More on Alyssa:
Having just recently (early 2011) delved into mindful eating, I find myself pulling towards a vegan lifestyle. While I do, from time to time, enjoy sushi or a slice of cheesecake while out on the town, I primarly cook vegan foods in my kitchen - and I have noticed a huge difference in my energy levels, my mood, my focus, and overall health.
Besides cooking, I love to travel and explore. I believe there is no greater way to spend life than taking in as much of the world as you can during this short time you are given. Doing things for the experience and making memories is how you shape your life, your love, and sets a path for the future. In short, "we can't live if we're too afraid to die".
My other hobbies/interests inclue: fitness, wines/beer/spirits, music festivals, poetry and short story composition, camping/wilderness survival, bellydancing, gemstones, civil liberties, watching the Buffalo Sabres, watching the Buffalo Bills, and marveling in the natural world.
More on Jon:
Hello, my name is Jon and I'll be co-blogging from time-to-time here on Down To Earth. I'm a 27 year old with a passion for the outdoors, playing hockey, and exploring life to unlock the essence of what it means to be alive in this amazing world of ours.
To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, I think it's important to march to the tune of your own drummer, no matter the consequences, and I view life as an opportunity--to progress as a human while stoking the eternal fire that burns in all of us. I look around and I see too many people connected to a false reality led by gadgets and artificial intelligence. To me, life is more about getting down to the basics and focusing on balance in all ways.
I'm lucky enough to share my journey with an incredible woman who happens to also cook incredible food. I'm a spoiled man. In terms of this blog, I'll be looking for ways to mix in some overlapping themes while taking some detours and backroads. I like to debate, but being an eternal skeptic, I am always open to hearing every other point of view. One of my favorite concepts is what I've one heard called "revelation through conversation"--the idea that through a discussion where each participant brings an open mind and unfiltered ideas, we can arrive at levels of understanding that cannot be reached through angry arguments and phony allegiances. We are all travelers in this realm--both physically and mentally, and I enjoy both modes of travel.
