Homemaking 101 - Preparation and the Art of Joy
Before you prepare a recipe, you have an event in mind, for which you are planning to prepare this recipe! The magnanimity of the event is where you begin your preparations.
What is the occasion for the need to find a recipe that works for you? If it is dinner for two, it has no less importance than dinner for 10! Think about this for a moment, I remember growing up and My Mom putting the thought into my mind, "If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.
" At the time of course, I did not have a clue what those words really meant, nor what the result of heeding them, would produce in my life.
This many years later, her training comes to mind, as I remind you here, of the importance of doing it right, if you are going to do it at all.
So, as you prepare to cook for two, let love guide your preparations.
I used to think that anyone could cook and cook good, for many years I kept finding that my thinking was askew.
Now I realize that anyone can cook and cook good, they just need proper preparation, a part of the preparation being, a mental understanding of what is truly involved in the preparing of a meal.
Just as with a good recipe, you need to read it and follow it for it to turn out as the recipe promises, your preparation must begin in the beginning with why you are making it in the first place! If you believe you are simply making a meal because you are the only one in the house who will cook a meal, you most likely will find that you heart is not in the preparation.
I have heard so many people say, if it were just me, I would not cook at all, I would live on...
When you feel this way about cooking, you may find it difficult to prepare a beautiful meal for two.
In your mind, you view eating, as a necessity to replenish the energy it takes to get through the day.
In this way, you have missed one of the benefits of eating a meal.
Eating is a time when we must slow down to some degree to perform the activity of running our arm from counter surface, or table, to mouth and back.
It most often includes some sort of sitting or reclining with some amount of rest as a reward as well.
When you look at it in this way, you might figure that the time spent in preparation is a time you could spend elsewhere with more enjoyment for the investment.
When you begin to see that the preparation offers you a time of refuge from any other event in your demanding day.
It is a time when you must stay attentive to the process at hand, allow the business of your day to take second slot in your mind, allow your time standing at the stove or sink, to be a time of breathing in peace, breathing out gratitude.
Be grateful for the fact that you can stand on tired feet, that you have tired feet to stand on, that you are standing on a floor, that you have a floor to stand on, that you can turn on a water source, that you have a water source to turn on! Get the picture? You see, cooking is an art, but step back one step, planning is an art.
When you begin to view the act of preparing, as an art, you begin to see just how much talent and time you are investing in one simple meal.
We all must eat, learning how to make the repetitive action of preparing meals into the joyful action it truly can be, remains your responsibility.
Think about this, every time you start to put your mind to what you shall have for dinner, you get to be thankful that your body is in a state of need, where it demands to be fed, the alternatives are not really too desirable! Practice giving thanks for the small things, in order to appreciate the gift you offer every time your investment gets set down as a completed piece of art! Anyone can be a good cook, it is just that not everyone realizes how rewarding it is, to see your efforts appreciated in the down right overwhelming accolades that go along with a successful meal, or even in the fact that you are sitting down alone, to a wonderful reward for your efforts.
Understanding that by taking advantage of the time we spend in preparing meals, we can add to our alloted time for spiritual peace and maturity, we open an entirely new opportunity for our wellbeing.
As you think on preparing the next meal you eat, allow yourself a moment to reflect on how you will use the demand for the time it takes to prepare, to become a better and more experienced you, find out the true joy to becoming a well prepared cook!
What is the occasion for the need to find a recipe that works for you? If it is dinner for two, it has no less importance than dinner for 10! Think about this for a moment, I remember growing up and My Mom putting the thought into my mind, "If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.
" At the time of course, I did not have a clue what those words really meant, nor what the result of heeding them, would produce in my life.
This many years later, her training comes to mind, as I remind you here, of the importance of doing it right, if you are going to do it at all.
So, as you prepare to cook for two, let love guide your preparations.
I used to think that anyone could cook and cook good, for many years I kept finding that my thinking was askew.
Now I realize that anyone can cook and cook good, they just need proper preparation, a part of the preparation being, a mental understanding of what is truly involved in the preparing of a meal.
Just as with a good recipe, you need to read it and follow it for it to turn out as the recipe promises, your preparation must begin in the beginning with why you are making it in the first place! If you believe you are simply making a meal because you are the only one in the house who will cook a meal, you most likely will find that you heart is not in the preparation.
I have heard so many people say, if it were just me, I would not cook at all, I would live on...
When you feel this way about cooking, you may find it difficult to prepare a beautiful meal for two.
In your mind, you view eating, as a necessity to replenish the energy it takes to get through the day.
In this way, you have missed one of the benefits of eating a meal.
Eating is a time when we must slow down to some degree to perform the activity of running our arm from counter surface, or table, to mouth and back.
It most often includes some sort of sitting or reclining with some amount of rest as a reward as well.
When you look at it in this way, you might figure that the time spent in preparation is a time you could spend elsewhere with more enjoyment for the investment.
When you begin to see that the preparation offers you a time of refuge from any other event in your demanding day.
It is a time when you must stay attentive to the process at hand, allow the business of your day to take second slot in your mind, allow your time standing at the stove or sink, to be a time of breathing in peace, breathing out gratitude.
Be grateful for the fact that you can stand on tired feet, that you have tired feet to stand on, that you are standing on a floor, that you have a floor to stand on, that you can turn on a water source, that you have a water source to turn on! Get the picture? You see, cooking is an art, but step back one step, planning is an art.
When you begin to view the act of preparing, as an art, you begin to see just how much talent and time you are investing in one simple meal.
We all must eat, learning how to make the repetitive action of preparing meals into the joyful action it truly can be, remains your responsibility.
Think about this, every time you start to put your mind to what you shall have for dinner, you get to be thankful that your body is in a state of need, where it demands to be fed, the alternatives are not really too desirable! Practice giving thanks for the small things, in order to appreciate the gift you offer every time your investment gets set down as a completed piece of art! Anyone can be a good cook, it is just that not everyone realizes how rewarding it is, to see your efforts appreciated in the down right overwhelming accolades that go along with a successful meal, or even in the fact that you are sitting down alone, to a wonderful reward for your efforts.
Understanding that by taking advantage of the time we spend in preparing meals, we can add to our alloted time for spiritual peace and maturity, we open an entirely new opportunity for our wellbeing.
As you think on preparing the next meal you eat, allow yourself a moment to reflect on how you will use the demand for the time it takes to prepare, to become a better and more experienced you, find out the true joy to becoming a well prepared cook!
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