On the Way to William Penn House for Tuesday Night Yoga Practice
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Morning Walk
I knew that it was going to be a busy and possibly stressful day. After sitting for meditation, I got myself out for a decent walk.
I knew that it was going to be a busy and possibly stressful day. After sitting for meditation, I got myself out for a decent walk.
Ayurveda says one should only eat “fresh” food. What does that mean? How does that translate into having delicious food making the best use of every bit of it without waste and without having all of our time being devoted to creating it (from start to finish). Is making a fresh dish from a food item from yesterday’s meal “stale” food? I don’t think so, but then, I am not an ayurvedic practitioner. I am fairly certain it is less “stale” than “fast” or packaged food. And I am too much the New York grandchild of peasant immigrants to forego making the most optimal and complete use of all the food that enters my kitchen. Also, the simple efficiency of leftovers are too important a component of having the most personally and lovingly prepared food I can with my life style.
Here are some of my favorite ways to eat bread the day after it was a fresh accompaniment to a salad, sandwich, or larger, festive meal. (Obviously, this is not for all of those who cannot or do not like to eat bread, which I think of as indeed the staff of life.) Here are some of my favorites, not in any particular order:
Crostini/Bruschetta (topped with tapenade, salsa, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, etc.)
Bread salad (with the best of the summer tomatoes and fresh basil)
Croutons (for salad or soup, my favorite is rubbed with a little garlic)
Red pepper spread with pomegranate molasses and walnuts (bread is the thickener)
Skordalia (also can be made with potatoes or a mix of bread and potatoes)
Stuffing for squash
Bread crumbs for a whole variety of things
Savory bread pudding
I had lunch the other day with a friend whose life is suddenly brimming full with a variety of opportunities. Any one of them by itself would feel like a bounty. With multiple ones arising simultaneously, because they are not necessarily in perfect sequence with each other, making decisions seems like a conundrum rather than a blessing. Over a rather delightful lunch, my friend gave me many details of the various things that were going on, and the places where they seemed not to synchronize in a way that would allow her to have it all with ease. “Any words of wisdom?” she asked. When I was younger, I might have tried to make specific suggestions. Specific suggestions, though, are always colored by our own particular preferences, prejudices, and desires. Instead, I said, “In the style of yoga I practice, the first principle for starting every pose, which I find works for what I do off the mat as well, is to ‘open to grace.’
“Opening to grace means to soften, to listen, to open ourselves to the universal in which the details arise, to allow what is to be in the flow,” I added.
“Without getting into the details, the essence of the next alignment principle [muscular energy] is the application of proper boundaries. Even though we want to be soft and open, we still do not say ‘yes’ to everything. Although open to everything, we steady ourselves and use our knowledge to discriminate and find a good container for ourselves so that we can act with more light.”
“Ah,” my friend replied, “I’ve been trying to control everything without allowing things to unfold. What you are saying makes sense.”
My friend will find her own way, and I look forward to witnessing the great joys potentially unfolding for her. Any time she invites me to share some of the wisdom I’ve received from my teachers, it will be my delight to pass it on.
