Hello friends! Greetings from Tulum, Mexico.
Although I don't hate snow and cold, I LOVE 70/80/90 degree weather (especially the 90s). Throw in some 75 degree ocean water and I'm pretty stoked about life. Taking a short-notice long weekend to help celebrate a friend's 40th birthday has been one of the smarter things I've done in awhile.
That said, I wanted to keep my commitment (mostly to myself) to get this newsletter out every week, even if it's short and sweet, so here we are 🙂 Fortunately life is rich and I'm continually learning things about the world that seem worth spreading. This happened while listening to a podcast during my drive to the Denver airport.
Cafe Gratitude
There's a group of restaurants in Southern California where the server greets you with a question: "Would you like to hear the question of the day?"
Intended to facilitate high-vibe discussion, some sample questions include:
- What are you most proud of?
- What do you have an abundance of?
- What keeps you most inspired?
I've been drawing an increasing amount of inspiration from my time in the restaurant where I serve (i.e. I'm loving it), and as a restaurant professional I'm always interested in learning about the habits and cultures of other restaurants. I was...grateful...for the perspective I was afforded when I listened to Rich Roll interview Cafe Gratitude owner Ryland Engelhard.
Regenerative Farming
I have a friend who spent last winter farming in Australia and that was the first I heard of "regenerative farming". But listening to the same Rich Roll podcast, I was as surprised as Ryland Engelhart first was to understand at a deeper level what's happening when the land and animals are tended to in a holistic manner.
Ryland gives a concise overview of the basics – plants take carbon out of the atmosphere (where it's harmful) and put it in the soil (where it's helpful) - which were interesting and hopeful, but equally interesting was the conversation around the seeming conundrum of a plant-based restaurant endorsing a way of farming that involves the regular death of animals.
If one lives a vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons, but animals can help solve the climate change crisis...what does one do?
Though the episode is on the longer side, I didn't notice.
How Wolves Change Rivers
A four-minute treat mentioned on the podcast. 41 million views!
Quick Question
And with that I'm concluding my exercise in getting this thing out in about an hour. This gives me time to jump in the ocean one more time today.
I'm not including any photos because my phone hasn't left my bag since yesterday. Even though the colors of the ocean are stunningly blue, last night I had a world-class dinner, and today I worked out in a Bedrock-esque gym (on the beach), none has been worth documenting at the cost of being truly present — present with my friend, sure, but more so present to the present moment.
The constant nagging tug that my phone has on my consciousness via my nervous system whenever it's anywhere near me falls much closer to curse than blessing.
Lastly, a Cafe Gratitude-inspired question: What is it you're grateful for right now?
Until next Monday 🙂
L.R.