Yesterday happened to be my natal day. For those following themes here, I did indeed abstain from meat yesterday. I was blessed to be treated to meals by local friends – for breakfast I had Orange Stuffed French Toast at Bananas Foster near where I live here in Chicago. For dinner at a different restaurant in boystown I had acorn squash with ancho-lentils, wilted spinach, topped with smoked almonds and goat cheese. Both vegetarian, but not vegan, and that is alright.
My biological family is strewn across the country, I have no biological family here in Chicago – so we celebrate virtually through telephone calls and online. My sister lives happily on the west coast in Oregon. She is one of the most creative, intelligent, generous people I know. One of her goals for this year was to be mindful and “buy local” when she could. So for my birthday present she bought three gifts locally in Oregon and had them shipped. There are benefits to buying local – it cuts out the middleman and puts more money in local economies. Buying local reduces transportation costs, though these gifts were all shipped to me. To me, one of the best benefits of buying local is that it gives you the opportunity to develop relationships with those offering their goods. I’ve heard arguments against buying local, some arguments are valid, though those are usually tinged with an attitude of absolutism or obstructionism. My blog isn’t the place to conduct a thorough exegesis of buying local and world economies. I just want to point out how appreciative I am of the mindfulness in choosing the gift.
My biological family is strewn across the country, I have no biological family here in Chicago – so we celebrate virtually through telephone calls and online. My sister lives happily on the west coast in Oregon. She is one of the most creative, intelligent, generous people I know. One of her goals for this year was to be mindful and “buy local” when she could. So for my birthday present she bought three gifts locally in Oregon and had them shipped. There are benefits to buying local – it cuts out the middleman and puts more money in local economies. Buying local reduces transportation costs, though these gifts were all shipped to me. To me, one of the best benefits of buying local is that it gives you the opportunity to develop relationships with those offering their goods. I’ve heard arguments against buying local, some arguments are valid, though those are usually tinged with an attitude of absolutism or obstructionism. My blog isn’t the place to conduct a thorough exegesis of buying local and world economies. I just want to point out how appreciative I am of the mindfulness in choosing the gift.
It gets better! Not only did she choose local gifts, they all had a religious community theme as well!
(today we continue with the second ember day in this Lenten embertide)
SOLI DEO GLORIA
Br Joe, Keep up the good work! I like the blog and I am gong to mark it to follow!
ReplyDeleteyour blog reminded me of something. whenever I need something for the home, I try and support kim's hardware store on Broadway instead of buying it at Target. I love those guys in there, you don't get that kind of service and personality at Target. Plus they're open ALL THE TIME..cuz like Mr Kim's son said "they gotta eat."
ReplyDelete@ Laura - and I see the sons in other local establishments like the corner restaurant at Thorndale & Broadway
ReplyDelete