"Your Life Is an Occasion. Rise to It."

And so, there I was the other day, baking bread from a recipe in my new Less is More Mennonite cookbook, and as I punched down the risen dough so it could rise again, I remembered my favorite line from the recent movie, Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium. Mr. Magorium, played by Dustin Hoffman, says to the cute Natalie Portman character, "Your life is an occasion. Rise to it."

Right there and then, I decided. I would bake bread weekly (the oatmeal/whole wheat recipe is simple, and I just divided the dough into four loaves and made several different types by adding olives and oregano to one, a cinnamon/sugar swirl to another, and leaving two plain). And I would ask myself each week, am I rising to the occasion of my life?

This week, I would say, yes, I did. I lived more fully my daily "prayer," if you could call it that. Which is:

To live more fully in the Now,
To live intentionally,
To hear--and heed--my calling for today,
To treat creation with dignity and respect,
And to express my authentic self.

First, my family is still basking in the glow of our still-lingering vacation memories. But I also took some big steps forward:

* I rebranded my business so that my vocation and avocation have officially merged.

* My friend Richard and I made worm bins, and the worms have been ordered ("Get the Latin name! Get the Latin name!" Richard insisted. Okay, they are eisenia foetida--or red wrigglers--and 500 of them are on their way). I'm already planning the Grand Celebration for their arrival.

* And I swung my garden gate open one afternoon for my new weekly "Open Garden" and told everyone I saw to feel free to drop by, although I couldn't promise them they would not be put to work! I have been longing for more social activity in my busy days of working and parenting, and I have been wanting to connect with more kitchen gardeners (or wannabees). And yes, a steady stream of the most wonderful peeople came. One boy tossed my hard-to-toss compost pile. Another, only five years old and autistic, chopped up decaying logs so that I have the most beautiful mulch. Two other kids cleaned out the clubhouse. And a group of moms helped me plan a Zen garden over in that corner that doesn't get much sun, and they each walked away with their own little cups of dirt with lemon balm, mint and strawberries in it.

One of my favorite quotes is "How you spend your days is how you spend your life." As the little five-year-old said as he dug in the dirt, "I am doing all the things I love to do." And this week, I agree with him. This week, I loved how I spent my life.

"Your Life Is an Occasion. Rise to It."