Friday, April 24, 2009

Seed on Los Angeles Times

Hi, everyone!

Today, I would like to share with you about our Seed’s article on Newspaper. On April 22, Seed and other macrobiotic cafĂ© in L.A. were introduced in FOOD section on L.A. Times.

The main title is “Macro menus,” and you can read the sentence, “-L.A.’s macrobiotic restaurants are going mainstream.” in the subtitle. How nice it is!

In the very beginning, the article is talking about us. As Jessica Porter, author of the book “The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics,” points out in that article, “Now is a time to eat light.”

Moreover, our mango tango bowl is the top of the page. It looks so yummy.

In the middle and end of the article, you can read Eric and Sanae’s words and story with their picture.

The very last words are “It (their dream of opening a macrobiotic bistro) will come.”

So, Seed is just a beginning for Eric and Sanae.

Their miracle, happy life still continues…


Nobu

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Shifting of Mind in My Life

Hi, everyone! Today, I would like to talk about my mind development in L.A.

Though more than 15 years has passed since I came here from Japan, I have experienced mind-shift a several times. Roughly speaking, it is composed of three stages- national, international, and global.

Firstly, learning foreign cultures leads to realizing our own cultures. When I came here for the first time, I enjoyed facing totally new circumstances and talking to those who had different cultural backgrounds. However, at the same time I became aware that I have learned Japanese mind since I was born in Japan. I was totally Japanese in the land where so many different races lived together.

Secondly, accepting various values in different cultures creates a sense of solidarity within us. I have learned there are a diversity of opinions and thoughts through a L.A. life. It is very important to realize the variety of cultures and accept mutual lifestyles in our societies. Then, we are ready to create a new type of culture, cooperating together. At this stage, I was becoming more internationally-minded in this world.

Thirdly, considering the relationship between human beings and nature makes our societies sustainable. I have become interested in both living and natural environments since I took part in LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) forum in 2006. Today, I live a daily life with a sense of social and natural contribution in order to create a new cultural standard- sustainability. I am a citizen of this earth.

Now, I am taking action at the local level. As we always need to take small action, as a first step, for our mega-projects, so earth citizens have to take local action toward our sustainable future with global consciousness.

For example, Sanae and I started Seed Community Clean-Up about 4 months ago to contribute to our neighborhoods and create a sense of community in Venice area. We clean up a parking lot, bus stops, and side streets around Seed. In the end, we would like to extend cleaning areas to Venice beach.

Anyhow, my mind-shift is still going on. There seems to be no ending point for this growth within me. What is next? I am looking forward to facing it.

Live with nature!

Nobu