Untangling Ourselves Through Tangling

 At our recent Stress Resources' Meditation Maintenance Session, I was enthralled by a meditative form of drawing or "tangling", which Meditation Maintenance regular, Ann S. generously demonstrated and taught our small group of meditators. A whole process has evolved around the use of drawing repetitive interlocking or tangling lines on paper, called Zentangle.  As each of us focused, created repetitive patterns, and anchored ourselves to the paper and pen, a sense of calm centerdness fell over the room and I was reminded of the common denominators of meditative practice: focus, awareness and bringing oneself into the present moment. How wonderful to find ourselves untangling through the tangling of lines on a small piece of paper.

Here are the finished "tangles" we made at the June Meditation Maintenance Session.

My Weekly Culinary Adventure in Mindfulness

Those of you who have followed my blog for some time know that I participate in a CSA or "community supported agriculture" each year -- our CSA is the lovely, First Root Farm on Lexington Rd in Concord, MA.  For me it is the best of all worlds, my family gets to eat fresh, local vegetables each week and we support a local farm in our town at the same time.  We also share in the farm's bounty or losses each year (like last year when the eagerly anticipated tomato harvest was disappointingly sparse). 

Today was "opening day" for First Root Farm and I was thrilled to pick up our share of fresh picked arugula, radishes, chard, lettuce, kohlrabi, and garlic scapes.  Each week is an exercise in mindfulness...I never know until I pick up my share at 4 PM what we will eat for dinner that night.  But the beauty of this in-the-moment meal planning is that whatever I find at our farm pickup each week is always interesting, colorful and surprisingly delicious -- even if I don't quite know what to do with it.


Thanks, Laura, Nina, and Ariel, our First Root Farmers, for making our Thursdays mindful culinary adventures!