Day 323: Braiden Rex-Johnson

August 19, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“Be aware.  I think that that’s really important.  Live in the moment.  Don’t be thinking about the past or the future too much.  Live in that moment and savor it, and then you can communicate your joy to others.”

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Photo Credit:  Mike Jenson – Coastal Living

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Toni Reece: Thank you so very much, Braiden, for agreeing to be part of the Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Braiden Rex-Johnson: I would love to, and I’m honored to be part of the Project, Toni.  My name is Braiden Rex-Johnson.  I’m a cookbook author, author of seven books, and a food and wine columnist in Seattle, Washington, and I recently launched an exciting new website called www.fivemoreminuteswith.com.  And it poses the question “What would you say to a departed loved one or a significant person or pet no longer in your life if you had five more minutes to spend with them?”

Toni: I love that.  I will say to those who are listening to the Get Inspired! Project, I did check that website out, and it is amazing.  So Braiden, when you think of the word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does it happen?

Braiden: Oh, thank you so much for asking that.  Well, I hope that I inspire the people who read my columns and my articles and my cookbooks and read my recipes.  So that’s my food life.  And then I also hope that I inspire people on my new website to share their stories and to build a community of like-minded people.  You know, people just don’t know how to grieve in today’s world, and so by putting their stories out there and sharing them, kind of commiserating, I think that we can all help each other.

Toni: Braiden, let’s take it with the food for a moment.  Tell me the type of cookbooks that you write about, and the column that you write, because I’d like to know what type of inspiration happens between you and the reader.

Braiden: Okay, that sounds great.  Well, I happen to live in the most wonderful city in the world, Seattle, Washington, and we live what we like to say a “tomato toss” or a “salmon toss” from the Pike Place Market.  So I’ve written several books on the Pike Place Market, and then one book called Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining:  The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. The book is only a little longer than the title, but I’ve inspired people, I think, to try Northwest cuisine.  When you live here, the foodstuffs are amazing, so I inspire my readers to try the beautiful salmon and the berries and the hazelnuts and the fresh produce.  And then for tourists, I invite them to take a little bit of the Northwest home.

Toni: Okay, so it’s really to sample and to experience the region.

Braiden: I think so.  That’s really my forte, and it’s what I like to talk about.  Of course, we have a wonderful wine industry now, so that’s added a whole new level of things that people can experiment with, wonderful cheeses and chocolates.  So I hope that by talking about the farmers and the fishmongers, the chocolatiers, the cheesemakers, all the wonderful artisan products and the people who make them, that’s how I help inspire people.

Toni: Now with the stories that are being written on your website, have you received any feedback to what inspiration occurs when someone either reads this article or the stories, or they submit a story?  What happens with that?

Braiden: I’ve had both.  I’ve had one woman actually tell me that writing the story about her mother and about her dog helped her more than psychotherapy.  Is that not amazing?

Toni: It is.

Braiden: And then I’ve had people who just say “I just love your website.  Every time I get on it, I start to cry, but in a good way.”  Not like a sad boo-hoo way, but just it inspires them because maybe they think of their own people or their own pets, or somebody … just a friend that they’ve known, because it doesn’t have to be somebody who’s dead, it can be somebody who’s just no longer in your life.

I always look to my teachers as people who just help me be the person I am, and so when I tell people about the site, I say “Think of teachers.  Think of your best friend from grade school.  Do you keep in touch with that person?  If not, write about them.”

Toni: Now, how do you think you help other people to explore their own potential?

Braiden: I think by offering this website that’s totally free.  You don’t have to pay anything to be on it, unlike other inspirational sites or tribute sites.  So allowing them to have a voice – a free voice – on a very reverent and, I hope, sophisticated site, it allows them to have a voice.

Toni: Now, for those that are not familiar with your site – what is the essence of that site?

Braiden: The essence is that you are allowed and invited and encouraged and welcomed to write a story about a departed loved one or somebody no longer in your life, and  it can be any length.  If you have a photo, that would be just wonderful, because it’s always nice to see the person that tribute is written to, and of course a picture is worth a thousand words.  It’s just … it’s a lovely way to commemorate a loved one.

Toni: Do you think there is any potential to be gained by exploring regional foods?

Braiden: Oh my gosh, well yes … I mean, think of Southern cuisine, for example, with the fried chicken and wonderful foodstuffs.  And that’s certainly been a hot region lately, but the Northwest has a lot to say for itself, too.  I think that it’s always good to experiment.  One way that people can really learn more about life, I belief, is by traveling, and that inspires us to try new things and be open and meet new people.  So travel, of course, is another wonderful thing that we can all do.

Toni: So what inspires you, Braiden?

Braiden: Oh, I love to read.  I love to be with people.  There’s something in journalism called “the telling detail” and I don’t know if you’re familiar with it, but it’s looking for the small things in life.  And I think that that is so important and something we lose track of nowadays, because we’re all so rushed, we’re all behind the computer so much, but just something as simple as like a billboard.

I was behind a car the other day, and it was kind of a junky car, frankly, but on the back of the car were these bumper stickers, and they said “Simplify”, “Patience,” “Begin Within,” and “Choose To Feel,” and I just thought those were beautiful sentiments on the back of a car.  But if I hadn’t have taken a moment to look at the car to read the bumper stickers, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration.  You know what I’m saying?

Toni: Absolutely.

Braiden: And it’s like you look a person … we deal with so many people in a day, but really look at the person.  Look at the jewelry.  Look at the haircut.  Look at the eye color.  If something is new or different or you like it, maybe make a compliment or maybe just notice the person.  I think we’re all so rushed, and the world has become such a rude, uncivil place, and I think it should just stop and take a moment with people and the animals and the things in your life.  It will make your life so much better.

Toni: Absolutely; but you do have to be aware of those details, don’t you?

Braiden: Be aware.  I think that that’s really important.  Live in the moment.  Don’t be thinking about the past or the future too much.  Live in that moment and savor it, and then you can communicate your joy to others.

Toni: What else inspires you, Braiden?  Are there days when you may need to be inspired more than others, and you find yourself reaching for certain tools or resources to help you with that?

Braiden: One of the great joys in my life is writing, and so when I’m in flow, that is just one of the most joyous things that a person can experience.  And if you’re not a writer, you probably experience your world in a little different way, but when I’m in flow, that’s wonderful.

Unfortunately, I’m not always in flow, so to answer your question, I read other people’s articles.  I very much try to stay in touch with what’s happening in the world.  I go out on the web and I search things that interest me.  I think you just have to keep stimulated.  You know, I think that it’s important to surround yourself with the people you love, the food you love, and just again be aware of what’s happening, because it’s so important.  We can tend to be a little shut in from time to time with our, you know, all the things around us.

Toni: Well, Braiden, how did you stay inspired to keep going with the career moves that you’ve made?

Braiden: Oh my gosh, I think it’s just so exciting.  These are called “encore careers.”  I’m past 50, and Jane Pauley is calling these “encore careers” which I think is really neat, and it’s people trying to reinvent themselves, and often that means going back to your roots.

So think about what you really loved to do as a kid, and maybe that’s what you should be doing, and with the economy as bad as it is, many of us are out of work or whatever, and we’re not doing what we used to do.  It’s a good time to maybe start a new company, start a new website, start a blog — that can be free — and express yourself.  Just try something different.  I think it’s important to always be able to at least ponder the idea of reinvention.

Toni: Well, you’ve pondered it and you’ve maneuvered it, and you’ve accomplished it very successfully with the website, with food … I mean, it’s awesome.

Braiden: Well thank you.  But again, I think that by looking at life from time to time with a fresh eye, that can help all of us, and again, be inspiring to other people.  I think … one thing, I am the Vice President/President Elect of a culinary group for women, and I don’t particularly think that I’m a leader, but other people do, and so I’m really excited about grabbing the reigns of this small business.  It’s really … it’s a small business.  We raise money for scholarships for women in the culinary and beverage and hospitality fields.  And it’s really been invigorating to me to try to make myself grow as a leader, to know that I do need to and am inspiring other women, and it’s been very exciting and humbling.

Toni: Well, I think you’ve just touched on the final question of the Project, which is, how are you exploring your own potential?

Braiden: Well, that’s great, and I think again, by keeping my eyes and ears open, being available for people as much as I can, being kind to people, wanting to try new things that are perhaps out of my comfort level just a little bit.  You know, I’m a quiet, shy writer, but I think I am trying to be more out there and, really, I just want to help others and be kind to them and help them explore their own potential, because you know, there are lots of young people who perhaps need that.

Toni: Well, I’ll tell you, listening to your interview, Braiden, one of the things that you’ve spoken about during the what inspires you piece, and you said you need to notice those little things and be aware, and the small things in life, and that awareness piece is really the theme that has flushed out for me in your interview.

Because it’s the awareness that you’re providing of the region you live in with the cookbooks and the articles that you write, but it’s also the awareness that you are providing with your website for people that need to express themselves, but also may read other people’s stories and have an awareness and an awakening that they hadn’t experienced before.  So to me, you’re doing it all over the place.

Braiden: Oh, well thank you, Toni.  That means so much.  It’s so nice to have one word describe a person’s philosophy.  And if that’s the word, I think I’m honored that you would pick up on that, because that is what I try to do.  That’s wonderful.

Toni: Well, I encourage everyone to take a look at your website, and we will have a way for people to view that.  The links are at the bottom of the transcript.  Braiden, for being part of our grand finale days of the Get Inspired! Project, thank you so much for being here.

Braiden: Thank you so much, Toni.  Good luck with the end of the Project.

Toni: Thank you.  Take care.

Braiden: Thank you.

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For more information about Braiden Rex-Johnson:  www.NorthwestWiningandDining.com
, www.FiveMoreMinutesWith.com
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