Tender Age in Bloom

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Fresh tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and ground turkey sauteed in olive oil, oregano and garlic before being plopped on top of this roasted squash.  I fluffed the 'spaghetti' with a fork, added salt and pepper, a dusting of Parmesan, and a pat of butter before adding the vegetables.  Sauced squash is great but this chunky dish allows all the individual, unique flavors to pop from the vegetables, then the juice from the tomatoes becomes an exaggerated, rainbow of delight in your mouth. 

A pasta lover can eat this and get the full satisfaction of spaghetti without all the carbs and guilt. If you don't over roast the squash, it does have the right consistency. 

During a walk around the neighborhood today, I passed by a young father and small girl.  I overheard their conversation briefly.  Spell it, he said to her. B-i-l-e-s, she said.  That's right, now again.  B-i-l-e-s.  That's correct, that's how you spell your last name. That's probably an important lesson for a city kid for all kinds of practical reasons.   I thought about how children learn who they are, right or wrong, and wondered if she identifies with that name or if her young brain has yet to notice she has an inner nature and a separate idea of herself.   If I had a child I might tell them, you have been given a name but that's not who you are. I'd teach them about their spirit self and how it perfectly guides us. That it is connected to a vast collective energy that is pure and is as real as anything we know.  How it is much different than the voice that comes from our mind.  I'd explain early what we call our ego and how it can affect how you act in the world.  How you should remain an observer, even of yourself, maybe mainly of yourself.  I'd plant the seed that feelings are not who we are and sadness, fear or anxiety are only thoughts that if we notice them, we'll see we are not them therefore they hold no power over us.  I'd point out that your mind is noisy and can try to interrupt your inner peace but that it's not your enemy, it just needs to be managed.  That is it an important tool.  I'd show them the world, how it's completely alive and incredible and then speak of the other world that we can also live in, that's unseen and equally brilliant, that is stillness.   Saying this, I realize, I learned all of that from being a child so I'd imagine I wouldn't be telling them anything they didn't know but it could be important to reinforce these realities early on so that they continue to nourish and bloom and never forget what is real.