Amy Chaplin is a vegetarian chef who has, over the last 18 years, worked on three continents and in four cities including Amsterdam, London, Sydney and New York.

Chaplin, a native Australian was raised in rural, New South Wales on a whole foods diet by vegetarian parents. Relying on their organic garden for ingredients, all the meals her parents prepared were focused around the season and what was available in the garden, a principle Amy continues to this day.

We've had the opportunity to try Amy's creations and continue to be inspired by her phenomenal culinary talents!  Check out Amy’s blog, Coconut and Quinoa, where she shares original, seasonal recipes and health tips. 

http://amychaplin.com/

"...And what about now?  Is the notion of staying ten years in one place depressing… but somehow inevitable?  Are you doing exactly what you want to do with your life, not only at this moment but at 9:00 Monday morning and tonight in bed?

The most delicious freedom comes from venturing beyond the assumptions that other people have made about you.  The real prisons are those of expectation:  denying the possibilities of your life in order to be what somebody else wants you to be.  I’ve watched brilliance tarnish, fade, and finally disappear in the murk of a stupid marriage.  I’ve seen those capable of pushing the big envelope waste a lifetime waiting for little ones with paychecks, rationalizing lost time with vague dreams of retirement travel and future ventures.  I’ve seen others, constrained by circumstances or interests to a steady job, discard all leftover energy in a nightly haze of television, alcohol, drugs, religion, or dull routine.

I am not a proselytizer for nomadics – or anything at all, really, other than what’s already inside you.  There are countless ways to explore that, and my own peculiar choices are obviously not for everybody.  But damn it, do you have any idea how much brilliance and wit rots away undeveloped?  We need to do away with the numbing influences of this mad age and start developing passion.  What could you teach others if you applied your skills and insights to whatever you love most?  Could you change the world if given a chance, even if only through a tiny increment in the evolution of intelligence?

Today’s assignment:  do something that involves risk, learning, awe, passion, courage, invention, insight, or the sweet sparking of another’s awareness."

Read this piece in its entirety HERE. 
[Excerpt from 'Finding Your Passion and Living on Purpose' by Steven K. Roberts]