This week has been mentally exhausting for everyone who is being burnt out with assignments and the daily grind of life. I can feel the tiredness with everyone I talk to to the point where I have realized a break is necessary. After the pandemic, I hope I am not the only person who realized that slowing down and taking care of our mental/physical health and well-being comes first. To me, a "break" does not necessarily mean traveling somewhere to disconnect from Boston, even though sometimes that would be nice. A break to me means taking time for myself and paying attention to what I need first before "constantly doing" something that is draining my energy and the way I feel.
One day of this past week, I woke up feeling restless and I had a 10 am class in -person, so I quickly ate a banana as my breakfast so I wouldn't arrive late. I am very much a morning person and love to wake up, do a short exercise, get ready for class, cook myself a meal and enjoy it with patience. I enjoy my mornings because they are my everyday "break" and remind me to take care of myself first before getting to all the tasks of the day ahead of me. However, these days I have felt like a robot: just doing and doing, tired all day, without "breaks".
Yesterday, I walked back home around 6 pm home from class (about a 30-minute walk) because I felt like I needed to breathe and take my mind off everything. I got home and just threw myself on my bed and stayed there for a while. I just thought, "I still have more assignments to complete by today and I am exhausted." However, I really felt like doing something that would make me feel good and would give me a moment of peace and mindfulness. I decided to cook. Cooking takes me to this place, but sometimes I am so caught up in things happening around me that I forget what grounds me and what truly makes me appreciate the simple things, the things that don't make me feel tired. So I cooked a delicious collard greens wrap with Pad Thai noodles, chicken, and veggies with a peanut sauce to dip for my roommate and me. I love cooking for other people as it brings me joy to share my love through food. I felt relaxed, I felt like I went on a mini-vacation in my own home and I truly needed that moment for myself. I then went to sleep because I did enough for the day and I know when I can keep going and when I simply can't.
Then, I decided to research more about how cooking can boost your creativity and I found an article from Business Insider titled " How Learning To Cook Can Boost Your Creativity" by Faisal Hoque.
He shares his experience of how like many he was introduced to cooking at the age of 17 when he started college - "to survive". Along the way, he has learned that food and the process of cooking impact not only our body but our mind and soul during bad and good times. Personally, I schedule my day around food and what I will have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is the fundamental of needs for us to survive and it also plays a huge role in our social relationships and interactions. I can relate to him when he says the following, "I find food to be sacred and the process of making food to be awakening and insightful. Although I am not professionally trained, cooking has become a joyful passion." Making food has also taught me to be more mindful, embrace creativity and push myself too. He dives into lessons that might make us think differently the next time we cook something:
Ritualistic Cooking Can Enhance Mindfulness
Cooking is a means towards a journey of mindfulness. "It's been said that the only two jobs of a Zen monk that are more important than meditation, are cooking and cleaning." Cooking is a great way to practice this mindful living and to be present at the moment. This comes from putting our entire mind into these mundane and simple tasks that when done with wholeness and intention, we are mindful of. This allows us to connect in a better way with the past, the present, and the future.
Personally, this helps me with every other task I have to do because it opens my development of mindfulness. From the moment I choose the ingredients, prepare them, cook them up to the way I eat them.
Conscious Openness Is At The Heart of Any Creative Process
"I don't ever follow a recipe for my cooking. I like to experiment, mix and match, and 'design' my meals. I make my decisions based on availability, my eating companions, and the hour of the day."
I completely relate to this as well. I love to play around with flavors, ingredients, and recipes. I like to have fun with them and try different recipes with the same ingredients I usually eat. I also maintain more of a plant-based eating lifestyle so I like to see how I can cook vegetables in different ways. This awareness during cooking over the years has allowed me to 'create' with confidence and less self-judgment. There is tremendous potential with cooking, food, and the overall eating experience.
Many close friends ask me, "how did it end up so good? I have tried doing it but it doesn't end up tasting that good". I believe everyone is capable of cooking, but it also involves understanding the relationships between the ingredients, and this conscious openness of the creative process that makes it taste even better.
This feeling reminds me of my favorite movie "Ratatouille" and the scene where Remy was cooking the soup and he got so into it. He got carried away and smelled the ingredients, and had fun while doing it. It was his playground and his creativity was flowing.
Mastery Comes From Enthusiastic and Devoted Practice
Lastly, he talks about how it requires practice, and enthusiasm. He compares this with Julie & Julia the movie. I can easily watch this movie so many times. She deliberately masters this skill of French Cooking by devoting herself to the practice.
It's about the devotion we apply, the awareness we create, the process, the feeling. My personal experience with cooking has been filled with patience and me constantly showing up for myself. Actually, after writing this blog I don't even think I would call it a "break" anymore, instead, I could call it a ritual. Below I will share with you some of the results of my creative cooking process :)
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