I've often said and I even wrote here once that... "I wish there was a cookbook for life with the recipes that will tell us the exact ingredients we need and how we need to mix everything together to have everything turn out exactly the way we want to." and I've been thinking about it... and even the finest cooks in some of the best kitchens in the world don't always have everything turn out perfectly all the time... One of the people who taught me to be a great and fearless cook told me you need to be able to have a backup plan to fix any culinary mishap and often you can repair almost anything in the kitchen with... butter, whipped cream, sour cream, chocolate or fresh fruit... and in most cases he was right.
The thing about cooking and baking like everything else in life... the more you do it the better you get... but also you develop an understanding about ingredients and the science of how they react or perform together or in certain climates and altitudes (I have to confess I am not a good baker at high altitudes) ... but developing a sense of how things should smell and how the molecular qualities of water, oil and sugars and proteins perform independently and in tandem under varying temperatures takes cooking into a science and that in my opinion is when you become the master of the craft. I owe my own understanding to this from the book On Food And Cooking by Harold McGee; I can't recommend this book highly enough if you are serious about becoming a great cook.
But perhaps more importantly this book taught me to think about how relationships whether they are professional or personal in nature breaking down the components of people in different situations and even geographic locations. I suppose what I'm trying to say is if we look at the ingredients we have to work with in life and examine how they work together and independently and react under different forms of stimulus we have within us the ability to write the recipes we need in life... and while they might not always turn out the way we planned when we started if we have the contingency plan ready... life will flow a little more smoothy.
There are a lot of discussions going on now in the news and on social media about science and religion and belief systems in relation to them... I for one am very science based about everything in the world and how the world works in our whole life right up until we die... but there is a part of me in my heart where where miracles can live if we have hope and love in our daily life and it reflects in how we see the world.... that is part of what this whole blog has been about from the very start in terms or letting old memories and dreams come outside to play again to help build a bridge over the boundaries we can often create from fears, obligations or neglecting our dreams by not listening to them... Far away from science are our first kisses and how we learned to love and share from them... and like in the kitchen when things go awry we learn to fix mistakes or start over and not give up... so we do all have the recipes for life... but it's important to remember... are we starting with the best ingredients?... do we take responsibility for mistakes? ... and do what is necessary to fix them? I think if we each start with these two simple steps and the life lessons we have learned up until this very moment we are on the right path. I think I either wrote here or in one of the online venues I have participated in... "we all make mistakes... but if we don't learn from them and/or make the worst possible decisions because or in spite of them... then the outcome is likely to be abysmal."
Things, people and situations are either life affirming or life diminishing... what we do, what we say and how we handle them are what make the differences...this is one of the things that have nothing to do with science... it all boils down to... are you a decent person or not.
I often hear other people say... "This is the icing on the cake" to mean something negative... I don't know about you but I love cake and I like the icing the best so I never use this metaphor as a negative... I usually say... "This is the straw that broke the camels back" because this metaphor is the result of a lot of little things that build up for whatever reason... usually because someone else is being an asshole... and it sometimes is better to walk away from anyone who has proven that they are not life affirming to you and your dreams.
Another ingredient here that is not science based are our dreams and ambitions... they will always be our best guides in life so don't abandon them no matter what because if you do all the other important things in your life will soon start to evaporate... your dreams and ambitions keep all the important things alive... sometimes you might have to alter them or refine them but don't give them up unless you have found a better road to travel... think of the revisions as adding the chocolate and whipped cream to repair the problem... we probably always have to do this because finding the sweeter side of life is like finding the truth... we always have to keep looking and learning.
I'll leave you with this...
If you don't speak French... it translates to... We do not see things as they are...we see them as we are...
See you in two weeks!
