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Tender Heart Heals Your Broken Heart

November 11, 2017November 11, 2017by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

I want that kind of face with a huge smile. I admire her gentle heart. Her smile reminds me of autumn sunset.

Cindy was sitting and waiting for me to meet up for a coffee that morning. She was looking at her phone and reading something. Even from the distance, I could see her kind eyes and lips were forming my favorite shape. Smile. I approached to her and she looked up. Her smile got bigger and that made me choke. My throat got tighten and my eye welled up. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t.

She is a great hugger too. She held me the way I wanted to be held (of course, I didn’t realize that until she did). As soon as I started hearing her soothing voice, my emotion got flooded. I told her my struggles. She showed her empathy, understanding and shared her own struggles. She was there. I mean, she really exited and showed up to heal my broken heart. She did not lose her smile even when we were talking about rough subjects. Then, I lost it and started sobbing.

“You are enough.”

Cindy said that to me twice sincerely when we said good-bye. She went through rough times, challenges and difficulties, but she embraces all of it. That makes her such a strong and resilient human being. Because of that, she possesses the tenderest heart and she is a person who tell others “you are enough.”

Those three words are so powerful and beautiful to me.
I will keep them with me each and every day. Thank you for your gift, Cindy. You are enough also.

food, life, love, Musing, Personal, restaurant, Seattle

Instant Antidepressant: Baby, it’s cold outside so let’s go out!

November 6, 2017November 6, 2017by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Watching the snow falling is one of the beautiful things in the world, but it is not really my favorite thing to do. It makes me feel a bit blue and depressed. I think it’s because I know this peaceful quietness would disappear very soon.

Yesterday, Sunday November 5th 2017, it was a bit snowing and intensely cold for November in Seattle. I love Seattle autumn, but I guess I was not ready for this weather. However it turned into one of the most delightful days.

Here is list of how I make those cold and blues go away.

OXTAIL PHO at BA BAR (http://babarseattle.com)

Classic Vietnamese repertoire, beef noodle soup. Noodle have gotten better now at Ba Bar. It won’t get bundle up and like a giant mochi any more. Broth tastes exactly how I wanted it to taste like. Combination of savoriness, tons of umami, a tat sourness and slight sweetness. Make sure to breathe in the complexity of this noodle soup before digging in. Then, you taste the meat falling off from the bones and noodle at the same time. It warms your belly and heart at the same time.

PIPE & ROW (https://pipeandrow.com) and BURNT SUGAR (https://burntsugar.us)

Strolling stores in cute neighborhood like Fremont is essential especially on a chilly day like this. Looking at those pairs of shoes that cost way more than you can afford but it’s so nice to dream. Someday in Paris 🙂 You can do it yourself but it would be much more fun with your trusted and honest friends who are not afraid of saying, “No, you look ridiculous in that dress” or “You look amazing. You must get that sweater.”

YOUR BESTIES
I don’t call people “friends” very easily. Honestly, I only have several friends whom I gave my respect and the highest regards to. I got to go out and eat pho, drink coffee, shop, talk, make fun of each other and laugh. Most importantly, love. Since I have a few friends, I can easily open up my heart and show who I am when being with them. I show how important and precious they are to me. I share my life, small and big with them. They give me so much hope and strength to keep going. It’s pure happiness. There is no better way to fill your soul.

Dark, rainy and cold days are coming in Seattle soon. However, as long as I have these things, I don’t need to go seek for antidepressants. When your heart is open, depressing days can easily turn into happy days just like I experienced yesterday. That’s instant and long-lasting at the same time.

love

April 4th: Love Letter to the Best Friend

April 4, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

I’m overwhelmed with happiness when I am with you. I am so madly in love with you. I wish there was a better way to say it. I am not the most eloquent when saying this but I know what I feel. When I think about you or about us, the emotion build up inside and spill out. It’s embarrassing at times but I like the feelings that I feel for you. My favorite times with you are just being near you. It could be a rainy day at home or walking through the park or a lovely dinner for the two of us or traveling to some new exciting place, it doesn’t matter I just want you near me. Forever. I love you so much – Jeff M.

Personal

Happy Weekend Eve: Friday

April 3, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

I don’t like Wednesdays because it feels like my week lasts for eternity. I don’t mind Mondays and my favorite is Friday eve (=Thursday). Usually I am exhausted on Fridays and all I want to do Friday evening is to vegetate but it is fun to think that the weekend is coming soon.

So, here is some good news for you. Your weekend is near 🙂

Personal

Reminder of the Day: You Are Lovely

April 2, 2015April 2, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

We all need to know this.

“You are all lovely”

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

personal view

They Are a Great Start for Problem Solving: Flowers

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

It is true, flowers actually do not solve any one problem you may have. However, flowers remind you that you are being thought of by someone, the beauty of life, that you are loved and to smile. Someone special in your life, whoever that may be, is thinking of you, which lifts you up, not the flowers themselves. It has been hard to accept that I am special to someone because I grew up convincing myself that I was an ugly duckling and no one cared about me.

My friend Ayako Gordon, (also an artisan jam maker) made this gorgeous bouquet. Archie goes to see Ayako every other Sunday at Marigold and Mint where she works as a florist. She knows exactly what I like so he doesn’t have to tell Ayako what kind of bouquet he wants to get for me. Every time Archie brings me those flowers, my heart gets filled so much and it almost explodes.

The bonus to that is that when you give flowers to someone special, your best friend, your spouse, your boss, your direct report, your mother, your brother’s wife…whoever that is, you will experience the same effect as much as when you receive them. You will get to feel the beauty of life, how much you love that person, how much you think of him/her.

Flowers=the first step to world peace (at least your inner peace)

love

Powder (Power) of Love: Packed Lunch

February 26, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

12-hours a day. Once in a while I had to work that long but I havn’t really since moving to the States (in Japan yes, it’s a norm). Recently I have been working 12 hours a day almost every day. I am a very healthy person but I feel drained and bone-tired.

Last night, I went out for dinner with my friend and we had Chinese. It was lovely to see her but all I could think about was going home and lying down on my bed. When I came home, I was so relieved and couldn’t wait to go to bed.

Please look at this photo. A very boring and bland glass container with squared tin foil on it is pictured here. This tin foil contains pure magic. Archie knew what I have been going though and how exhausted I have been. So, he packed my lunch for me (spaghetti with simple tomato sauce that he made) and told me the tin foil square was grated parmesan cheese. Not only did he grate the cheese, thinking I would enjoy my lunch better with cheese, but he couldn’t find a small enough container to put cheese in so he made this “magical” square tin container. When he told me, I nearly cried. Does it sound weird to you or you don’t get why I am so happy about it? It’s totally OK. It is me getting so silly-happy to realize that I have that kind of person in my life and appreciate the human-being. I’ve never seen a better container that holds cheese than this square.

This is a true power of love.

personal view

Right vs. Wrong: Who Decides What Freedom is for people?

February 3, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

My heart has been aching for months with regards to what’s happening in Syria. 3 days ago, I could barely stand what just happened. I nearly lost all hope for humankind. I felt hopeless, fearful, sad and heartbroken.

Then, I am conflicted. I am confident they are doing wrong things but what if they believe they are doing a right thing for freedom?

Freedom does not mean that you are “FREE” from responsibilities. To me, freedom is to let go of things not meant for me (I am still working toward my own freedom) and be kind to others. But who gets to decide THEIR freedom? What if they really believe that they are working toward to their own freedom? Do I get to decide they are completely wrong?

When I saw this photo this morning I thought that freedom also meant not giving up and speaking up. Freedom requires responsibilities. Freedom requires focus and believing in humankind. I have to decide now and today I will not give up until the day freedom for everyone comes. Humankind. We call us humankind because we are able to be kind to each other, right?

I will never give up my right to be kind to others.

Here is what Rosa Parks said.

“I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.”

We all struggle and this is remarkably hard to do but it is also nice to know there are people out there who don’t give up on humankind’s love and freedom.

Tag: love