“When you momentarily feel happiness during the day, jot down what you’re actually doing at the time. You may be surprised at what you discover– take note, and commit to prioritising more of these activities in the future.”
I read these words in an old magazine I grabbed from the near shelf while I was toasting bread for lunch and said to myself, “The idea for this blog was sudden and unpredictable and I knew from the beginning that it was going to work for me!” Thinking about how to re-interpret lunch in a creative way, putting it into practice and working on it with some commitment, choosing colours and vegetables by trying to vary as much as possible, taking a picture (I am cheered by this step!) editing the picture by giving it a little virtual light, sticking it on the laptop screen and being inspired by some volatile indeed constructive thinking while doing all of before, all this would be jotted down as one of the right things to do an done of the good moments of the day.
I am taking notes about what makes me really feel happy and, on the opposite side, about what takes my attention forcefully but soon reveals itself a wast of time. Sometimes valuable time is spent by our own choice in activities that do not nourish us either for basic needs (food, warmth, love) or the extras (ex. intellectual needs, knowledge). We may be wrongly judging what activities we should take part in or may just not be aware that something is not working for us, maybe even detrimental. But we cannot fake how we feel when we listen to ourselves, so let’s hang those pictures of good vibes in our wardrobe with a good caption, open all drawers and throw the paranoia out.
I make my four green toasts appear on the worktop after a 1,000 hours long (but worth the hardship) effort of buying bulky bags of vegs and getting them ready separately. I cut the broccoli florets, then soak, drain, steam and dress them with olive oil, salt and lemon juice. Then I prepare the greens by first removing all the ribs, lay the leaves on the worktop each at a time and cut them in stripes that are not too big, then soak them two times. It is the most boring phase, when I sometimes do meditate, but Green Day is accompanying the labour today, that makes meditation uneasy. When I braise the greens with olive oil, garlic and chilli I try to figure out my life without music and vegetables, it would be a basket case. In the meantime, pine nuts (cashew nuts are also good) are soaking in water until they’re soft, then I mix them in the food processor with silken tofu and my chosen herb, coriander this time, otherwise basil for an Italian flavour, add a spoon of natural yeast flakes. I had put the avocados in the fridge because the tiny label said “ready to eat”, but I reckon it is not ripe yet. I cut it anyway and pour lots of lemon juice to make it softer. I find the avocado stone fascinating and like to hold it in my hands like a de-stressing ball!
I cut four half moons of toasted “ciabatta” bread and lay them onthe worktop, all different but monochrome, ready to lift you up with a little more punky noise.
If you liked this, read also https://toastsandthoughts.blog/2018/12/01/rock-me-on-cars-and-buses/
Toasts and Thoughts 