When our little family traveled early this year to Thailand and Bali for two months, we delighted in majestic temples, gorgeous art, kind-hearted people, and natural beauty. That wasn't all we experienced though. We were heartbroken to see the beaches covered in trash. 

Guess what 90% of it was made of?

Single-use plastic.

Yep, I'm talking plastic straws, plastic water bottles, plastic yogurt cups, plastic bags, plastic this, plastic that, plastic everything.

On one...

I was raised without religion.

Of course, this made me beg my mom to let me go to church with my friends.

She was wise to let me find my own answers.

Very early in my search, I could tell that the God they were talking about in Christian churches wasn't the God I felt a connection to.

I decided religion wasn't for me.

Instead, I started to pull together the threads of spiritual teachings that felt meaningful to me as I wove a fabric of my own.

A big part of that fabric became my vegan...

Every time I start to think about writing about this, my heartbeat races and I get that sick, nervous, weak sensation throughout my body. I’ve begun several times and had to stop. I’m even feeling it again right now.

I’m going to do my best to get some of it out anyway.

Somewhere along the way in my life, I developed claustrophobia. I’m not even sure when it happened. One day, it was just. There. So naturally, there’s no way in the world I’d ever want to go...

A few years ago, Olivia and I created a game of "Spread the Love."

We look for people who may be having a tough day/moment, catch their eye, smile and say, "I love the way your ____ highlights your _____." or something like that. From their response, it seems like it can shift their whole day. 

Here's an example: Recently, I saw an elder woman with the most gorgeous blue eyes that were extra vibrant because of the reflection from the perfectly matched blue jacket she wore. I made...

Two months ago, my brilliant, big-hearted minister, Reverend Kevin Tarsa invited me to perform a dance to this song, "Sanctuary," by Carrie Newcomer, with an umbrella. He told me it would be part of our Unitarian Universalist October theme of Sanctuary. I hesitated. I couldn't exactly imagine how I'd do a dance with an umbrella. Not to mention that even though I teach Nia, my dancing is for me and not a performance art anymore (the last time I did that was decades ago when I was 15)....

Adding a pungent and tangy flavor dimension, these pickled onions are one of my favorite toppings for my DIY Salad Bar. So easy to make and even more amazing with vegan bacon bits!

Quick Pickled Red Onions
By Allison Rivers Samson 

Makes: 2 cups

Ingredients
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced (try my easy DIY Salad Bar technique!)

Directions

1. In a mason jar, combine vinegar, water,...