Happy Friday from beautiful Crete! We have been here for a few days and I can tell you that this place has a way of getting under your skin… in all the right ways, of course! There’s something about driving for hours and olives groves stretching as far as the eye can see, or at least until you hit the sea… which, by the way, is going to blow your mind because it’s all beaches with beautiful rocks in the shades of black and warm earth tones… and then water as blue and brilliant as you can imagine in your wildest dreams!
I learned a new word this week- Eudaimonia. Basically the word describes a state of being that goes beyond temporal happiness and joy in all circumstances, but a joy and happiness that can be achieved when we are aligned with our values. That kind of blew my mind because I have always been a person of deep conviction, always striving to live in a honest way, one that is full of integrity to my beliefs. Don’t worry this word isn’t about religion, it’s about alignment with oneself. It begs one to consider to eat, drink, decorate, dress, live, and love with complete alignment to oneself.
I mean. Whoa. I have been talking about this concept for years and lo and behold- Aristotle had it all figured out in 320 bc! Hahaha! It really is so profound though, because if we learn to live in alignment with ourselves, we will find true contentment. That’s something we can really build our life around, right?
Being on this island and seeing everything from flour to honey to melons and olives and olive oil that all come from this island, I cannot help but be utterly enamored with what has been achieved here! I love the idea that we can literally eat from the land- that we can taste what the earth can give us… that tomatoes grown in the ashy volcanic soil of Santorini will taste different than the ones I grow in my own backyard! We saw the same thing in Nantucket and in Morocco and in Atlanta (strawberry picking, anyone?!).
We went to a farm to table restaurant in the mountains last night that utterly blew our minds! The bread from the brick oven and the vegetables from the garden? Unbelievable! Two nights ago we went to a local seafood restaurant- literally outdoors, facing the Mediterranean, and the waiter was also the fisherman who had been out before dawn catching what we were about to eat! It really makes traveling so inspiring and fun, don’t you think? There’s an intimacy between ourselves and a place when we eat from!
I’ve always been curious about farming (I know. It’s weird for me, too. Why am I so obsessed with something that I know so little about? I mean. We pretty have killed every crop we attempted (though we do seem to be pretty good at herbs! Hahaha) But to me, traveling, staying somewhere that has this organic and modern feel, and then visiting farm shops and honey stands and rolling the windows down and inhaling the fragrance of sea and olive groves? It’s like a fantasy!
I feel like that idea of alignment… it’s bringing euphoria! I’m realizing that the warm, earthy textures of stoneware aren’t just a marketing ploy to get us all to buy new dinnerware, but the way they feel in our hands has a profound affect on the way we feel when we sit down to eat… and when you start thinking about all the decisions we make… well, think if we skipped the idea of trends and just started to embrace the things that brought us true happiness!
Ok, I’m on my soapbox. I can’t help it. Something about these Fridays always makes me so contemplative… maybe it’s because the weekend promises time to do whatever we want! So why not do the things we truly love with the people we love? Why not fill our days with more of the activities that feed our souls?
You’ll have to let me know what you think of this idea of Eudaimonia! Have you heard of it before?
However you choose to spend the weekend ahead, I hope it’s full of joy and love! Sending warm hugs and a kiss for each cheek! xxV
Leave a Reply