In December I had lunch with a friend who is a professional chef who specializes in organic, fresh cooking. She suggested Kinshop in Greenwich Village. It was delicious and we had a wonderful time. A couple of weeks later, I had lunch there with my husband and while the food was delicious again, the experience lacked the transcendental quality that it had with Katy. Sorry Sean.
It got me to thinking about what it means to be a professional at cooking and eating, and what lessons a coach can infer from it. Eating with my friend is so much about process. We didn’t spend our time fussing over the flavors and ingredients, though we did notice and acknowledge them. We let the food be a part, but only a part, of the whole. Equally important were the conversation, the manners and rituals that honored the great cooking, and the flow of the meal.
So what it is to let connection, ritual and flow live in what we do? At work? In social life? In leisure? Some people are happy to run on a treadmill at the gym with all of its odors and loud music. I can’t help feeling that a bike ride or run, with a friend, at our own pace, by the river is so much more pleasant. The light, air and beauty of nature are so nourishing. And exercising so that we feel renewed and refreshed, not exhausted, is so exhilarating. Letting process and substance work creates rhythms that are sustainable, that actually strengthen and don’t deplete us.