Silver Lining?

I’ve had a very full few weeks, and a big part of this time was spent preparing for an unusual trip to India. “A bonus trip” – my mom and I call it, because it was in addition to our usual family get-together in the summer.  This was also a solo adventure for me and a remarkable learning opportunity altogether. The plan was to spend some time with my mom and brother’s family, and the rest exploring the eastern Himalayan region of Meghalaya, immersing in the cooking and community practices of the indigenous Khasi people who live in this area.

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After my first solo adventure last year to Thekkady, Kerala, I was thrilled for another chance to create an itinerary that mixed family time with some deep learning time. I was also going on a special hike to the longest Living Root Bridge. Living root bridges are world-protected sites and, as the name suggests, are really bridges made from the roots of living trees – a practice that has been followed in this region for centuries. Two trees are planted, one on either side of a river or stream, with aerial roots reaching towards each other, woven into a bridge over 20+ years. Traditional, durable, flood-tolerant, climate-resilient natural architecture that helps the people of this area get around with ease. Here’s a photo of one of the bridges:

So it has been a very full couple of weeks, getting work and family routines squared away, and making sure that things moved smoothly while I was gone.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to the news of the US and Israel attacks on Iran, Iran’s response, and the ongoing air strikes and bombing. Cruel leaders, one killed, another brought forward, and civilians, innocent, oppressed people stuck in the middle. It feels like yet another war is here, and it’s going to be a long one…too.

And inconveniently enough for me, this is taking place right in the middle of the world, making travel from the west to the east….complicated.

Last Friday, I had another version of this newsletter written out, but with so much going on in just the last 48 hours – in and around Iran – I scrapped that one.

A cancelled trip, broken plans, and a wide-open calendar

As it turns out, war in between, interrupted travel schedules and last-minute cancellation of a dream of a journey can still have a silver lining.

After weeks of feeling overcommitted and underresourced, checking boxes, stretching thin to make sure work and family responsibilities were met, raingear purchased, and leech socks debated (!!) I was prepared for the two week time in Delhi and Meghalaya. Then the world shifted, and my itinerary eased. No hikes to the other side of the world, under and over interwoven roots for me; my calendar is wide-wide-open. Even my family is set for their meals!

Silver lining, right?

So starting tomorrow, for the next two weeks, I will be writing Book #2. It’s a long process, as many of you know, and I have been working on it for a while, but between speaking engagements, corporate workshops and my newly launched website puneeta.ca, I haven’t had the chance to go back to it since December last year.

This is still ‘unofficial’, but I wanted to share it with you because, frankly, ebbs and flows and detours have been a big part of my work and life recently. In talking to friends, I notice this is the same for so many of us right now. Things come up, priorities change. We overcommit. We feel unsure. We forget what’s important. And the world shifts around us.

In this time of conflict and constant change, it takes a world tragedy and a wide-open calendar, to help me remember that it is our choices and actions that matter most at this time – perhaps at any time.

So back to 6 am starts for me – that’s how Good Food, Healthy Planet came to be. I’ll be back with an update next Sunday.

If this letter motivated you in some way, please forward it to a friend. If you have faced a big disappointment recently and would like my help to reframe the feelings, drop me a note.

I’m really glad you’re here, and I hope my newsletter, newly named Grounded, becomes something supportive and inspiring for you.

The possibilities of a low-waste celebration

A few weeks ago, Amberly Mcateer, parenting columnist for The Globe and Mail, reached out to interview me to discuss how Valentine’s Day has become a consumerist, wasteful holiday vs what it used to be – a day that represented love and affection. You can have a peek at what we talked about here.

February 14 is behind us, but the spirit of low-waste living remains as ‘green’ as ever.