"Love with urgency but not with haste"

bal·ance  

upside down and steady

noun 

An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

Let's talk about BALANCE

Let's talk about all the good things

And the bad things that may be

 

To be steady, to be fully standing

or upside down and steady

honor your whole-self

BALANCE

evenness

opportunity knocks not just once
 

Be Balanced

that's your essence

that's your presence

Kathleen and I started Roost House of Juice with an intention to cultivate balance for ourselves, and invite that for our customers, for our community. We developed our menu of juice, smoothies, vegan food, & wine with the hope of encouraging people to try on eating more fruits and veggies- to add in more plants, and to honor their specific needs and often the multiplicities and ambiguities that exist within all of us. We love that we can serve the raw gluten free vegan that is very limited when it comes to eating out; we love that we can serve up a collard wrap to a man who normally eats turkey sandwiches for lunch but is choosing to add in a plant based option once a week; we love that we can serve up a glass of organic bio-dynamic wine to someone after work while they roost and enjoy a side of savory crackers and a side of dairy free cashew ricotta spread; we love that we can serve up a chocolate coconut macaroon to a young girl who has an egg allergy and normally cannot eat macaroons. Everyone is welcome here, as you are, as you are, and we come as we are.

I was talking recently with a friend about relationships, and I was unloading about how I am feeling right now about the world around me and the suffering and violence that exists. I was like, on one hand knowing all this is happening makes me seize life more- life is fragile, so make a difference while you can, say what you need to say while you are here and do what you need to do... and as Mumford & Sons sing in their song, "love with urgency but not with haste" ..so all that is going on inside myself. On the other end, in leui of recent world happenings, there is a feeling of being broken down, unmotivated, fearful of the inevitable presence of suffering in this life and a forgetting of the magic, mystery, and miracles that also exist in this life. My friend said it sounds like you have one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. STUCK, yes is how I feel. I am pressing the gas and pressing the brake so I am not going anywhere, no movement, no balance. My friend encouraged me not to press hard on the brake or the gas, but in order to move forward, there has to be some form of nuanced play with both the gas and the break-subtle, slight, always refining, go a mile, pause, reflect, be aware, and then maybe eventually go another mile. And maybe it is okay to be stuck sometimes,-what is there to learn here? how can I practice being present right now and be okay in all of it? How can I trust that all will balance out and no feeling is final? 

 

I write this now as a person who in the beginning of the week, a few times, ate over some sadness and fear with some coconut ice cream and sweets and bread and chips, who later in the week, was like, I'm done eating over my feelings for now, so opted for some juice and raw foods instead to lift me up a bit.  Now, as I write this at the end of a busy week at Roost House of Juice, I recognize that I let myself ride the wave of my uncomfortable feelings, allowed myself to play with the brake and gas, and arrived at a place of equilibrium again on this fine sunny Saturday. 

 

As I sit here now on Saturday night, I am grateful for an evening promenade and chat with a friend filled with a setting sun, lots of blooming cherry blossom trees, laughter, and spring dreams!