Sometimes my mind rambles . . .

Most fruits and vegetables are grown within a covering . . .  a skin  . . .  which needs to be peeled away if we are to enjoy the sweetness and ripeness within the skin.  Take the banana for instance  . . . I could never imagine eating the skin.  It would taste terrible, but  . . .  peel it away,  and something quite tasty is laying underneath. That terrible tasting skin protects the sweetness inside from its very birth until the fruit is ripe enough to be eaten and the skin peeled away.  Leave the fruit in the skin for too long however . . .  and the fruit will begin to degrade and break down, until it is no longer of any use or edible.

There are a multitude of ways that this might speak to the human condition and journey, but really I think the most important allegory you can align it with, is the way in which who we are grows within the covering of our will . . .

 

Will, or agency as it were, is something we are all born with.  From the moment we take our first gasp of air, we are on a journey of growth and becoming, and who this will be, is largely determined by the covering of our will, our agency . . .  the choices that we make.

We protect our little seeds of effort, desire, curiosity and passion nestled within the covering of grand design and ambitious plans, which . . .  more often than not, have nothing to really do with the sweetness and ripeness of what finally grows within us. Just as an ear of corn cannot mature unless it is covered for months by its husk while it incubates, we need to incubate who we are beneath the layers of who we are yet to become. 

I think this is the natural process of life . . . 

the way things are meant to

be and to go

... 

Most living things need a protective container in which to grow. 

We can hurt ourselves however, if we allow ourselves to stay within our protective container for too long.  We can go off  . . .  begin to spoil . . .  rot as it were, if we stay wrapped up within old plans once who we are inside has matured and ripened.  I believe that is why change is good. Change is the impetus which enables us  to break free from that which covers us and holds us back.  Change is what allows us to become and to fulfil the full measure of our creation.

You will never become a writer/painter/dancer/etc.

if you always stay within the

protective covering

of the dream

...

 

There comes

a time when you need to break free 

from the dream and push it into a reality, if that makes

sense.  And I really hope that it does.

The most humbling part of this exercise however is that, although we need to make plans and work towards goals and dreams, possibilities  . . .  none of it can prepare us for the actual moment that goal/dream/possibility becomes a reality. None of it can prepare us for the moment we actually ripen.  Once the dreams fills out like mature fruit, all of our fantasies and ambition fall away like useless skin, their purpose having been served.  Like the silk that keeps the corn shiny, all our delicate dreams of tomorrow have served their purpose. 

The truth is however, that it is not so much the destination that counts, but the journey which we took to get there, and how we took it.  Choices determine destiny, and when we make wise ones, the journey and the destination become much, much sweeter. 

I can't help but show you this.  When I saw it I cried.  This is the almost final front cover of my cookbook. Of course the author name proper has to be put on and there needs to be capital letters fixed on the subnote to the title.  I think it is beautiful and just what I was aiming for.  The dream is coming ever closer to the reality and I am filled with excitement and . . .  I'll admit it . . . fear.  It is a most curious combination.  It is surely a dream that I have had for a very long time coming true, but at the same time my heart is filled with doubts and dread . . .  what if it doesn't do well, what if nobody likes it, what if it is a big flop, what if, what if, what if  . . . 

It all feels very surreal,

I feel a bit like a pretender to the throne.

I think I need someone to pinch me.

A thought to carry with you through today . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°Keep your face always towards the sunshine,

and the shadows will fall behind you  . . . 

~Walt Whitman  •。★★ 。* 。

Spiritual Enlightenment 

 

In The English Kitchen today . . .  a delicious Carrot Cake Roll.  Monique pointed me in the direction of this tasty cake and Todd is very happy that she did! He adores carrot cake.

Have a beautiful Saturday, no matter what you get up to.  Remember you are not alone!

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and I do too!