Good Luck Food Potluck

On New Year's Day i attended a neighborhood potluck. The theme was Good Luck food, a legacy from a Southerner who died a few years ago. The hostess cooked up the black-eyed peas. I brought boiled cabbage from my German heritage. Long noodles (meaning long life) were on the table, as well as a kale salad. Greens represent life and living things. Pork, which was once reserved for the Chinese elite, symbolizes wealth and prosperity. A lentil salad because lentils look like coins.

Luck seems like a roll of the dice, a turn of the wheel of fortune. I'm placing my bets on karma--acting as skillfully, wholesomely, and compassionately as i can right now, because this moment conditions the next moment. Compassion begets compassion. Kindness builds the habit of kindness.

These beautiful qualities are our true wealth any day of the year.

Diamond Frost Euphorbia

I took cuttings of Diamond Frost euphorbia, a tender edging plant that sells for $4.95 at our local nursery. Surprisingly, the cuttings rooted quickly and fully, so i now have 20 pots of Diamond Frost in my solarium, just waiting for the end of the frosty season. Usually i plant them in my white garden, but now i have enough to edge my Flower-Vegetable Medley Garden as well.

How can beautiful qualities take root in our own lives?

What qualities do you aspire to? Generosity. Calm. Patience. Integrity. Kindness. Compassion.

Who do you know who embodies this quality?

Spend more time with this person. If they are a well-known person, read their writings. Visualize yourself acting from this quality. And for the time being, fake it till you make it.

These beautiful qualities of the heart-mind lead us to euphoria.