May 29, 2018

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In 2013 George Saunders addressed the graduating class of Syracuse. The focus of his speech? Kindness. Or rather failures of kindness.
His advice has been profoundly influential in the way I live my life. Particularly this:

"Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf — seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life."

You can read the whole speech here.

And below is an animation based on his speech.

It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.

WHIPPIN'
The easiest way to change your favorite foods is by using different spices. One spice blend that I adore is ras el hanout. The Moroccan staple is comprised of cumin, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, allspice, cloves, salt & black pepper. These days you can grab the blend pre-made at the grocery store. But, if you're feeling adventurous, here's the recipe to make it from scratch.

Now that you've made the blend, you may be wondering what to do with it? Check out these five dishes highlighting the beauty and depth of ras el hanout.

ART I LIKE

Liana Finck is a cartoonist and I really love her work. It's simple, honest and relatable.

You can peep more of her art on Instagram or in The New Yorker.

A SONG I LIKE

LOL

#FACTS

One third of food produced in the United States is pollinated by bees. And I'm sure you've heard, the magical insect is disappearing at an alarming rate. Consider planting a bee garden this summer. Here's some tips on how to get started.

Get to growing!

ANOTHER SONG I LIKE

FROM A FRIEND

Nothin' like a friend who puts you on good music. My friend Delano is really good at that. And, lucky for us, he puts together Chasin' Clouds, a weekly playlist on Spotify. Enjoy, mi amors!

ONE LAST THING

I am my best self when I make time to meditate. Meditation increases my awareness, joy and peace of mind. I'd like to be more consistent in my practice and one thing that's helped me with consistency is participating in Deepak Chopra and Oprah's 21-Day Guided Meditation. Check it out. (It's free!)

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Jennifer UniverseMay 29, 2018