I’m a recipe follower – I need that recipe to tell me exactly what I’m meant to be doing, at least for the first time. After I’ve followed it once, I then relax a little and start to add my own flair (and when I say flair I mean different ingredients). My mother and sister never follow a recipe – they start with a bunch of ingredients or an idea, something yummy that will nourish their family and friends, and end up with something so good inevitably I find myself asking for the recipe… (I have been known to follow them around like a time and motion study writing exactly what they do as they go so I can recreate it later).
I realise this is how I do most of my life – the first time I always do it the way I “should”, follow the rules, play by the game, focus on the technique. Having done it once, I get a level of comfort, of confidence, a knowing of what to expect and from that, I will then experiment and play. I start with the head and then gradually introduce the heart.
Okay, thanks head for all this distraction – it does make me wonder when do I “flip it and reverse it”? [à la Missy Elliott] Yes, I would like to add more heart, please. In fact, I’d like to start with it and end with it, no matter what I am doing or making (be it love or an omelette).
In my shower I have a little dish, made by my daughter, it is her hand, made from clay, curled gently upwards, cooked and painted. It holds the soap I use to clean myself every day and I love it. Is it perfect, yes. Is she an accomplished ceramicist? not likely. Does it matter, no. It brings me immense joy every morning and in that moment, I truly feel why it’s important to connect more deeply.
So, I’m setting an intention to do more from the heart, from feeling, from care, each day and see what happens…
Love, Jo x