Making Room in the Kitchen for Quiet
There’s a very good reason not to cook tonight; instead, to order carryout from a favorite restaurant. Or even better, a new restaurant. Not part of a time saving strategy, this is a quiet making strategy.
We need time for silence. Do we know what silence sounds like? We yearn to find that deep well of tranquility within. Our outer world reflecting our inner world, we can’t solely rely on things external to us help us find that well. We need to make habits which cultivate a peaceful environment within. Cooking can be one such habit.
Taking a night off from cooking can be another. It’s a matter of how we choose to dwell in those moments not spent preparing the meal. We can dwell in a state of bliss by creating quiet and simply being. We can prepare for the meal by laying a pretty table. Perhaps this is somewhere different than usual. On a milder December evening this week, we dined on our screened porched. Aglow with every candle I could find, it was magical. We bundled up and donned boots. As I prepared the table, I listened to the sounds of night. I drank in the stillness of our yard in deep darkness. I was now a part of it. For a bit that day I experienced living in a simpler time. My husband arrived with our food which we removed from containers and arranged on flowered plates. I pulled out various cheeses on hand and sliced an apple. I placed the cutting board it was cut upon with the apples and cheese between us. We ate slowing, nibbling on bits of cheese and apples between bites of our meal. We talked softly. And when we were finished eating we lingered at the table, not wanting it to end. We nourished ourselves through the entire experience of the meal.
Choosing to not cook and carry out instead isn’t just a go to for the lazy. It can also be a go to for the wise who realize the value of changing our routines, keeping meals interesting and cultivating calm. Carrying out can be an opportunity to carry us off to a quiet space. To space unknown and mysterious and alluring. A space we create and dwell in.
