I came upon some images of heart-shaped cookies and a cookie-cutter image of a person with outstretched arms.

It reminds me that even though each of us is unique – with our own decisions and life journey – that we value the same good and basic ingredients: love, peace, freedom, harmony, joy, music and community.

And if you look past the fancy icing, sprinkles and the box we're in right now we are all humble, shortbread cookies.

While some people are in a happy place right now, many more are not. When you look at the cookie with the outstretched arms he is joyful, yet there are others around him, reaching out.

It is my hope that each of us finds new ways to bring joy and relief to people around us – so that, like heart-shaped cookies, we rise higher to fulfill good roles in the bakery of life and love.

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Thanksgiving weekend is one of my oldest and favorite memories. Occurring in the fall, its usual reason is the celebration of the harvest.

Thanksgiving arrives amidst fresh apples, orange leaves and and even more brightly orange pumpkins. The corn fields, tall from a busy summer of growing, are now laden and dense, ready for their harvest haircut. The fall is definitely a time of plenty.

So if you said that Thanksgiving is about turkey and pie you wouldn't find many people to argue with you, but you would definitely find people.

After a summer of going off on vacation, Thanksgiving is the time that brings us back together. No matter where we've gone, what we've done and what we've seen, Thanksgiving is a time to gather, and share.

Cousins, friends, parents, coworkers and siblings — people come to mind and come together for Thanksgiving.

We plan our get-togethers, and bring some food. Old friends, new friends — we invite and we gather.  We hug, we cook, we laugh and play — we're celebrating life together.

When the harvest comes there is lots to be thankful for — but not much more than what we can celebrate every day.

Share smiles, call people, get together and have a meal. The things we want are really the times we share. Be thankful for the people.

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But just as our caveman ancestors were able to adapt to changes in weather and new food possibilities, we too have options and opportunities to mesh our evolving lifestyle with a positive food legacy.

As noted by Darya Pino, food editor for Summer Tomato, “The evolutionary argument that humans are somehow mal-adapted to agriculture-based diets is particularly unconvincing”.

I suggest the “Paleo-Plus” food lifestyle, consistent with the Paleo diet’s philosophy and core foods, but with its hunting ground expanded to include small portions of other local natural foods.

My own awareness of the need to go Paleo-Plus came the first time I made myself a coffee. I am very much a triple-milk person when it comes to coffee, and the thought of going to black coffee just tasted wrong.

It can be hard getting away from cheese in North America and Europe, and ignoring the wide variety of healthy, low-fat yogurts just seems wrong. Similarly, sprinkling a few bran flakes on fruit is a great way to get the texture of cereal in a very small serving.

The key, as always, is moderation and being able to sustain a positive and practical food lifestyle.

I think even a caveman would agree.

Here's a tasty example of Paleo-Plus from my local Williams Coffee Pub: meat, veggies, nuts, fruit and yes, a bit of feta cheese.

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I started going Paleo a month ago, on the advice of my fitness trainer. He loaned me a good book, called “The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat“. The key words in that title are “Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat“. It’s a phrase the sugar/salt/fat merchants will never be able to claim.

It’s a refreshing change that has me feeling good, and appreciating good food.

Over the past month I’ve had a lot of successes:

• I’ve learned there are lots of tasty and satisfying ways to serve meat and veggies.
• I’ve discovered it is easier than I thought to leave the blandness of potatoes, bread and rice behind.
• I’ve found that not only salad bars but sandwich shops are fun places. Ask for a bowl instead of bread!
• I’ve rediscovered how delicious fruit is, all by itself.

And without even trying I’ve lost 6 of the many extra pounds I’ve been carrying around.

Yes, I am happy to be going Paleo !

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	Make a big deal of everything. Sure, we all have things we really care about, but what do we gain by insisting it’s our way or it’s no way? Stress. It’s amazing how the tension evaporates from our shoulders when someone says, “I’m fine with that”, or “That could work.”
	Have the wrong pet, or be the wrong owner. If you think your pet always looks like this, or perhaps that your pet would like to kill you, then it’s time to think outside the litter box. Your style might not work with this pet, and changing how you spend time with your pet might make you both happier. Or maybe someone else might love the little scoundrel more.
	Make your mother look like this. Everyone wants to be treated with respect, or at least with courtesy. Know when you’re having a bad day and don’t take it out on those closest to you. They love you, but hey, you have a lot of say over what words come out of your mouth.
	Eat a lot of junk food. Eating a lot of fatty snacks is a wonderful luxury, and a growing source of grief and grumpiness. When we put on pounds we lose the spring in our step, and like it or not, feeling heavy is a drag. When did we forget how fantastic fruit is? Be an emperor and eat some grapes!
	Insist on doing life on your own. We all need some time to ourselves — even extroverts (such as when they vote). Everyone needs to have friends, to share good times and get through bad times. When we think that two heads aren’t better than one then we’re also saying two hearts aren’t better than one. People need community, and it’s often just a smile away.
	Don’t get enough sleep. This is an excellent way to make not only yourself but lots of people around you grumpy. And unlike eating too many fatty snacks you can generate gallons of grumpiness very quickly. There are some types of fun that require staying up really late and listening to either drunken people yelling or long-dead actors on TV. But surprisingly, most things in life can happen within our usual sleeping cycle.  Cut out a bit early and wake up feeling refreshed.
	Drink more than you know you should. What are we, still 15 years old? Bio-chem students might seem a bit nerdy but they do know an essential secret: that alcohol at high levels is toxic, messy, and a great source of vitamin G (yes, G is for Grumpiness). Don’t be like this pumpkin — all orange and dumping their insides. You’ll still have fun.
	Try to do too much. This isn’t just about work, but about all areas of our lives. When did overdoing everything become a national contest? There will always be more things to do than we have time for and the skills for. Working together on projects is a great way to make headway and to share the joy of progress. We need to be able to say “no”, ask for help, and find a new balance of quality and quantity. If your life is a parody of a soccer Mom then it’s time for a time out.
	Treat small mistakes like the end of the world. Things go wrong — every day — but rarely will they bring down the sky. We have a vested interest in the current moment of our life and when it goes wrong it can surprise us. People can get frustrated and defensive. They can even go beyond grumpy to all-out anger. Be kind and forgiving to yourself and those around you. Instead of making a big deal, try a shrug and say “Oops” when things go wrong. You’ll find most mistakes are quickly forgotten.
	Take all the credit. We all contribute, but in different ways. Each day is part of a long term project called life, and the task that just got done is threaded through the lives of people who helped along the way — whether you know or appreciate them or not. Celebrate victories with gusto, and small successes too — prevent grumpiness by acknowledging shared efforts. We aren’t living in cold caves like smelly cavemen. Enjoy sharing the spotlight, and be thankful for living in community.

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The finishing moment of many pleasant restaurant meals is having a fortune cookie. Dropped off with the cheque, fortune cookies are a final treat, and usually a source of optimistic wisdom. So it surprised me when I opened my fortune cookie to find this message: “You may be hungry soon: order a takeout now.”

At first I thought that the cookie writer was expanding upon an old joke about Chinese food burning off quickly, but then I read it again.

Yes, I would be hungry soon — not “may be hungry soon”. I would want something to eat, and I would get something to eat. It might not be takeout food from this restaurant that I would eat, but I would definitely be eating again, and soon.

The marketing machine of North America knows full well [even though they are always hungry] that eating is a major source of profit in the world.

With the triple power-house of sugar, fat and salt, the food industries tempt our tongues with textures and our eyes with scenes of happy, shared moments — much to the detriment of our stomachs and our health. In an entertainment-focused society it is not surprising that the marketing machine would be churning out food as a source of pleasure and spending.

Most people can’t even say they actually experience hunger, because hunger has an element of duration. We are never hungry for long here in the land of enormous meals and endless snack food.

Like most people, I love eating, and I love sharing meals with family and friends. But what I don’t like is the continuous eating pressure beamed at us via TV, radio, print ads and now fortune cookies.

We all know that food is essential for our health, and good food in good quantities can help us be healthy.

I think the writer of this fortune cookie inadvertently crossed a line and opened a Pandora’s box of awareness for me. He helped me see just how relentless and widespread eating pressure is in our society.

It has made me aware, and I will be watching food ads now with more care and attention.

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Having dinner with friends at a nice restaurant is a wonderful event. You are with people you love, being served excellent food that arrives without any effort by you in the kitchen. The air is filled with laughter and storytelling, and time rolls backward as you reconnect with friends with youthful exuberance.

I joined five friends recently for just such a marvelous evening that had all of these great things and more.

Arriving at the restaurant we found the place  buzzing and busy, with hostesses taking names of eager diners and every table taken. But two of our group had arrived early and threaded us, skillfully as scouts, to a temporary table in the bar area. The evening was on, and so were we — funny stories, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and cheerful but persistent offers from some fellows standing nearby to pay us if we gave them our table. It was a super supper time. After waiting a while for our dining room table we gave into their persistence, and our timing was perfect — it was just as a hostess came to guide us to the dining room.

Before leaving the bar area we heard a train and saw someone outside in the dark. The restaurant had once been a railroad station and the trains still trundle by, tinkling the wine glasses and surprising the diners. We didn’t know why this man was out there but as the train slowed down it seemed likely that he might be catching a free ride, from the outside of our fancy restaurant to the outside of somewhere else.

I took a photo of that moment, when my heart wobbled from joyful camaraderie to wanting more — not for me but for this man, and everyone who’s not yet coming to dinner.

It is good to have times of feasting and celebration, and important to work with compassion and determination toward a future when more of us will have enough.

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There is no place like home, and no smell as inviting and soothing as a home-cooked meal. My great fortune is having a Mom who shows love through her cooking, and she loves us a lot!

This past weekend my wonderfully extended family made the drive to visit my Mom and Dad — an experience that I always look forward to. Sure, there might be a question or two I’d rather not think about, or a medical status that I wish were different, but smoothing it all into a loving and joyful haze is the smell of my Mom’s cooking.

There might be a lot wrong with both me and the world, but when I am immersed in the smell of my Mom’s meatloaf, gravy and pear cake I find my cares evaporating like steam off the potatoes.

A few years ago my Mom and I sat down and wrote out some of her recipes. Over the next month I tested them out, and convinced myself that I could indeed make her cherry crumb cake.

But what I cannot duplicate is the spirit of my parents’ home — its unique blend of humor, hospitality and comfort. And because of that I treasure each time I get to experience it.

This past week I worked side by side in my own kitchen with my daughter, going over my own standard recipes so that she can make them when she is on her own. We made spaghetti with meat sauce, which millions of people make every day. But in our family there is a special ingredient — though not a secret ingredient.  It is my Mom’s homemade pear jam — a taste of the spirit of home.

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There is one thing that can bring people of all ages and cultures to a shared smile: cookies.

Our local deli-restaurant is a gathering place on Sundays, where family and friends get together. Everyone gets to order their own meal from the various counters so we tend to grab our trays and spread out when we first arrive.

On our recent visit I spied a glowing display case of beautiful cookies, and I pointed it out to my young-adult children. They both dutifully looked over at what Dad was pointing to, and then they stopped talking.

Transfixed by the colors and shapes, we all walked over to the cookie display and basked in the yellow glow of pretty, cheerful-looking cookies. All of us had changed from adults to wide-eyed children, sharing the joy of cookies, and the anticipation of having one. It was a beautiful shared moment.

Everyone had a favourite, with my son picking the yellow butterfly, and my daughter liking both the pink flower and the watermelon. I bought one of each of those.

We separated again to pick our own meals, but when we sat down together to eat I brought out the cookies. Again there were smiles and exclaiming, and a great feeling of shared joy.

Whether it is cookies or fruit or smiles, please look for ways to connect with the simple joys we can all share.

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When I was six years old my class participated in a track and field day at a neighboring school. It was a bus trip away and the spring day was hot and sunny [a rare weather condition in that Northern area]. Being frugal, my Mom had packed me a lunch, which I devoured between running events [I was a fast sprinter in those days, with two good ankles working smoothly beneath my shins].

As I walked around the school yard I saw two girls from my class eating Popsicles. “Where did you get those?” I asked eagerly. “Over there,” one of them pointed with her yellow, banana Popsicle. I hurried over and stood in line. But when I arrived at the cooler the man said the Popsicle was 5 cents, which I didn’t have. I had to walk away without a treat.

5 cents! It was not a lot even in those days, but it was more than I had with me. As I stood in the sun far away from home [for a six year old] I decided that I would never again leave home without money. I would never be the one who couldn’t buy a Popsicle.

3 million Popsicles are sold every year. They were invented in 1905 by 11 year old Frank Epperson, who waited 18 years before releasing it as a product to other kids. Wikipedia		Every Popsicle is two treats in one. My favorite is still orange, which still almost rhymes with porridge.

From that day on I have had a progression of coins in my maturing pocket. As a boy it was a nickel (for candy). As I learned the fun of comic books I had to carry more: 15 cents (for reading). For many years [before cell phones] I carried a quarter for the pay phone (for safety). Today, despite being armed with my wallet, twenty dollar bills and credit cards I still carry a one or two dollar coin [Canada's loonie and toonie] (for coffee, parking, or any of the preceding).

When I buy Popsicles now I am usually buying a box of 24 chocolate ones for my wife. Because there is the second lesson I learned from that schoolyard: that sharing is a joy. And sharing food with others is a particularly wonderful joy.

My Mom, who packed my bag lunch for that track meet long ago, has created meals and a caring environment for our family and friends all of our lives. She understands how hospitality and sharing are a vital part of human community and joy.

Had those two girls with their Popsicles known what my Mom knew, or if the man presiding over the cooler full of Popsicles had thought about more than money, then all sorts of ways could have been found to share in the cool and delicious fun that day.

As anyone who’s had a Popsicle will tell you, they are made to be split in two. Like all great food they are made for sharing.

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