Ecoterra Staff Appreciation Night

Two environments for the same cause

A trip to Santa Monica highlighted this past week’s events. It was Ecoterra Staff appreciation night and Sung & Myra treated all to an evening of fine Italian pasta for dinner and Raw, vegan milkshakes for desert to show their thanks. Sung connected the present situation with the staff at the Ecoterra and a parable (Matthew 20: 1~16 in the Gospel) in the bible which is summarized and discussed in the following italicized text:

The story was essentially a metaphor discussing the idea of “the kingdom of heaven”. This idea is a concept very similar to the the Taoist principle of the way, the Buddhist ideal of nirvana and countless other traditions trying to capture the divine of emotion of pure love and bliss in modern rhetoric. The parable is conveyed through the master/ worker relationship and dynamic.

The master needed work and he found some workers at the beginning of the day and promised to pay them 10 dollars for their days work. The workers agreed and the day continued. At about noon, the master realized he needed more work and found another group of workers whom he promised 10 dollars for the day; and the workers agreed. The day continued and at about 5 pm, the master ran into another group in search of work and invited them to work for the rest of the day for 10 dollars. The workers agreed and at 6:30, the 3 sets of workers, those who came at 9am, those at noon and those at 5 pm gathered to collect their pay. Those workers who had been working since 9 am started to bicker because those who came later were receiving the same wage and an uproar occurred. Calm and collected the master replied simply stating, “ Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for $10? I choose to give to the last worker as I give to you…Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

This situation was similar to the present moment at the table as the staff experience ranges from 2 year veterans to 2 week interns. The master symbolized two ideals, depending on how deep or broad you engage in the story. Sung related the kingdom of heaven to the holistic living center where the opportunity to live and work is always available. In addition, the master is reminiscent of the even greater community we are linked up to which helps counsel and fuel our individual journey both spiritually and physically. The life giving breath and present moment is all loving and it will be there no matter how soon or later an individual finds it. In direct relation to Ecoterra, the store is gradually shifting towards more of a co-op model in which it will be entirely run democratically by the surrounding community. It seems that a fine balance of, trusting in the universal laws and spirit which governs all organic matter and accepting certain societal roles where we feel most at ease, will result in an individual achieving a state of mind evermore closer to that of the kingdom of heaven, the way, nirvana or simply stated happiness.

A key part of the internship program is working at Ecoterra Health Market and this semi-urban setting provides a fine and meaningful contrast, a yin and yang type complimentary environment to the serene Myra House about 3 miles away up the mountain. The Myra House and Ecoterra mission are basically synonymous as they both trace back to the same root, the synergy of Myra & Sung, and both implore these ideas of love and selflessness. In addition both provide a healing environment for all people with the Myra House keying on the reviving of our spiritual selves and the Ecoterra Health Market and Pharmacy focusing on our physical selves with food, juices, herbs and supplements. Synergy is seen through these 2 organizations as when they merge they produce people that are greater than the sum of their parts while simultaneously providing two environments to uphold the proper relationship between freedom and structure which is necessary for optimal progression.