Nourishment beyond food?

Follow your path.

Listen to your intuition. It’s often easier said than done. Harnessing your intuitive senses can be challenging, but if you do it often enough, practice will become habit, and intuition will influence reality.

A few years ago, I felt a calling to return to school and further my studies.  To dig deeper into health and wellness and explore what a more holistic future could look like, and how I could be a part of it. I became a Health Coach, and had both a personal and professional transformation. It was my intuition that spoke to me and urged me to look beyond my daily routine, to infuse passion into my life, and embrace my desire to elevate wellness and healthy living.

I morphed my new learnings into daily routines, and started to live a cleaner, healthier life. I made some big changes and some little changes, but most of all, I was open to change. Breaking old habits, and setting new benchmarks can be challenging, but I made progressive transitions that elicited lasting results.

The biggest changes were around food. What I bought and where I sourced it from. How I prepared it, and how much home cooking I could commit to. I made the decision to participate in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), joined Hometown Harvest (a food delivery service), planted a garden in our back yard, and joined a co-op. I made a pledge to spend our grocery budget on as much local and organic food as possible. I committed to making some of our favorite takeout foods at home, in efforts to increase nutrition and decrease cost. Finally, I vowed to pack homemade lunches for work or school.

These seem like simple changes, but they took time to implement, and involved step by step planning. Preparing home cooked meals fills me with a sense of pride, and nourishes me physically and spiritually. I am thankful that I made these adjustments, and my whole family has reaped the benefits. 

Our son Mason has been the beneficiary of our whole food crusade and demonstrates healthy eating habits at a young age. He is always eager to cook and assist in the kitchen. His familiarity with a varied cuisine makes family dining in or out, more fun. Mason also became interested in growing food. We started our 2014 garden project by sowing seeds indoors. Mason helped start our kale plants, then transferred them to the big garden, and eventually harvested home grown kale. True satisfaction was watching him gobble up home grown kale chips that we cooked together.

So here I am, a few more years down the road, following my path, and my intuitive senses have flared again. It’s time. Push the edge, move forward again. There is something more to be done. With this intuitive itch, I have found a communal calling, one that will serve others, and enable me to evolve wellness and healthy food in our community. I am on the journey to become a Board Member at The Common Market.

My path has often changed direction, and at times I’ve gotten lost. But staying the course has always served me well. With my sights set on the future, my intuition foreshadows change that has yet to come. It is liberating and invigorating to create the future with intention and an intuitive push. I am hopeful to secure a seat on the 2015 Common Market Board of Directors, and hope that you too can listen to your inner voice and open yourself up to the possibility of what’s next.

  Connect with Samantha Neier