| September 2007 |
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PERSONAL ESSAY
Natural Me
by Terri Millstone
I’m not sure if it was the tampons or the dog food that finally had me sailing headlong into that iceberg moment. You
know, you smack into something seemingly innocuous, blindly and trustingly, not having any clue how large and
deep that iceberg actually goes. These icebergs can be moments in time that really have long lasting implications.
For example, I was sad when John Lennon got shot, but I never realized how much the music really did die with him.
Or when President Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated – who knew it was the iceberg of huge
changes that would impact our society for generations to come? Personal experiences can have that impact as well.
I remember where I was and what I was doing during this latest iceberg moment, and I assure you, there was no
plan whatsoever of a complete life change of this nature and scope.
As for the dog food, it was the usual combination of exhaustion and laziness when I remembered late during my shift
at a natural food grocery store that my dogs needed food. There was no way I was going anywhere near another
grocery store, so I paid the price and bought the natural kibble. For once, anyway, the dogs could eat something
healthy, was the story I told myself that night. Then, over the time it took for my dog to eat that bag of food, several
things happened. The dogs started to eat less, I assume because they were no longer filling up on junk. Their coats
are healthier and they beg a less. But best of all, wonder of wonders, their behaviour changed. The older, more
sedate dog has become active and engaged and the younger lunatic is actually settling down a notch or two.
The tampons are a bit of a different story. Our staff washrooms are stocked with pads and tampons. After using
them for a day I felt compelled to invest. You know, like how can I use them here and then go back to my regular
poison at night? A quick education from one of our health and body care specialists, who very ‘elegantly’ told me
what I was doing to which part of me by not using them, pushed me over the edge. Even in middle age, it is not too
late to change some basic habits. I have slowly replaced all my body care products and now use only natural
products for skin, hair, and body. Imagine my fury, flying for the first time in almost a year, when they were
confiscated by airport security because I exceeded the volume limit for liquids.
Though I had been eating mainly organic for quite a while, these 2 innocuous incidents sent me back to the drawing
board. I began actively to learn more. I borrowed 2 excellent videos from our store library; I started to read and
explore. When I started working at this store, I had a list of reasons why I was not going to buy into what I perceived
as some sort of elitist cult. I couldn’t afford it, plus I was too old to make changes anyway.
“With knowledge comes pain”: directly from the Old Testament. Slowly, my so-called rationalizations became just
plain silly. What could possibly be an elitist cult about eating healthy? Sure, I see lots of high-end folks spending
ridiculous amounts of money on luxury items, but that is certainly not exclusive to health food. It’s a social norm right
now. However, more and more, there are regular folk who are clearly not wealthy, who come in to get an unpoisoned
carrot or pepper. They dutifully bring in their recyclables and take their vitamins and supplements. They carry their
knapsacks and buy what they need. Nothing elitist there.
As for cost, just pish posh ridiculous. Sure, I can choose to buy an organic pineapple in wintertime and pay a lot for
it. Or, I can buy the more local produce, spend far less than non-organic and eat real food. I realized very quickly that
there was no more added expense to eating natural. Yes, fair trade organic sugar is expensive. But, I ask myself, do
I really need sugar so badly as to compromise my morals and principles about fair pay for a fair day’s work? Not
really. Not at all! I buy in bulk, far less expensive, and no harm done to the farmers and the others involved in getting
that sugar here. Plus now I use half the amount of sugar than as before. Hmm, I wonder why. Or, get this: pure
organic baking powder is about 10x more powerful than non organic. Who wants to see my photos of many fallen
cakes, until I figured that one out! This stuff is not cut with anything, and as such, gives the biggest bang for my buck.
What a clever and honest idea.
We had a little ‘guess which one is organic?’ contests in my house. After the first one, it was too easy for words.
There is that much difference in quality. A red pepper is red, is of a reasonable size, and tastes, well, like a red
pepper. If it is expensive this week, I will patiently wait rather than compromise my principles. A tasteless pineapple
does not taste any better because it cost $3.00 less.
For me, the nurturing of my physical body and the nurturing of my soul, have always been closely woven. As a
practicing, religious Jewish woman for most of my life, there has always been a spiritual and a soulful aspect of all
things related to nourishment and relationship with our physical selves. I followed dietary laws for most of my life.
Not always for the usual Biblical reasons. It was far more spiritual than anything else. By being keenly aware of what
I was putting into my body and how I was nourishing myself, no meal or snack goes without a reflection or a thought
about the big picture. How was the meat slaughtered? Who and how has been guaranteeing that that meat or fish
is most likely to not be contaminated or tainted in some way? How do I know that this product is pure and that no
corners were cut?
By becoming organic and natural, I have taken my levels of understanding and spirituality to a higher plane. The
deeper I have dug into the iceberg, the less threatening and scary it has become.
The notion of fair trade is new to me. I had several decades of Princessdom and lots of fancy stuff which I see now
cost far too much. There is growing understanding of all the nuances and real costs in terms of real people and real
places far away. Transportation costs, children working for slave wages so I can save some money on an inferior
product, while at the same time not supporting my community? This self-proclaimed wise old hippy takes
responsibility for being part of a generation that really failed many generations to come. This junk no longer works for
me. If changing to organic body care products at this point is not enough to stave off whatever old age fate awaits,
then so be it. I’ve always been an experiential and tactile learner and teacher. Sending my daughter in Poland a case
of tampons for her twenty-fourth birthday may seem silly or even dumb, but it will go with a heart full of love and a
huge dose of doing better for the next generation. I love that I am fulfilling myself in so many ways by joining this
“cult”. A whole cycle of life long learning is more fluid and comfortable than ever. I really do love the jeans at “the
store that shall not be named” and they like me back, but I can no longer shop there. I know better and I do live my
values. Body and soul.
Natural Me
by Terri Millstone
I’m not sure if it was the tampons or the dog food that finally had me sailing headlong into that iceberg moment. You
know, you smack into something seemingly innocuous, blindly and trustingly, not having any clue how large and
deep that iceberg actually goes. These icebergs can be moments in time that really have long lasting implications.
For example, I was sad when John Lennon got shot, but I never realized how much the music really did die with him.
Or when President Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated – who knew it was the iceberg of huge
changes that would impact our society for generations to come? Personal experiences can have that impact as well.
I remember where I was and what I was doing during this latest iceberg moment, and I assure you, there was no
plan whatsoever of a complete life change of this nature and scope.
As for the dog food, it was the usual combination of exhaustion and laziness when I remembered late during my shift
at a natural food grocery store that my dogs needed food. There was no way I was going anywhere near another
grocery store, so I paid the price and bought the natural kibble. For once, anyway, the dogs could eat something
healthy, was the story I told myself that night. Then, over the time it took for my dog to eat that bag of food, several
things happened. The dogs started to eat less, I assume because they were no longer filling up on junk. Their coats
are healthier and they beg a less. But best of all, wonder of wonders, their behaviour changed. The older, more
sedate dog has become active and engaged and the younger lunatic is actually settling down a notch or two.
The tampons are a bit of a different story. Our staff washrooms are stocked with pads and tampons. After using
them for a day I felt compelled to invest. You know, like how can I use them here and then go back to my regular
poison at night? A quick education from one of our health and body care specialists, who very ‘elegantly’ told me
what I was doing to which part of me by not using them, pushed me over the edge. Even in middle age, it is not too
late to change some basic habits. I have slowly replaced all my body care products and now use only natural
products for skin, hair, and body. Imagine my fury, flying for the first time in almost a year, when they were
confiscated by airport security because I exceeded the volume limit for liquids.
Though I had been eating mainly organic for quite a while, these 2 innocuous incidents sent me back to the drawing
board. I began actively to learn more. I borrowed 2 excellent videos from our store library; I started to read and
explore. When I started working at this store, I had a list of reasons why I was not going to buy into what I perceived
as some sort of elitist cult. I couldn’t afford it, plus I was too old to make changes anyway.
“With knowledge comes pain”: directly from the Old Testament. Slowly, my so-called rationalizations became just
plain silly. What could possibly be an elitist cult about eating healthy? Sure, I see lots of high-end folks spending
ridiculous amounts of money on luxury items, but that is certainly not exclusive to health food. It’s a social norm right
now. However, more and more, there are regular folk who are clearly not wealthy, who come in to get an unpoisoned
carrot or pepper. They dutifully bring in their recyclables and take their vitamins and supplements. They carry their
knapsacks and buy what they need. Nothing elitist there.
As for cost, just pish posh ridiculous. Sure, I can choose to buy an organic pineapple in wintertime and pay a lot for
it. Or, I can buy the more local produce, spend far less than non-organic and eat real food. I realized very quickly that
there was no more added expense to eating natural. Yes, fair trade organic sugar is expensive. But, I ask myself, do
I really need sugar so badly as to compromise my morals and principles about fair pay for a fair day’s work? Not
really. Not at all! I buy in bulk, far less expensive, and no harm done to the farmers and the others involved in getting
that sugar here. Plus now I use half the amount of sugar than as before. Hmm, I wonder why. Or, get this: pure
organic baking powder is about 10x more powerful than non organic. Who wants to see my photos of many fallen
cakes, until I figured that one out! This stuff is not cut with anything, and as such, gives the biggest bang for my buck.
What a clever and honest idea.
We had a little ‘guess which one is organic?’ contests in my house. After the first one, it was too easy for words.
There is that much difference in quality. A red pepper is red, is of a reasonable size, and tastes, well, like a red
pepper. If it is expensive this week, I will patiently wait rather than compromise my principles. A tasteless pineapple
does not taste any better because it cost $3.00 less.
For me, the nurturing of my physical body and the nurturing of my soul, have always been closely woven. As a
practicing, religious Jewish woman for most of my life, there has always been a spiritual and a soulful aspect of all
things related to nourishment and relationship with our physical selves. I followed dietary laws for most of my life.
Not always for the usual Biblical reasons. It was far more spiritual than anything else. By being keenly aware of what
I was putting into my body and how I was nourishing myself, no meal or snack goes without a reflection or a thought
about the big picture. How was the meat slaughtered? Who and how has been guaranteeing that that meat or fish
is most likely to not be contaminated or tainted in some way? How do I know that this product is pure and that no
corners were cut?
By becoming organic and natural, I have taken my levels of understanding and spirituality to a higher plane. The
deeper I have dug into the iceberg, the less threatening and scary it has become.
The notion of fair trade is new to me. I had several decades of Princessdom and lots of fancy stuff which I see now
cost far too much. There is growing understanding of all the nuances and real costs in terms of real people and real
places far away. Transportation costs, children working for slave wages so I can save some money on an inferior
product, while at the same time not supporting my community? This self-proclaimed wise old hippy takes
responsibility for being part of a generation that really failed many generations to come. This junk no longer works for
me. If changing to organic body care products at this point is not enough to stave off whatever old age fate awaits,
then so be it. I’ve always been an experiential and tactile learner and teacher. Sending my daughter in Poland a case
of tampons for her twenty-fourth birthday may seem silly or even dumb, but it will go with a heart full of love and a
huge dose of doing better for the next generation. I love that I am fulfilling myself in so many ways by joining this
“cult”. A whole cycle of life long learning is more fluid and comfortable than ever. I really do love the jeans at “the
store that shall not be named” and they like me back, but I can no longer shop there. I know better and I do live my
values. Body and soul.