Becoming Mirror To Our Individual Souls

It is tuesday morning and I am enjoying a hot cup of coffee with my brother.  He is off from school for the next three weeks and I finally have a day off work.

Life is calling us to get enmeshed in the process. However, the process can wait. For now, we are enjoying our steaming cup of coffee and sharing what's on our mind. The amount of depth in terms of conversation and pure company I enjoy with my brother has been unparalled. I appreciate it more as I get older. Today, there is an overlying truth that keeps turning in my head as he shares his fears and plans for working after graduation.

We are extremely good at soothing and helping in detecting the pain points of our loved ones. Their struggled and vulnerabilities become so easy to categorize and write a prescription for. However, it's not as easy to do this for our ownselves. We are often heavily dependent upon others to recognize our blindspots. This is not necessarily a weakness. In fact, it is a way to more spiritual and personal growth.

When we grow deeply in our interpersonal relationships, we slowly start embracing a solid sense of our inner vulnerabilities. As a result, we are able to deeply connect to other people through these vulnerabilities. This helps shine a mirror on our INTERNAL ISSUES, BAGGAGE AND CRAVINGS. Slowly, we realize that we all have so much more in common than we think. Even with the siblings who are going their own way with their lives.

The Mindfulness Trap

How does it feel when you splurge on Beauty Products?
Would you say it is the Epitome of Self-Care?
It sure is for me.

The emergence of thousands of new beauty products leaves one always wanting more.
Facial Masks, Hair Masks, and Neck Cleansing Clay comes along with facial serums, hair serums, and neck wrinkle reduction serums. Over the years, I have come to embrace these products as precious gems found in the cave Aladdin got thrown into. Simply put, I cannot live without beauty products.

There are markups and markdowns on all different hair products: Marc Anthony, TREsemme, Pantene and the list goes on.

Recently, I have noticed that beauty products are marketed towards a more environmentally conscious demographic.
No surprise there.
With rising fears about Sustainability and Global Warming, it is high-time for companies to do their part in helping secure our planet's future.


A huge sub-set of these new marketing strategies is the promotion of Mindfulness.
Recently, I purchased a tooth-paste and face-mask promoting the notion of peace of mind upon their consumption.

feel Face Mask: MINDFUL

Burt's Bees Toothpaste: Zen Peppermint 

Now, don't get me wrong. Both Products live up to their expectations.
My tastebuds find a calm tingling every time I use Burt's Bees Toothpaste. There is a millisecond feeling that whatever residual of the garbage I inhaled during the day (pizza, fries, burgers, sometimes all three) seems to just roll up from my tongue. It flies right out of my mouth and high up into the blackness of the solar system.


Meanwhile, the face mask has incredibly calming effects on my botched, under-hydrated skin. However, underneath all these perks, and perhaps despite them, I still do not feel mindful.
Perhaps mindfulness cannot be categorized into a form of consumption.
It would negate the very purpose for which we turn to mindfulness in the first place: A resting place from the daily hassles and routines of life.
If we incorporate mindfulness into the very routines from which it provides us respite, aren't we being the exact opposite of mindful?
To me at least that poses a fundamental question of what is mindfulness?



You see, when I wear my face mask, I am also listening to a business podcast and editing photos for my Poshmark Closet, and learning about the ways Canada is changing their Tax Laws once again. I am working to support my eco-system while providing you guys the life tips you need to do well in their economy.
However, mindfulness goes out the window when it's being done at the same time as it is not being done. I cannot simultaneously work while not working.

I believe it is high-time for beauty companies to take more mindful initiatives for promoting Mindfulness that go beyond Flashy Packaging and Increase in Targeted Advertising.
I think companies can encourage individuals to find their own unique ways to practice mindfulness.
Ways that go beyond increasing their own bottom line.
I truly believe this joint effort can allow individuals to truly embrace mindfulness that is as uniquely tailored as their favorite beauty products.


For those of you still reading, my advice is to stop looking at mindfulness as a goal. Rather, appreciate it's unique nuances in your personal life as they come and go.
Appreciate them because they are yours and hard to come by.
Appreciate them to get more of them.
Discover the mindfulness of nature and strong kinship ties and more nourishing foods.
Embrace the mindfulness of human connection, since it is one of the scarcest commodities out there.
Embrace the mindful you, through less investment in beauty products and more investment into welcoming and revering mindfulness more gracefully into your life.

I am not saying you need to stop buying beauty products. Mindfulness comes about through daily actions and habits of catching your breath and being genuine in spirit. I am saying that the products don't lead to mindfulness. Sometimes you need both and sometimes you need neither.

Is it Really Mindfulness If I still have to use my mind?

The Best Solutions Are Often The Simplest

I am standing in front of my bathroom mirror, all sorts of ideas and thoughts are rapidly firing in my brain.

Some are Great. Others not so pleasant.
I am worried.
About as worried as the rest of the planet to a greater or lesser degree.

This time, however, my worry is perhaps a bit more on the shallow level.
I have ran out of my daily facial serum. This being my favorite facial product to use, I find myself a bit reminiscent of the journey I undertook with this bottle.
I remember bringing it home from Winners, anticipating the amazing benefits my skin will feel as a result of using this serum.

According to an article on Huffington Post, titled "What The Heck Does Vitamin C Serum Do For Your Skin, Anyway?", the author goes in detail to describe how it produces collagen and elastin and sloughs away dead skin cells. So far so good right?
Amazing benefits to the consumer and guaranteed youthful skin.

However, just like my youth, this bottle is bound to run out sooner or later.
What's not running out is the amount of landfill produced when consumers throw out these empty serum bottles in droves.
Sure, I can always go line up at Sephora to get my next bottle.
However, what I can't personally do is restore the natural planet's space being taken up by empty facial serum bottles.

Turns out I don't have to.
My simple solution is for companies to spend some more time and resources on setting up refills and disposal stations for bottled products. These stations can be set up at both giant retailers and small individual stores. The location where bottled beauty products are produced can be the same one where they are disposed of. This will help eliminate the need for spending extra public expenditure dollars on eliminating waste. Thanks to such a streamlined system, consumers will be more happy to spend their money at retailers that provide refillable products. Beauty companies can expect a terrific increase in bottom-line revenue, even after small investments into such a venture. At the end of the day, it is a win-win situation.

Now if you will excuse me, off to Amazon.ca I go for a new serum.

Home-Made Casserole Style Burrito

    A rushed existence, though no fault of our own, calls for rushed meal preps. Introducing my first addition to 15 Minute Healthy Meals is my first creation: Home-Made Casserole Style Burrito.

    Over the next few months, I will roll out a few more 15 minute meals to help all you ladies and gentlemen looking for ways to make your life easier. After a long day of work, or before heading out the door, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour cooking. This is why apps such as foodora and SKIP THE DISHES have gained rising popularity over the last few years, especially among working couples and college students.

   Hey, I totally get it. I myself have been guilty on several occasions of ordering in recklessly. There is one specific gloomy winter night I can recall where I ended up ordering two meals from two different restaurants on TWO DIFFERENT APPS!!!!So believe me, I know all about lack of self-control. However, to bring our energy back towards positive focus and with a goal to nourish our soul and body, here is the recipie:

Serving: Up to 6 ahem, ahem..... Perhaps Just 1 ;)

Ingredients

1 Package of Tortilla Wrap
1 1/2 Cup of Frozen Vegetables Mix
2 Spoons of Shredded Mozerella Cheese
1 Large Beef Hot-Dog (Cut up into thin Circles)
4 Spoons of Dried Corn and Chips
Raunch Sauce
5-6 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Small Pack of Pre-Made Avocado
6 Tbsp Olive Oil

How To Make It:

Step 1:  Put on about 4 Tbsp Olive Oil, along with the meat into a skillet and fry the hot dog on medium heat.

Step 2: After 3 Minutes, Add in the frozen vegetables.

Step 3: After Another 3 Minutes, add in the Cherry Tomatoes. Stir contents well and cover the lid. Meanwhile, take a deep dish pizza baking pan and preheat the oven at 375 Degrees. After A minute of pre-heating, put a tortilla on the pan and heat in the oven.

Step 4: Go Back to stirring the vegetables, this time adding the rest of the olive oil and mixing well. Unload the mix into a dish after roughly 10 minutes of being cooked.

Step 5: Take out the tortilla after it has been in the over for 2 minutes. Spread the avocado all over the inside of the heated tortilla as the base. Top up the base with half of the casserole mix and garnish with mozella and raunch sauce.

Step 6: Roll up the Tortilla and savour the freshness!!!

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