Do the least to the best

In my childhood home on Tamarind Circle in Orlando- food and music were King.  My dad Louis is a French Chef from Bretagne and my mother Magdalena is a fantastic cook making dishes from her birth country, Ecuador.  I "helped" my French grandmother Marguerite make tarte aux fraises and brioche for her shop, and as a teen I waited on tables at my parents restaurant Le Coq au Vin in Orlando.  Now living in New Hampshire, I create combinations of food that are from our surrounding farms and seasonally appropriate for private clients and my family.

Jazz great Duke Ellington and I have something besides music in common.  Our dads came home from work with filet mignon, lobster, truffles, creme brulee, Mousse au chocolat- the best.

In my parents living room, my various bands jammed.  The PA system came from a wine salesman- our first drummer Frank used giant pickle buckets as a drumset.  My brother Jean-Paul played guitar and I sang lead vocals.  Our tunes were Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Heart, Pat Benatar, Queen, The Police- the best.

This very creative life in food and music has given me a certain sensibility: Do the least to the best.

So with food: when I go to the grocery store, I look, smell and feel.  When I plan my grocery list, what's in the farms that surround my country home?  When I plate food- what is the portion size?

I don't go to one grocery store- I visit different stores and farm shops.

I buy what's freshest and I buy for that day's meal.

With music: I pick a type/genre of music, then I Google who the players are on the tune.  When I listen, I notice the melody (singers tend to do that). Then I listen to the arrangement- how is the melody supported/enhanced with the instrumentation?  What is the production like?

I buy a whole album- I love the idea of a whole trip of sound around an idea.

I don't play music in my yoga classes- we should be listening to ourselves.

Here comes the philosophy:
Our health is directly connected to the practice of pausing and paying attention.  One of the reasons we pause and pay attention is to fine tune our senses.  Existing to our fullest potential from moment to moment has to do with quality of attention.  Going forward let's be one of those kids in school who was told: Stop running around!  Pay Attention!

In this blog post, we're talking about quality of taste and listening: doing the least to the best.  If you choose the best, then the best will ensue.  Pay Attention!  Pause- look, smell, feel, listen.  Wake up to where you are.  Mindfully connect to a perfect vibration of balanced and luminouse health.