How did the rose

Ever open its heart

And give to this world

All it's beauty?

It felt the encouragement of Light

Against its being,

Otherwise,

We all remain

Too frightened.

- Hafiz

Some days I wonder how I will ever be able to fully offer to the world that which has been given to me.  I, like you, am gifted.  I know that if I were to open up, to sing my song to all who had ears to listen, I could heal the entire world, and set everything aflame with the primordial joy of being.

There's a worm addicted to eating grape leaves.

Suddenly, he wakes up,

call it grace, whatever, something

Every day new products hit the shelves of stores that can do more, better, faster, and smaller.  I'm sure you or someone you know owns a laptop, a smart phone, or a ipad (the mico-powerhouses of modern computing).  Not only do we have access to a world of information in the palms of our hands, we also have access to more mundane technological masterpieces: fridge magnets that play digital videos, ant farms that project moving images of the ants onto the ceiling, and laptop fans to keep your laptop cool as you stream video while playing solitaire.
In our modern experience of high-tech saturation (both necessary and superfluous), I would like to serve up the technological equivalent of some down-home cookin’. I present to you three low-tech, high-impact appropriate and responsible technologies that are transforming the lives of regular people worldwide.

Solar Bottle Lights: In the town of San Pedro, just outside of Manila in the Philippines, a local transformation is occurring.  Men salvage used plastic bottles, fill them with water, and cast light into dark places. Huh?  That's right.  In an area where most buildings are made of corrugated steel, most families have had to rely on expensive electrical lights to see in their homes during the day.  Not any more.  At the price of $1 per installation, many families are opting to let the sunshine in, using plastic water bottles filled with water to create solar ceiling lights.  Not only is this diverting waste from landfills, it is also creating green job alternatives for people ready to embrace this new technology.

I write this flying through the air, on a Boeing 737 aircraft, drinking a glass of white wine with the good company of strangers. 

I recently watched an interview with one of my favorite comedians, Louie CK who spoke about the incredible times that we live in.  As he says, everything’s amazing and nobody’s happy.  Watch the video here.  CK gives examples of situations like air travel and the wonders of technology where we can access a world wide web of information in a global sharing network at the tip of our fingers at all times; we can fly across the globe, seated comfortable in recline-able seats, served drinks and even access wifi internet connection.  We live in incredible times indeed.  What CK talks about in this interview though is our impatience with these marvels.  We’ve become callous to the wonders of science, our access to magical and incredible feats in human tool development.  I’ve seen myself and others go into complete rage over a delayed flight, or a phone working slowly. 

But here I am, shifting my attention from the cramped seating and squirming children next to me: I sit here on the plane with this mobile computer device (laptop) typing key by key to create my thoughts on a digital paper that I can send anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye.  I sit here looking down on the world from the sky, able to meet my friend in Baltimore just 5 hours from take-off and not 30 years of foot travel.  I am in complete amazement of the wonders that we live with today, and alarmed as to how we’ve fallen asleep to these miracles.  CK references our entitlement issues, our expectations and assumptions, which actually work against our better psychological health.  As an example, he references the upset of a fellow passenger on a plane who learned that there was wifi on the flight and then got angry learning that the wifi was slow.  I can see this mentality working across the United States and working against us.  Entitlement to me, is the opposite of gratitude.  Entitlement creates separation of the self from the world; it creates a story of exception and values of better-than/worse-than. Entitlement and questions of fairness lives in the world of scarcity- that there’s not enough.  Entitlement is a comparison story that always puts us against others, that crumples all generosity and puts us in the passenger seat- a victim of our circumstances.  This simultaneously puts us ahead of all others and sets us as inactive passive members of society.

It's not every day that I turn on the radio.  I make up that most songs on the radio are about indulging messages grounded in separation, longing, and fear.  I've listened to this kind of music before, and in the past I have empathized with messages like: "I'm better than you, I'm the top of the top," "I just can't live without you," and "Everything is messed up, so put your hands in the air."

Nowadays, I'm living life from a more internal approach.  Taking responsibility, practicing love and forgiveness, and choosing beliefs that serve me.  One of my long standing beliefs that does not serve me is that mainstream music isn't worth listening to.

When is the last time you heard a song on the radio that was about finding your voice, living from your heart, or healing the planet?  Well, I heard some songs like these just the other day, and so I'm going to take this opportunity to dispel my (and maybe your) misgivings about what popular music has to offer.

"Forks Over Knives" follows the journey of several Americans as they move from lifetimes of eating mostly animal products and processed foods to a whole food plant-based diet, and the miraculous health results that follow.  Two scientists, Dr. Campell of Cornell University, and Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, lead the way, sharing their research findings that illuminate the healthfulness of a plant-based diet, and it's ability to steer fork-eaters clear of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

The film also touches on larger issues, including the morose diagnosis that given the healthfulness of most Americans, today's children may not reach the average age of their parent's generation.  So, our scientists start asking the big questions:

"Who will protect the public?"  Their answer: Not the government, not the American Dietetic association, not the insurance industry, or the pharmaceutical industry, nor the medical or food industries.  Perhaps only the public can protect the public, and armed with the information in this film, we might all learn how to live long and fruit-full lives.

At Cafe Gratitude, our goal is to be "The Space for All of It."  What we mean is that we can not always choose what or who shows up at our door, but we can choose to be an invitation to whatever shows up, and to greet it with joy and gratitude.

In 1987, Issan Dorsey, a Zen teacher and former Drag Queen, invited a homeless student dying from AIDS to live in what was then the Hartford Street Zen Center.  Issan, a charismatic and colorful leader, founded Maitri there, in the heart of the Castro, and when he passed, left a group of followers devoted to deal with whatever came to the door.  They started the hospice because death came to the door.

Maitri has been providing residential hospice care to patients suffering with AIDS since 1987. They have provided a final home to over 900 people with AIDS, and  14 of their 15 hospice beds are reserved for people who are HUD-defined as low income. They are the only facility in California to offer AIDS-specific residential care to the community.

The baby chicks are here!  We picked them up with the Grandchildren and shared all about the miracle of receiving Special Breeds in the mail. The man at the post office was so precious about handing over the box to Kate. She said when we returned to the farm, “This is my best day ever!” I love the lessons that children can learn living on a farm! 

Tomato plants are in the ground, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for no more heavy frost. The greenhouse tomatoes now have golf ball sized tomatoes! Love the early start we got this year with the new greenhouse. Starts are abundant in the greenhouse and Lindsay is doing a great job of balancing mothering a small child, Newe, and keeping up with all the sprouts, wheatgrass and plant starts too!

Cacao, one of our Dexter cows, is pregnant and due in July.  We can’t wait to have a baby calf on the farm. The grandchildren are looking forward to that as well. Leche, our other Dexter, just returned from two months on the farm where we purchased her and we are hoping she is bred as well and will calf in December or January.

Now always seems like the place to start anything. Now my name is Ryland Engelhart, and, as a matter of fact, it always has been. My Poppa is Matthew Engelhart the "Patron" of Cafe Gratitude. Now I am writing this from Costa Rica on a double Honeymoon with my wife Sarah Engelhart and our beloved friends and co-workers Avasa and  Matty Love, who got married two weeks after we did this past October.

We have been here eight out of our ten vacation days. We are staying in a beautiful house in small artist community called Islita in the middle of the Pacific coast of the country. We are minutes from the beach and  from a Five Star Resort that we have free access to. Every day we have done activities such as horse back riding, zip lining through the Jungle, surfing and on an on.

Now, in your mind may be saying, "YUK! Good for YOU buddy" or, "What's the Point?"  I am not entirely  sure yet, but there are many ‘Points’ or ‘Miracles’ right here in front of me and you in every moment waiting for our awareness to become aware.  While this point may seem simple and obvious it may be the greatest gift I have ever been given.

Vacation is the perfect circumstance to see that Life is an inside job. Most of the time we are being steered by obligations and responsibilities that we "think" create our experience of life. Here in Costa Rica where the weather is almost always sunny this season, the emotional storms still come through. No Matter where I go, there I am, carrying my wound. My version is, "I am not good enough? I am stupid?" and how I act this out is I TRY to fill every conversation space with "Deep Thoughts" by Ryland Engelhart. So the Now Miracle is to share your Shadow.  When you allow it and speak it out-loud, all of humanity feels like one crowd. This is a remember/forget practice, as soon I remember that I am acting out of my wound. My liberation is declaring that I forgot my greatness and I am trying to get your love.

Here I am free.

Meet Bernando LaPallo, an incredible human being who has been eating primarily raw foods for over 100 years!  In these videos he  explains how he lives his life and what how he takes care of himself.  Every morning he goes for a 1.5 mile walk and sets up his juicer and blender.  Every day he enjoys clean water and fresh raw vegetables and fruits.  Watch interviews with him here and get to know what keeps him up and out in the world.

In the comments below, tell us what stops you from treating yourself.  What can you gift yourself today?