Conveniently Natural

"Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.  How do you know this is the experience you need?  Because this is the experience you are having."

~ Eckhart Tolle

We dedicate our menu this Monday to Brian who will be turning 37 years old (yikes).  And, yes, that may be why we are offering two desserts in next week's delivery (both of which are chocolate).  When we met, he enjoyed the typical Army Captain's diet of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (by the pint), cheap beer (probably also by the pint), and Totino's pizza (if you can call it pizza).  A seemingly odd fit to own a health food business, he displayed tendencies from a young age to serve in this capacity.

It probably started back on a fall day in Springfield, MO where Brian and his cousin, both 7 at the time,  were climbing tall trees on the property of their grandparents house.  As Marissa recounts, the thrill of climbing kept them going higher and higher until they reached the top and looked down.  Scared (of both falling and getting in trouble by Grandma), she asked Brian, "How are we going to get down?" He simply said, "Just follow me and only step onto the branches that I step on first."  Eventually they both made it down safely.

Some time later, Brian's grandmother started offering him money for birthdays and holidays in lieu of a gift and would take him shopping to spend that $50 wherever he wanted.  Every occasion and every year, Brian wanted to go to one place only.  The bookstore.  Fifty dollars is a lot for a kid to spend, but particularly when it is only spent on books (which back in the 80's used to be about $5).  Sparked by curiosity about how the world worked and gifted with the kind of focus that not even an earthquake could shake, Brian always finished his books before the holiday break was over.

The instinctive willingness and courage to lead a loved one down a tall shaky tree made it all that much easier to leave a steady corporate paycheck in a time of "economic recession" and uncertainty to start a small business not necessarily knowing where each step would lead but confident in getting to the final destination.  Brian's huge appetite for knowledge combined with the kind of curiosity that kills cats has resulted in the quest for self mastery from some of our most important thought leaders, how to best care for the world, our country, our community, our CN team, and our family, and the detail of our menus and ingredients down to the quality of our olive oil.

Brian's 'highlight reel' includes many great moments:  graduating from one of the most competitive colleges, serving this great nation, working at the Fortune 1 company, marrying WAY up, and having two healthy and beautiful girls.  All of these moments served to prepare Brian to be working on your behalf in your health journey, but there's no replacement for being 50 feet up in a tree or amongst a sea of interesting minds and ideas that lay in books just waiting to be read.

Now the only question is, what book can I get him this year?