I Existed on My Own Terms (Shannon L. Adler)

I created this drawing over a couple of quotes by Shannon L. Adler.  I'm feeling an affinity to those words.  It's never easy to stand by your own principles--it's a lonely endeavor.  It's easier to whisper one thing and then cover it with sugar to the public.  No matter how painful though, I feel called to live by the words of John Mellencamp:  "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

You can read the full quotes below.

I Existed on My Own Terms

“I existed on my own terms. I was different my entire life. Some called me divergent, wild, crazy, unpredictable and unconformed—an apostate to the rules of the majority. I called myself God’s creation and found purpose in the madness. When that day came, I didn’t allow other people to dictate how I should feel or act. I learned there was no shame in imperfection because history had shown being different had the power to change perspectives and eventually the world. This is when I realized that flaws had responsibility. This was the day that I learned I was truly BLESSED.”

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“The wise do not buy into other people’s perceptions of who they are and what they are capable of. Instead, they bypass a person’s public persona and see who they are in their highest expression. When you see actions taken with integrity, instead of words only, you will then know a soul’s worth.”

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And then there is this most dead-on, nail-on-the-head piece:

“Sensitive people are the most genuine and honest people you will ever meet. There is nothing they won’t tell you about themselves if they trust your kindness. However, the moment you betray them, reject them or devalue them, they become the worse type of person. Unfortunately, they end up hurting themselves in the long run. They don’t want to hurt other people. It is against their very nature. They want to make amends and undo the wrong they did. Their life is a wave of highs and lows. They live with guilt and constant pain over unresolved situations and misunderstandings. They are tortured souls that are not able to live with hatred or being hated. This type of person needs the most love anyone can give them because their soul has been constantly bruised by others. However, despite the tragedy of what they have to go through in life, they remain the most compassionate people worth knowing, and the ones that often become activists for the broken hearted, forgotten and the misunderstood. They are angels with broken wings that only fly when loved.” 
― Shannon L. Alder

In December 2004, I got my first raw food book called "Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life"  by Juliano Brotman.  In the next few years I purchased seemingly every raw food cookbook that came out.  I followed a combination of the raw food diet, specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), and the paleo diet for several years losing a total of 20 pounds and feeling great.  People would tell me, "You look healthy."  I haven't heard that comment in 3 years.  From 2009 forward, after several extremely stressful events in my life and tired of deprivation, I diverted from that way of life. I would like to try to incorporate more of those recipes back into my life.  I guess as far as food and diets goes though, I'm a commitment-phobe.  The second I say I'm going to go all raw, I will zip over to a cheese frenzy (and not a raw cheese one!).  Perhaps John Mellencamp put it best in his song, "Between A Laugh And A Tear,"  "I know there's a balance see it when I swing past."  John wasn't applying his lyrics to a steady path between denial and overindulgence in terms of food, but there you go.  You never know where you'll find your lessons.

Anyway, let's just say in the culinary beauty of life, I will try it all.  Julia Child, if you lived a few days before your 92nd birthday eating cream and butter and sugar--all in moderation--and enjoying life without restrictions, then I think you are the model to follow.  So today just happens to be a raw food offering.  Enjoy!

Ani Phyo is one of my favorite raw food authors with "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" being at the top.  Here's my variation of her "Very Blueberry Smoothie" from that book.

3 cups water
2 cups of a combination of frozen blueberries and bing cherries
1/2 c. walnuts
1/2 of a date and walnut bar (only contains dates/walnuts/and crisped rice)  no gluten
2 T. organic coconut oil
1 vanilla bean