount of sugar in those drinks. I couldn't find a better quality image of this display, so apologies for not being able to see how many teaspoons of sugar are in each drink. But I think the visual speaks for itself, numbers aside. And it's not just the obviously unhealthy drinks that contain mass amounts of sugar...beware of "healthy" beverages that contain nearly the same amount of sugar per serving as a soda. Sure, it may be from mostly naturally occurring sugars rather than the refined white stuff shown above, but sugar is sugar, and even if it's coming from fruits, it's still not wise to flood your body with that much sugar in a day, let alone, a single serving.
So, are you with me? Let's rethink how we drink by checking labels before choosing to imbibe. My personal rule of thumb - keep the total amount of sugar (check the servings per product) to under 15g. I do the same with health food bars, because you'd be surprised at how many brands easily exceed that amount of sugar in their products. But these ones are great and my go to these days!
If you're craving a sweet, refreshing drink, opt for a low sugar or honey sweetened kombucha, then water it down with sparkling mineral water - I like a 1:1 ratio. Here's 2 brands I'm currently loving: Dr. Brew Kombucha & Sacred Summit Jun Kombucha
Drink responsibly, my friends!
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BODY
I have SUCH a big movement crush on Ido Portal! His philosophy on movement, the spreading of a movement culture, the way he communicates these concepts through experiential learning in our bodies - ah, it's just all so sexy. Ido really hit the mainstream when he started training UFC fighter Connor McGregor, and more recently, a documentary was made about his work and the movement culture he's created. If you're feeling inspired by the short video below, I highly suggest watching the documentary. Our bodies are made to move. Let's let them do their job, and do it well. Just move, & move more.
WARNING: you may find yourself walking around the streets late at night playing catch with a tennis ball and another human upon completion of this documentary. Or, maybe that's just me, hehe.
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"We tend to kind of isolate ourselves. I'm a football player, I'm a fighter, I'm a dancer. We're actually, we're all human beings first, and second we're movers. We must move this body around."
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SPIRIT
Who says you can’t dance with your mouth full? Apparently, it’s the new way I eat.
I shared a video on Instagram earlier this week, capturing only a taste of what I felt from the initial moments when movement took over my body mid bite.
I am a dancer by profession, a mover by choice. Movement, especially when paired with the right music, is one of the most potent forms of medicine I have experienced in my life.
An aligning of thought and manifestation, or serendipity - although this was one of those moments where your heart flutters and your spine sings chills. My week has been accompanied by Mariee Sioux's sweet voice serenading me with the song that served as medicine for my soul, for my cycle, Monday morning.
May you listen and feel the ancestral remembrance residing deep within your bones, that you could catch fire with wild eyes.
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Listen,
remember,
answer the call,
seek with wild eyes,
& move, more.
Luminous love,
Jessica
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