Last week I made a pot of lentils, tossed them over my kale salad and drizzled them with tahini dressing. It was brilliant. It occurred to me that all this time I’ve been sleeping on lentils. Growing up the only time I ate lentils was when my grandmother or mom made lentil soup. I enjoyed it, but not so much that it became a staple in my own kitchen. It made me wonder, what else am I missing out on?

I had a conversation with a friend recently and suggested she reach out to her friends in the medical field. She said she didn’t have any. Really? You don’t know any doctors or nurses? Nope. It occurred to me I’ve been sleeping on my network and my privilege.

Then I was thinking about how many people are in this world. According to this very cool world population clock, it’s about 7.9 billion. Then I thought about how many people I know and from how many different countries. I think I know about a thousand or so people. Just about everyone I know lives in the U.S. except for a few Canadians. Am I sleeping on the world? I know lots of immigrants, but I don’t know much at all about people who live in other countries full-time.

One of the many beautiful things about life is there is always more to learn. There is always room to grow. I thought it would be fun to try a challenge for my birthday month this September. I hope you’ll join me. Try one or all three!

1. Eat a new food once a week. That’s only four foods for the month. You can do this! It can be a new recipe or eating an old food in a different way (like my lentils.) Or if you’re not vegan yet, maybe try doing a new Meatless Monday main dish for each week of the month. If you’re feeling ambitious, make it a plant-based September! Glue & Glitter and ChefBeee.com are two of my favorite places to find new recipes.
2. Connect with a new resources group. Just one. Whether it’s free events with Rooted Dish or a small fee to join the Therapy for Black Girls community, try connecting with folks that can offer some new insights. Of course, my favorite Meetup group is my own, Black Vegan Life™. A couple of my Facebook favorites are Bossfluence and Black Girl Minimalist.
3. Plan an international adventure. You don’t have to get on a plane for an international experience. There are culture and language groups on Meetup and Facebook. You can study language on any of the popular apps like Duolingo or Babbel or just settle in for a great foreign film. Netflix has a ton you can choose from. If you like a good thriller vibe, a few of my favorites are The Platform (Spain, 2019), Train to Busan (South Korea, 2016) and Blood Red Sky (Germany, 2021).

I hope I gave you a few ideas to add a little snap to your September. The Delta variant is on the rise and COVID may be making you a bit less eager to hit the streets but look at the fun you can have without even leaving the house. Don’t sleep on all the fascinating goodies this world has to offer.

I wish you passion, purpose and the realization of your fullest potential!