Sunday, April 5, 2009

Feed What You Love



I love The Tandoor Grill (Indian restaurant) because they were my neighbors, they are my dear friends, and the food is amazing.

I love the Hatch Family Chocolates because they are local, friendly, and an integral part of my Thursday morning ritual: treat myself to a saxophone lesson, then treat myself to chocolate at Hatch just down the street. (Click here to read something I wrote: Alive on Jazz and Chocolate).

I tote my yoga mat in a beautiful bag made by my good friend and master seamstress Kiri Manookin. It was made just for me and made for me with love.

When my car needs repair or service, I take it to John Peake because he's a solid, honest friend and because he's the best mechanic I've ever known.

I love the Band of Annuals because they are a tight, original band first and because they are local second.

When my good friend said that her daughter was selling Girl Scout cookies, I told her that I'd buy 1 box of each kind because they make great gifts and it supports a special little person. Besides, those Samosas are better than crack.

When Karen Baynard came up with her line of gorgeous natural, healthy, delicious ice cream, I jumped for the opportunity to buy, for her first and for the ice cream second.

In a world of chain restaurants and big box stores, it's nice to know that you can choose to spend your money and energy on products and people that have soul and support those you care about.

This follows an important yogic principle of Samtosha or contentment(rhymes with Samosa). Perhaps better said, Samtosha is the spiritual practice of choosing to be happy with what you have and choosing to love those things around you. It's about refining your taste for what's around. And like in the famous book The Little Prince, what we choose to cultivate in our world becomes sacred to us.

One of my teachers told me once, "You have to feed what you love." It's nice to know that every time you go to yoga at a local studio, you support local business. Every yoga instructor at these studios is essentially an independent contractor and therefore also a local business. This is by no means a way to guilt you into coming to yoga. I'm just belaboring my point.

By supporting what you love, you give someone else the opportunity to give what they love and both benefit. This is why local business is so rewarding. This is why things like the Farmer's Market is so fun. It's a true connection with people, like everything else. This is yoga.

I invite you to notice those things around you this week and feed those things that you love.

I hope to see you in yoga this week.

Scott

8 comments:

Lisa said...

scott! i love your positive energy and the flow of your yoga classes!

Unknown said...

Nate feeds my soul with his artistic compassion.
Emilia feeds my soul with her power, kindness and beauty.
Oliver feeds my soul with his smooshy huge kisses and hugs and curiosity.

Reina said...

The great challenge for me is finding that balance of feeding what I love without overindulging or over-denying. Especially with caffeine and chocolate. I love them, but don't want to feel that they control my actions. I want to enjoy them without feeling like I need them in my life.

Sue said...

I call it "community." It might be big or small, its size varying with the passing of days. I hold a (rather naive) hope that one day the masses will turn back in the direction of community, back toward understanding the power of their every day actions, and back to simplicity. We're all in this together, which means that we need to support each other. For many of us that translates into what you're talking about!

Hatch dark penoche. Danger.

Anonymous said...

I just bought a box of those samosas! When I was a girl scout many many years ago they were called caramel delights. They still rock. The box is gone.

Stephanie

Anonymous said...

If anyone is looking for some community lovin options a few blocks north, I highly recommend Cafe Shambala at 4th and E. Healthy, tasty, inexpensive food served by a Tibetan family that works their tosh's off 6 days a week. They never say too much but always serve you with a smile. To top the meal off you can stop by next store to get one of those delectable chocolates from Hatch Family...Evenings like this feed my body and soul.

Going a bit further north, have you ever seen that commercial with the momma and baby polar bears stuck on the melting little slab of ice that is so small they are forced to jump off and swim until they can't swim anymore? Yeah, heart wrenching. Well, call me a sucker but I called and donated $100 after I saw that. I'd put the polar bears in my most valued community any day.

JessS

Scottro said...

I love Shambala. Great recommendation. And yes, it's right next to Hatch. MMmmmm.

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