Adventures of Chubby the Great

home through tourist eyes - peace

thegreatchubby — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 21:20:00 GMT

My long-lost brother is visiting me in southern California from Switzerland this summer!

I'm learning to blend with his touristy ways even though, despite all his picture-taking and wide-eyed oggling, my brother is strangely adamant about his supposedly being a local. He even tries to drive like one, which is an amazing phenomenon all on its own...

ANYWAY - getting off topic.

The Pattern: after any fabulous day out with my brother we end up squeezing in at least one semi-serious discussion in the car ride home. (I guess we don't really "squeeze" anything since with LA traffic your kids could have grandkids before you reach your neighborhood. or before you even realized you had kids...)

So the other night we were following this ritual Pattern again after some cleansing sea air at Manhattan beach and a search for our names in the Hollywood walk of stars. My brother found his name:

We began talking about happiness and satisfaction. As travellers, we often feel hungry for more - always looking for new roads, new experiences - nothing seems enough. Sure, we may be happy during our journeys, but to have our wander lust completely sated? Never. It is as if we don't allow ourselves to enjoy the moment. Lost in the stress of daily tasks, we only realize after the end, when we are stuck in some boring, crowded office showing our disinterested coworkers glimpses of our nomadic life, that we appreciate the kind of paradise we've experienced. Been there. Done that. But why aren't I there now!

What is it that we seek? What is the object of these endless searches? The research, getting lost anyway, the money, the effort - we tire ourselves out - and for what? What is it that we really need?

Well, technically, we don't really need much of anything.

What are the things that we really need to do in life? Feed ourselves. Be nice to people. That's it. That's all we need, really. If everyone lived with these two things in mind, we would have world peace! Not to mention peace of mind.

But even with that, we cannot be satisfied. And why should we? Why do we need to be completely, one hundred percent happy and satisfied? The hunger drives us to progress, to seek more, to improve. Without it where would we be? Ok, maybe we wouldn't have destroyed our earth to such an extent, but everything else is driven by this unexplained "need". Maybe absolute satisfaction isn't the point. Sure, it's nice to have moments when we can clear our minds and just enjoy the ocean's caress, but is it necessary or even a good thing to have always? Happiness isn't a stage in a video game you can achieve and just continue on after you pass the level. It takes constant maintenance, which is the way life should be. Constant maintenance. Continuous stream of choices that guides us through our adventures toward our inner peace.

Let's get happy :)

kindness - Buttercup Farms

thegreatchubby — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 06:58:00 GMT

David made me cry today.

No, nothing like that!

He cut the grass.

Ok, maybe I should start from the beginning...

David was abused as a child. He absorbed so much pain that at 50 years of age he still cannot communicate the same way you or I do. For many years, he lived a life trapped in rage. Then one day, David decided to be kind to himself.

He found himself a nurturing community, learned how to accept love from other people, allowed himself to love them back, and released his past. Once a frustrated boy that got into fights with all beings living or otherwise, David is now a skillful rancher/farmer that enjoys meditation, practices yoga, and teaches pleasantly unexpected lessons on kindness. He is an irreplaceable Buttercupper.

The grass native to these golden hills is taller than me and likes to enhance the super powers of my clumsiness. Even the younglings are talented at tricking my body into walking with my face. David cut the grass today. The same David that has every reason to hate the world and distrust all its inhabitants was worried that I might hurt myself walking with my face. When I thanked him for this sweet gesture, he said, "You know what? Money doesn't matter when we work for our hearts." When we "work for our hearts" - when we allow ourselves to heal, to live our lives with the freedom of joy, to transition from victim to caretaker, we naturally enrich the lives of others. It is this kindness we grant ourselves that allows us to better the world around us.

Thank you David, for teaching us that being kind to ourselves benefits everyone.

Photos: Buttercup Farms Garden

thegreatchubby — Mon, 9 Jun 2014 11:37:00 GMT

kitchen day - Buttercup Farms

thegreatchubby — Mon, 9 Jun 2014 09:39:00 GMT

Buttercup Farms Garden - my first wwoofing experience.

I've been here since mid April, which means I've witnessed the crisp green of the rolling hills melt into endless fields of gold. Now I understand why California is the 'Golden State'.

So far as work goes on the farm, I've helped clear away last season's crops and weeds, discovered different edible parts of plants, tended green house plants, sowed and planted new beds, watered, weeded, murdered some bugs, trimmed, harvested, dried, and cooked.

Ah, cooking - obviously the most satisfying of all. With the season in full swing, the garden is any food lover's dream. Lush greens, tender squash, succulent fruit, sweet, sweet root vegetables. Working (or simply stuffing your face) with freshly harvested produce - especially from plants you've tended since their babyhood - is amazing. There is simply no comparison. This weekend I gave myself a kitchen day to experiment with some vegan lasagna and chocolate cupcakes.

vegan chocolate beet cupcakes & fresh lavendar

That's right. I said BEET.

It had all the richness of chocolate and the sweetness of beets without even a trace of beet flavor.

I'm not a vegan myself but a fellow wwoofer is so I decided to try something new. These cupcakes had a surprisingly fine texture even though the recipe did not call for any egg substitutes.

Here's a link to the recipe if you're interested - http://minimalistbaker.com/fudgy-vegan-beet-cupcakes/

I got so greedy with ideas for the lasagna that it... proliferated...

and... one became four.

I'm proud to say these monsters were all thegreatchubby originals :)

But of course, none of this would be any fun without lovely people to share it with. The people at Buttercup have not only opened their home to me but also shared with me their experiences and love for life. I was welcomed into the family without hesitation and it has been immensely enriching.

Cheers to great people and new discoveries!

Photos: profile

thegreatchubby — Thu, 29 May 2014 09:23:00 GMT