applied. While there is a sacrifice, there is also the ample reward as the seed breaks
open and new life appears and grows and grows—at times I’ve found it almost
breathtaking... and yet it is slow, and it demands my patience and commitment.
I’ve described this for myself and others as the speed of life. And I’ve adjusted
to that speed in my own day-to-day habits, and in many ways I’ve stopped trying
to win the race with a competitive drive. It’s enough for me that I can, with greater
confidence, see a race—or way of life—marked out for me, and if I persevere and
run it patiently, then I may be able to finish well, if not to fi nish first or even try
to do so!
The Benefit to the Body
I’ve been on a consistent search for the past 38 years.
It’s not for the fountain of youth (I have no illusions
about life’s normal course); however, it has seemed only
reasonable to want to be well enough to celebrate life
and its opportunities for as long as possible.
So my search has been for my wife, Treena, who hasbeen sick and wants to be well, and for myself, who is well
and doesn’t want to be sick. We have become partners in
purpose where our goals overlap: simple, reasonable wellness.
I must now have read at least 600 research papers on the subject and followed the relevant nutritional and behavioral sciences closely. Everywhere I see a
consistency—not in percentages of fats to calories and the like, which always
seem to move up and down, albeit slightly, but in the apparent widespread ben
efits of the freshest and best (most natural and sustainable) vegetables and fruits.
The more, it seems, the merrier!
THE GARDEN-TO-KITCHEN CONNECTION • 9