It has been such a nuts week in America and I appreciate so much that you’re still taking the time to read these posts, whether they’re focused on current events or not.
I truly believe that we need a blend of time spent paying attention and acting, and time spent ignoring and resting (or based on this week’s theme, eating!)
The challenges we face environmentally, socially, economically, politically (and beyond) cannot be fixed without awareness and courage, but they also can’t be fixed without our health and wellbeing (physical and mental). And sometimes that means turning away from the maelstrom, setting aside our disappointment for a moment, and taking time to be in some trees or on a porch swing or making a drink from the Downton Abbey Cocktail Book in my book pile pic below. (Note that it’s the book with all the post-its in it!)
And when you’re feeling like nothing you do is making a difference and it’s all hopeless, I invite you to simply….cook a meal. Why? Because I agree with Michael Pollan, when he says this:
“Cooking, I found, gives us the opportunity, so rare in modern life, to work directly in our own support, and in the support of the people we feed. If this is not “making a living,” I don’t know what is. In the calculus of economics, doing so may not always be the most efficient use of an amateur cook’s time, but in the calculus of human emotion, it is beautiful even so. For is there any practice less selfish, any labor less alienated, any time less wasted, than preparing something delicious and nourishing for people you love?”
(From the book ‘Cooked’ - also in the pic below.)
Even if the sole person you are cooking for is you, engage in making something warm and delicious. You will feel better, I promise.
Have a good weekend everyone.