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Simple Pleasures
January 2007
 The winter solstice on December 21st is the time of the year
when our minds and bodies are most responsive to contemplation and
meditation. Unfortunately it’s also the time when our thoughts and
activities are preoccupied with holiday preparations and easily
diverted from preparing ourselves for a new year. This year, though
I had my extended family of 20 for Christmas Eve dinner and out of
town family staying through Christmas, I found my needed solitude in
the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I thought back to
what had made this remarkable year most memorable. What had I
learned? What did I want to take with me into the New Year and what
did I want to leave behind?
2006 started out as a year of new beginnings when I moved into my
newly built home. It gave me great pleasure to be in the 3
dimensional space of what for many months had been simply visions in
my head. It also felt great when the big stuff was over. The house
was built, the driveway, patios and stonewalls were finished, and my
kitchen and all of its equipment were in working order. I
noticed--after a much needed break in which I didn’t want to buy one
more thing or make one more decision--that it was the simple
pleasure of stocking my kitchen, just the way I wanted it, with just
enough and nothing more to meet my personal and professional needs
that felt so good.
It was the simple pleasure of having just enough towels, just enough
bedding and nothing more that made me feel much better than having
too much, When I lost so much in the fire to my home in late 2004,
it was the simple pleasure of replacing what I needed only with
things I loved and served me, that I wanted to fill my new home (and
life) with. Too much of anything is just too confusing! I love
purging all that has outgrown its usefulness. I find that when I do
so with material things--old ideas, thoughts and habits soon follow
suit.
I found that the best of 2006 was often the hardest. It was hard to
give up something I had grown attached to even though I had grown
beyond it. But it was the simple pleasure of rediscovering that I
could once again feel joy when weeks earlier all I felt was
emptiness. It was the simple pleasure of knowing that what looks
gray one day, can be vibrant the next, even though nothing on the
outside appears to have changed.
It was really hard letting go, detaching from the visions and goals
I had for myself and instead letting myself be guided from within.
It was the simple pleasure of discovering that by doing so I
attracted to me the very things I wanted the most; and in the most
serendipitous ways. It was a simple pleasure to be reminded that
that guidance can come in many forms and often in the most humorous
ways and that it was the times of quiet stillness, when I sat doing
nothing, that laid the groundwork for meaningful activity.
It was harder still to let go of a long held image of myself only to
discover the simple pleasure of the truth instead.
And finally it was the simple pleasure of being with the 20 members
of my family, enjoying the Christmas Eve feast of the 7 fishes only
to discover that I had no leftovers, but just enough.I wish each and every one of you a joyous, peaceful and prosperous new year.
Chef Silvia
The
recipes this month start the New
Year out right!
Also, if any of you are interested in organizing you own style of cooking
class/dinner party, check out my
cooking classes page for more information.
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Chef Silvia's Monthly Newsletter!
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