a Maya story
on the essence of love
The birds were chirping. The sun was shining. At first glance, everything was in it’s perfect place, the complete opposite of what she was feeling inside. Utterly unwilling to remove the covers any lower than her chin, the warm bed maintained the little sense of security she felt was left. The veil between sleeping and waking was quickly shattered with the loud, obnoxious ring of the telephone.
“Hello?”
“Morning! What are you doing? Come up to the [farmers] market!”
”What time will you be there ’till?” she said with angst.
“11, hurry up!”
“Fine, OK, see you soon.”
Knowing she would find comfort in the market, she twisted up her hair and half way secured it with a kitchen chop stick. Mis-matched clothes covered her body and the minty fresh taste of Tom’s of Maine gave her the same jolt as a cup of joe. Hoping the no makeup look was in for the day, she grabbed her aviators, wallet, phone and headed out the door.
The sun shone playfully on her face and wisps of loose hair danced in the wind. The breeze blew quickly through her open jeep on the highway, just enough wind and sun to quiet the mind and return a smile.
The market was buzzing, live music, homemade tamales, aromatic coffee, freshly cut flowers, and her favorite, vegetables, in every color imaginable… reds and greens, oranges and yellows, purples and whites. Under one shade covered tent, her senses honed in on one large bunch of fresh, bright green basil. Morning dew dripped on her hands as she plucked a bunch from the wooden crate marked “fresh basil $1.50″ in chalk. Straight to her nose they went! The scent of freshly cut, farm grown basil was just enough to stimulate her senses. She started to feel alive…
Adding to the dew soaked bag was heirloom carrots in purple and golden red, curly green kale, and oddly (but beautifully) shaped eggplant, striped with light purple and white. Last but not least, she locked eyes with a festive, playful bunch of greens. Unsure of what they were, she walked closer and picked one up. It was perfectly shaped, beautifully colored, heavenly smelling arugula, laden with bits of dirt from someone’s garden picked just a few hours earlier. She plucked a leaf and began chewing. In that moment, vigor returned to every cell in her body. All her worries and angst were gone. No trace of sadness from the previous day’s events were to be found. Tears began to well up in her eyes and goosebumps covered her body. As if love at first sight, the only thing left in the room was her and the bunch of arugula. The energy connection was intense, captivating, and healing. Feelings of deep gratitude, safety, and clarity wrapped her in their loving arms. In that moment, she felt life from her heart and her whole body knew what to do. Life began once again…
To this day, arugula is known as magical in her kitchen.
