SWPA CHD Group Meets Up with Weston A. Price Foundation at “secret” Location
By LEXI-CONTRERA
Today, a few of us from the SWPA CHD support group managed to find the Weston A. Price Foundation’s Pittsburgh chapter’s picnic location, despite the fact that North Park did not have a sign to identify the grove. Some of you may recall we were graciously invited to attend by the leader of that group when we had our first meetup.
The fact that there weren’t any clear signs created some confusion for some of us, me being one. I was almost ready to give up myself when my prayer of desperation at being “lost again” was answered, and the main attraction showed up in the parking lot just as I was getting ready to start my car and pull out! O me of little faith!
Turns out I wasn’t even lost. There were just no signs of reassurance and guidance. And that, my friends, gave me the idea I needed for this blog.
It reminded me why our group is so important. You and I–we are the signs for the lost all around us, who don’t realize that the information they’ve been given that is supposed to be safeguarding their health and well-being is not accurate, safe, or effective. That’s why many are winding up generally unwell or outright sick with disease and losing loved ones or leaving their earthly experience sooner than they should.
We are the ones who can provide the information that can get them on the right track to better health and keep them from making harmful decisions-decisions many of us in our ignorance and for lack of ‘good signage’ along the way, have also made for ourselves and our children in the past.
But thank God, the body is resilient. And so are we. Despite what they have subjected us to these past three years, we’ve managed to put this group together, and despite North Park’s lackadaisical approach to signage, some of us managed to join our forces today and produced a good time out of our positive energy!
Our hostess was a wealth of information regarding nutrition, and a source of the best Kefir I’ve ever tasted! I tried the Basil Lime first, and then she gave me two jars to take home, so I splurged and took a berry one as well. I added some chia seeds and coconut milk to mine when I got home (don’t really know if that was wise, but I did it), and am sipping on it now as I write this. I’m wondering if there’s such a thing as a coffee kefir. . . I’m sure there has to be. I may have to learn how to make this stuff!
And that was what a lot of our conversations were about today—dietary choices and what has been done to our food systems, and our traditional food production, specifically. If you haven’t checked out The Weston A. Price Foundation’s website, you can find it here. Opinions varied as to which dietary choices are best, and yet we were all cordial and given the freedom to express ourselves. Once again, freedom of choice and free expression being values we all share.
Of course, I’ll be honest, there are, in my humble opinion, limits to just about everything. I think that is often the snag a lot of people run into in life—the idea that everything is an either/or proposition. I think that would make life too easy, and perhaps too boring, and I think we need the ability to be comfortable with some things being in-between, not so black and white, and a matter of context and situational application. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a paradox here, as there are some things I won’t compromise on, but the trick in life is knowing when to stand firm and when to yield.
Case in point:
It was interesting to hear everyone share the kinds of foods, diets, and supplements that have helped them improve their health and well-being. Everyone is on their own path, and rightly so, as while the human body is certainly the same in it’s essentials, each of us has our own biome, our own terrain, our own past health experiences and current conditions that make diet a very personal thing. And that is why we all are on the same page about medical freedom, bodily autonomy, and freedom of expression, but not necessarily so, with respect to dietary choices.
As for me, given that I have limited funds right now, I took advantage of the kefir and the perfectly cooked brisket that a nice young man had generously prepared for us. It melted in my mouth!
One thing I’ve taken to heart lately, is that man does not live by bread (or supplements) alone; that all food, prepared and received with a grateful heart, is transformed by our state of energetic attitude towards it. That might be the reason why in many traditional cultures, a blessing over the food was common. Not to mention the fact that I think folks had to work a lot harder to put that food on the table to begin with!
It’s apropos to mention that so many of our celebrations and times spent together as humans, and even our worries and concerns, revolve around food. Today was no different. It might seem like this was a mere picnic, put I don’t see it that way at all. First of all, we hit upon the following goals for our group: #1, #7, and #14 directly. We shared not just good food, but what was on our minds and hearts, and information and ideas for how to move forward.
So, despite the fact that I went intending to only drink my kombucha and lose a pound, and instead have overdosed on kefir and brisket (I’m good for my meat consumption for about a month now, and will have probably gained a pound instead), I felt like we were doing something so traditional, so americana, and something so important, which they’ve tried to take away from us these past three years, that it was a time to FEAST; I can practice famine again tomorrow! We soaked in the sun and grounded ourselves to the earth and the nature around us; we nourished our bodies and our souls; and we were, for the most part, away from technology (except for me emailing you all trying to tell you how to get here!). It gave me a feeling of nostalgia and the good old days; and hope for the future for the children that I witnessed playing innocently and happily around us.
We owe it to them folks, to be a sign that points the way, CLEARLY and without confusion, to a better, healthier, and more wholesome life!
A picnic is not just a picnic. It’s culture and tradition, it’s passing on recipes for preserving our roots, it’s planting seeds and nurturing our hopes and dreams for the future. Remember that.