Today was another great day of exploring! However, today, we had a local driver take us to a local market. We got to experience and taste real Suzhou history and food! It was amazing!
Even though at first I was hesitant to try the different food, I still did.
When Darren and I started transitioning our family to natural living, our diet became really simple. People think it is hard to eat healthy, or complicated, but it really isn’t. People think it’s maybe hard to implement natural solutions, but it isn’t. Seeing the culture and history today, showed me again, that our ancestors had it right, no matter the nationality. Our ancestors had it right, they ate lots of plants, seeds, veggies, fruit, drank lots of water, and had meat for special occasions (not everyday, three times a day), it was very simple. So I have found, that over the years, that yes, our diet became bland, and we would eat generally the same things. So I told myself that my time in China and India, I would be open to trying new foods, and that today I did!! My day started out with Maggie wanting me to try a fungus, for breakfast, yes for breakfast! The assortment of all different types of veggies, fruits, mushrooms, was amazing to me! So I tried the fungus, and it actually wasn’t that bad.
So as I ate the fungus today, I once again learned, why “Gifts of the Earth” are the best healers for our body, and why making time to share a meal is so important. Since my last visit to Indonesia, and living in the culture we live in Canada, our habits for our family have digressed a little. After today, I realized our habits have not just digressed, they have gotten awful. It is so true, we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. When we live in a culture that fast food, the act of being busy, and florescent colored water is good for us…..no wonder why our society and medical systems are failing! It reminded me that even if my family and I are the odd man out because of how we eat, the choices we make or the use essential oils as our medicine…I am okay with that. I need to continue to be that odd lady in the neighborhood that has an oil for every ailment, or makes her kids drink green juices. I, and everyone in the world that agrees with me, no matter where you live, need to continue to “Be the Change” this world so desperately needs. So if you think you are the odd man out in your own community, today reminded me that there is an entire world out there, and our community doesn’t need to just be the person next door, our community is and can be anywhere in the world.
Today as we strolled down the markets, I saw so many types of veggies, fruit, various meats, teas, desserts, it was so beautiful how the markets was a meeting place for friends and family. I was reminded that the food we eat, is about the nutrition of the food, what it does for our body, how it heals us and it is also a time for friends and family to share a laugh or a story or two to reconnect. 
As we returned from the markets, and I was processing the amazing experiences today, two beautiful ladies that are a part of our doTERRA community, that I had never met before (Lynn and Jennifer), had crossed our path. We stopped and chatted and even though there was a language barrier, through the “Gift of the Earth” we knew we had a common passion, drive and mission to continue to share our passion for natural solutions. But more importantly, it was a reminder to me that my #tribe, community, influencers can be 
from anyone, anywhere in the world!
I will continue to be the odd lady in the neighborhood with oils for everything, drink my green juices, try new foods, experiment with natural solutions, passion for a life that is unimaginable, a career that is uncommon, because as I know, a few years from now, what seems so odd to so many today, will truly become the normal!