Patti has, I think, summed up the power of place captured in growing your own food, visiting a farmer's market and other locavore-type efforts. She also used a mighty fine French word: terroir. (What is it with me and the French mots today, you wonder, given my earlier post? Mais, je ne sais pas...) Too often, terroir is primarily used in relation to wine, but it's a divine little word denoting the environmental influences that combine to create a distinctive sense of place and taste.
I'd only add to a bit to Patti's thoughts: I think that "experiencing" one's distinctive terroir may be the closest thing to touching Spirit itself in ordinary life. All the other moments involve great, monumental change--birth, death...big, heavy-duty lifecycle stuff. But what Patti describes is, with a bit of practice, potentially quotidien, or everyday.
And worthy of pursuit, imho, even if it requires a bit more effort and intention than cruising through the supermarket's produce section.
Just sayin'.
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