It is the simplest things in life that transform the mundane into sublime. It is the smallest of details that converts an average day to a spectacular occasion. And so often, we look right past these minute embellishments. A slice of fresh lemon in a glass of ice cold Pellegrino, a dollop of fresh whipped cream on sliced strawberries, Grey Goose vodka from the freezer to accompany spicy boiled shrimp, a small cauldron of large garlic cloves slow baked in the lightest of virgin olive oils.
The buttery cloves spread like room temperature butter over crusty sour dough slices. Food can be fast, served in a flip top styro foam box. It is ultra convenient and a drive through serving of death. Truly, we sacrifice part of ourselves when we eat the easy, flash frozen, microwave fake food. But I would argue that few things can be easier than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on fresh bread. Add thin sliced apples (or some may prefer bananas) and that beats a 59cent hamburger any day.
And the fresh food is not any more expensive. The “fast food” cost more money and costs more in so many other ways. I like to think about my food as being as close to living as possible. And if it is not raw or fresh, how long ago was it alive. Or, how recent did another actual person pour their own energy into the preparation. Homemade cupcakes beat store bought any day and not because they are healthier, but because love was mixed in when they were made.
Energy follows thought and something prepared with love and appreciation for others is a true offering. It is why I prefer to stop by my local French bakery and spend $6.95 on a loaf of fresh baked chocolate bread.
I could use that $7 bucks and buy a Chick-Fil-A combo meal…and trust me…..if I am eating fast food, I would prefer the Chick-no-pic…..but the chocolate bread toasted with fresh butter, some cinnamon sugar and fresh raspberries was a perfect way to start a Saturday morning. Sharing it with my mother was doubly wonderful.
We race past all the little things. We focus on big picture and forget the finer details. I call them the “Martha Stewarts”: a proper cloth napkin, a homemade book mark, home made croutons, fresh rosemary from the pot on the porch tossed into the roasting potatoes. Life is richer, the texture deeper, the detail greater and the experience more three-dimensional when you encourage and relish in the fleeting and the simple.