Thanks to the Good and Bad*

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Sushi Watercolor – Creativebug.com class with August Wren
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In process. Sushi face!

 

First of all, sushi. Definitely a good thing!

 

*From Ryan Holiday’s blog, Thought Catalog:

[*] Say Thanks—To The Good and Bad — The Stoics saw gratitude as a kind of medicine, that saying “Thank you” for every experience was the key to mental health. “Convince yourself that everything is the gift of the gods,” was how Marcus Aurelius put it, “that things are good and always will be.” Say thanks to a rude person. Say thanks to a bungled project. Say thanks to a delayed package. Why? Because for starters it may have just saved you from something far worse, but mostly because you have no choice in the matter.

Epictetus has said that every situation has two handles: Which are you going to decide to hold onto? The anger or the appreciation? The one of resentment or of thanks?

 

 

Bewitching Bento Box

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I took my daughters out for our weekly lunch following violin lessons. We frequent the local hole-in-the-wall Mexican place (Los Betos) which is amazing and Five Guys or go out for pho. Today, I suggested a new place, Yoshi Bento, in Phoenix.

We were really hungry. The place was not fancy at all, but the food at the next table looked amazing. The girls ordered chicken teriyaki bento and I ordered the salmon. The spicy cabbage salad took Josie by surprise. She noticed how eating from another compartment complemented the spice.

What is it about the bento box that captivates? I think it’s the obvious care in preparation. The bento box is made with fresh ingredients and each compartment has its own flavor and texture: buttery and soft, salty and crunchy, fuzzy and sweet, slick and piscine.

Anything made with care and consideration is noticed and appreciated. It is presence realized.