tea

Tea shop kind of green

One story

“The first story almost always evokes another, which summons another, until the answer to the question has become several stories long. A sequence of tales is thought to offer broader and deeper insight than a single story alone. So, in this old tradition, let us begin with a question: What constitutes ‘enough’?”

– Clarissa Pinkola Estes, The Gift of a Story

Thinking a lot these days about the importance of more than just one story. There is more than meets the eye and no one story can fully capture a person or group of person’s all. It’s true that while stereotypes are not always untrue, they sure as hell are incomplete and limiting.

+ Watch. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s talk -> The Danger of a Single Story.

[Photo: Chiya time under a big, blue tarp on the side of the highway, Nepal//Grace Farson]

The best part of each and every day

The best part of each and every day here is tea time. The time of day when the world stops and everyone comes together, under the shade for tato dudh chiya.

I remember the first time I went to India, I hated the stuff. I thought it was ridiculously// unnaturally sweet, but now, it is something I crave.

I believe in the quiet moments.

I believe the quiet moments are when Nepal seems the most real. Because, most days, all this still seems like a dream.

My body these days is incredibly happy. Stretched out from all the yoga, strong from the trail runs in the heat or monsoon, full from all the chiya and dal bhat, and covered from head to toe in mehndi.

+ New posts on the ECCA Project blog here

+ Nikita’s post here

[Photos: Afternoon tea, Letang//Grace Farson]

health in a glass jar

i discoverd a new favorite drink in nepal . . . and no it was not raksi. . .

i had an entire pot of fresh ginger, honey, and lemon tea almost every morning and i have started making my own back home too.

not only is it the easiest thing in the world to create, i am also convinced it is the secret to staying healthy.

my recipe for a steaming cup of health in a jar:

+ {fresh} ginger root

+ water

+ {local} honey

+ {fresh} lemon juice

boil water. cut the root {unpeeled} into small pieces and put in the jar {add as much as you like, i usually add a small handful}, squeeze lemon over it and add a spoonful of honey. stir and drink up!

enjoy.

here’s to staying healthy, active, and relaxed in the new year!

what i wore wednesday: week 15

“so much there is to see, but our morning eyes describe a different world than do our afternoon eyes, and surely our wearied evening eyes can report only a weary evening world.”

– john steinbeck, travels with charley

+ + +

life is so rewarding when you wake up early.

today has been so good.

in fact, it’s the complete opposite of yesterday. yesterday i was feeling sad, ill and unmotivated and today i’m ready for it all – ready to work. . . ready to find time for things that matter . . . and ready to take on whatever life throws at me.

today is a day to celebrate:

+ getting ahead

+ feeling accomplished

+ waking up early

+ the chilly weather

+ friends and good converstations

+ tea

+ quiche for breakfast

+ carborro

+ special sweaters {and flags of the world!}

+ good memories

world – i hope you have an equally good wednesday!