Carnal Zen

Part of this summer’s declutter project is designed to help me make space for whatever is next.  Change seems to be stampeding to my door.  Maybe grad school.  Maybe moving far away.  It’s all still in the mix but in the meantime I want to be ready to say YES and travel light to wherever tomorrow takes me.

Food is my emotional anesthetic.  It’s far from a secret.  I cook it, serve it and if I must….eat it JOYFULLY.  I decided to attack the overstocked pantry this weekend.  I made this curried split pea soup, and brought some to the sick neighbor.  Then I began cranberry-brie phyllo purses that can be frozen and cooked one at a time whenever I get company or a sweet tooth.  This week’s grocery list is impressively small… 5 items.  Since it’s mango season here - I just HAD to come up with something delish for the holiday weekend….so this weekend there will be Mango Cilantro Sno Cones w/ Vodka.

The spiritual point?  Nope sorry I’m just enjoying my day.  No pontificating, no self reflection, just enjoying the day….oh crap, maybe that IS the point!

I may have been one of the last to understand Wikipedia.  I’d assumed that it was just an online encyclopedia and actually cited it in a paper.  OOOOPS!  My professor was NOT amused.

Wikipedia, for others not in the know is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. 

What this means is definitions are subjective, experiential, communally defined and constantly evolving.  How amazing to live in a time where we can make up our own definitions and modify them as we see fit.  Talk about FREEDOM!  The english language has always been far too limiting, I mean seriously we have but ONE word for love? 

Of course, this new liberty of redefining our world comes with cost.  We eliminate certainty.  We can no longer rely on Miriam-Webster to tell us who is right and who is wrong.  Instead it becomes our collective responsibility to be civilized and resourceful in resolving disputes.  What if soon there were no lawyers, no judges, but a self governing society to whom there is no higher purpose than serving the greater good?  Could WE, dare to dream that in this generation, we could begin to redefine Utopia as a place on earth?  Were would you start?  What would you redefine?  I’m formally inviting all of you, especially the Joy Rebels to say yes to the possiblity….and Wiki your world today! 

Now before we go further I must fully disclose: I show love with food.  It’s how my grandma did it and it gives me joy to give your fave mac n cheese a smoked gouda twist.  When Mate leaves for long trips he usually finds cookies stowed away in his suitcase.  In fact, Mate won me over early on when he surprised me with late weeknight date, groceries and wine in hand, during a particularly stressful time at work when I was working 12 hour days.

There are times when we face mountains, needing them to move, feeling beaten, scared and unsure of the ground beneath our feet.  It can be overwhelming and more talk only seems more exhausting.  Friends and family feel helpless to comfort us which only makes it worse.

Aunt Suzie, who isn’t my aunt at all, once made a Christmas gift out of the “Secret of Pistoulet- An Enchanted Fable of Food, Magic and Love”.  It’s one part fiction, one part cookbook and one part pop up book for adults.  Instead of advice it provides recipes to nourish the soul complete with instructions on how to infuse them with love.  I thought today I’d share a receipe from that book - that we can make when words fail for our loved ones, or ourselves facing new beginnings and letting go.  

Potage Au Revoir

Search far and wide for the greenest most beautiful haricots verts.  Buy a large quantity.  Saute one onion with the clearest mineral water without bubbles.  When the onion is soft add all the beautiful haricots verts.  Cover with mineral water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer.  Reminisce about the most wonderful moments in life.  Pay particular attention to the special times had with those to be eating the potage.  Puree.  Reheat.  Add the very best Tahitian vanilla essence or the seeds of one vanilla bean.  Season with salt and pepper.  Lace with cram.  Caution:  May cause tears!

 Must be prepared with only the best intentions at heart.

It happens by accident.  You put down your self help book and go to the kitchen for milk.  Your eye catches a picture on the fridge and launches you into some memory of bygone days.  The phone rings, cousin so-and-so is getting married across the country next spring.  You wonder if you can afford to go, check bank accounts, consider canceling those concert tickets you ordered.  The day continues like this…at night, you get a goodnight phone call from your sweetheart who asks “How was your day?” and much to your chagrin you realize you have no idea.  You mindlessly drifted from one task to the other never taking inventory of what you were seeing or how you were feeling.  You were not living conciously or intentionally, even though you, my enlightened one - know better.

Over at Positively Present I stumbled on 10 Questions to Keep You in the Moment which I thought were great.  Given my attention span - I’ve created a shorter version I can remember in a pinch:

What is awesome about this moment?

How would I describe this moment to someone?

What are my five senses telling me?