One Step at a Time

A strategy for making difficult changes, and a next step in your journey to peace

The idea of achieving deep inner peace sounds straightforward, but it’s not. While its meaning seems clear, achieving it is often elusive because it requires us to make many changes that are not always obvious or easy.

Making difficult changes like this can seem overwhelming when we consider the totality of that change, which is why sometimes change is easiest when we see it in a more myopic way. Kim and I have learned this well from all the challenges we’ve confronted. I’ll share a story of one such challenging chapter of our journey—a kind of lemons-to-lemonade story.

During the pandemic, we had worked hard on a new strategy that hinged on the release of a second film, From Food to Freedom. I have shared previously that this film was censored by social media platforms, and when this happened, our plans crumbled, leaving us in a difficult place. We decided to hurriedly sell our house and move to a location in western NC where we could offer live-in immersions. We found a buyer and then started the move process. The moving truck arrived, and on the day of our move, we got a phone call from the public safety office at our new location. A very large tree, on a sunny day with no wind, had cracked and fallen into the roof of our newly purchased house. The damage was so bad we weren’t sure we could even get our belongings into the house.

At this point, the task of moving, removing the tree and repairing the damage, undertaking other necessary renovations (the house was older and in some disrepair), and then building a new live-in immersion business felt overwhelming. The only way we got through this was by reducing our long task list to only the next item or two on that list. Taking one step at a time, never dwelling on all the steps before us, we eventually overcame a challenge that had felt insurmountable. And along the way, we found time for laughter, walks with our dog around a beautiful lake near us (Lake Junaluska), Sunday afternoon drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway, local outings to our favorite pub/restaurant alongside a mountain river, and many other positive experiences. We look back on this time and remember mostly those moments and only recall the darker times with a sense of accomplishment.

This experience reinforced for us that difficult change is easiest when we focus on next steps, especially on ones that lead to easy wins that create satisfaction and joy, building momentum for yet more change. Eating healthy food is one such step on the path to peace, and many of you have taken this step, but if you’ve stalled there, I suggest you consider the next step of incorporating exercise into your life.

Exercise can come in many forms. In the Blue Zones project, researchers discovered that people in those communities moved throughout the course of the day. They lived in more traditional communities, not reliant on cars for mobility. Rather than vegetating in front of a glowing screen, people spent time engaging in their local world, walking to visit family and friends, walking to local stores, working in gardens, running errands, and engaging in other activities throughout the day requiring movement.

This is not the way most of us live today, but there are still ways we can incorporate movement into our lives. Just starting with a daily walk is an easy way to start. There are also organized classes, local gyms, and many other ways to increase our physical activity. If you are not a person who has made this change in your life, I encourage you to reflect on this opportunity and then develop a simple plan. The physical and mental/emotional benefits of healthy eating combined with exercise are profound and will build momentum for more changes in your life that lead to greater inner peace.

I look forward to continuing this discussion in my next letter.

In peace,

Nelson

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Vegan Chocolate Mousse, by Kim Campbell

I’m a bit of a chocolate hound and love playing around with delicious ways to turn chocolate into a treat. What I find most interesting is that chocolate actually started as a drink, not a dessert. Thousands of years ago, the Maya and Aztecs enjoyed cacao as a thick, frothy beverage, often mixed with spices.

Cacao was believed to lift mood, restore energy, and support the heart. It was used for rituals, healing, and celebration, which means the idea of chocolate as emotional support food has some very deep roots.

There was no sugar or dairy involved back then. That came later, when cacao reached Europe and sugar and milk were added, turning it into a luxury treat. Before long, the candy bar was born. Somewhere along the way, chocolate became overly processed, sugary, and heavy.

And while lemons can teach us how to turn something hard into something useful, chocolate reminds us that sometimes we just need a little lift. So let’s head back to chocolate’s roots and enjoy it the way it was meant to be—simple, plant-based, and deeply satisfying.

Here is a link to your recipe for vegan chocolate mousse: https://plantpurecommunities.org/desserts/silky-vegan-chocolate-mousse/

Peaceful plates,

Kim