Benefits of Process

Kombucha has provided me with many benefits: improved digestion, increased metabolism, stronger immunity, lots of new friendships. One of the most important things that I have learned from Kombucha is the value of process.

I have been brewing Kombucha for 3+ years now and it has just recently dawned on me how important this brewing cycle is to my life. In this capitalist, instant gratification, just take a pill and feel better, happy ending, cinderella story society, it is easy to become disillusioned when life doesn’t play out the way we are taught it will in our American Dream Mythology.

I thought for certain that I would come to Hollywood and be discovered. Well, that also shows how naive and simplistic my views were. Well it certainly didn’t happen the way I imagined, I’m enjoying the pursuit of acting, along with many other interests.

Maybe it’s living in Los Angeles or maybe it’s people of my generation, but it seems as if many of my peers are engaging in a protracted adolescence. Taking more time than our parent’s generation did to discover who we are and what we want out of life and also to heal before inflicting our personal miseries on our future children.

And with that extended period of gestation comes the fear and anxiety that I will die before I even accomplish one little project or one meaningful thing or make a baby. So pop another pill and push the fear away.

For me it hasn’t been pills, it’s been food and TV and sex and drugs. It’s been fun at times, but it all just makes the lonely hole grow bigger, not smaller. So how to cultivate real meaning in my life?

Kombucha has provided me with a steady lesson. Certainly there are times when I resent the Kombucha “Oh, I don’t want to make it.” “I’m too lazy.” “I’ll do it later.” but that’s a normal part of the cycle. For once I begin my practice; the ritual of chopping ginger, slicing fruit, selecting bottles, measuring sugar, water and tea, testing the new batch, pouring it in with the funnel and all those little steps; my mind calms and I know that I am taking a proactive step for my health – mental, physical and emotional. And it feels good to invest in me. To know that I am worthy of the love I give myself by making Kombucha for myself. Enjoy the gift of love that I share with others.

The secrets of life, the mysterious lessons, the answers to all our questions are right before us. They seem trite, until we are ready to hear the wisdom they embody.

In this case it is – Reap what you sow. It takes time for the plants to come to fruition, but with love and patience, they grow. The same is true of life. Put your energy, your love, your attention on what makes you feel good and while the benefits might not be immediately tangible, trust that they are growing and when they blossom will be more beautiful than you had imagined.