Day 200/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
One of the most powerful expressions of abundance for me, and I notice for others as well, is a dining table of delicious food. Produced in my own kitchen adds a special kind of delight to that experience.
From formal dining, the kind that I had to perform to keep up appearances to informal pot luck dinners, my joy in sharing abundance with family and friends has a permanent place at my kitchen table.
There is so much joy in the preparation of food. For me it's about retrieving it from its source. From fishing for reef fish to share with fellow fisher-persons :) , diving for shell fish prepared from the galley on sailing holidays and lusciously consumed with good white wine, nurturing a growing pantry in my garden and picking fresh from my veggie patch, the abundance of food gathered from its source forever enchants me.
Then to be able to share that at my kitchen table is one of life's pleasures that I don't indulge enough.
There's a ritual that I'm crafting. The art of simplicity in dining that matches my simplistic lifestyle.
Recently I was gifted two pots of fresh sour dough by my son. What a treat. The first, we shaped into a pizza and topped it with the flavours of cream potato bake: thinly sliced potato, thinly sliced onion, and a careful swirl of cream, a sprinkle of quality salt and pepper and a touch of paprika. Served with magical conversation we dined like kings.
For the second I invited a friend over for a Sunday brunch of focaccia and coffee. Shaping the dough, topping it with fresh rosemary from my garden, feta, rock salt and liberal doses of extra virgin olive oil we feasted for hours on focaccia straight from the oven and the best ever local coffee as we caught up on the months since our last time together.
Simple and simply delicious dining with company. Can it get better than that! Not in my books!
A family feast of sour dough croissants is next on the agenda. Coming soon!
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.