I just love any pasta dish-- the simple homecooked one or the fancy restaurant kind. No kidding! Mom could put together a mean mouth-watering pasta dish anytime. She would weave her magic in the kitchen especially on birthday parties for me and my younger brother in those kiddie days. I was a fast and messy pasta eater as a kid lolz getting all that sauce on my chubby cheeks even unto my long black hair and messed up my pretty birthday dress. Mom would simply smile and gently tell me to eat my pasta slow. Last night my daughter brought home – seafood pasta. It had in it shrimps, squid, spices, and a special sauce that was so tasty you feel it in your mouth! And the nice thing bout pasta is that you eat it slow to enjoy it. Slow enough to let your thoughts meander through the dish, too.
------------------------------------------------
EAT YOUR PASTA SLOW. Yea, cause the taste is lost on you if you eat it fast. It’ll be like letting it go through the grinder. Ugh! You may be sated but did you enjoy it? Isn’t that what life is, too? Live it slow. Why the rush? Are you afraid that you’ll be running out of time or of people to love or loving you, of opportunities and promotion that could be lost, of diminishing health or wealth, or are you afraid that your youth is draining away at a fast clip? But isn’t that already happening? Tomorrow is today we dreamed about yesterday. Time flies unmindful of our cares and woes. It just moves along. Opportunities come and go, but this can be said of it – it came yesterday, today, and definitely there will be more of it tomorrow BUT it will only show itself to the willing and prepared eye. And too people come and go – they move on no matter how much we would rather have them stay here with us. People change – they grow, mature, develop. In the process sometimes they have to leave us behind. And so must we. There’s no holding back the years-- we grow old each day and our health changes along with it. Youth can’t be had forever. So why make a race out of it? You chase after time but time is always ahead of us -- it doesn’t wait for us. Never! Can’t you see? Anyway who’s counting?
That’s all going to happen to you. It’s happening with each day that comes. But it does all that in its own space, time, and pace. Everything in our life has its own special time-- a time to be born, a time to love or cry or be lonely. Remember the book of Ecclesiastes? It’s the rhythm of life. Life is neither quick nor slow; it only appears so as you perceive it to be. An empty life sees the clock ticking at a slow drag. But a life which holds a potpourri of thrills and experiences and adventure sees the clock as a dear companion however it ticks the time fast or slow. Life is so precious – why not take the time to savor or relish it? So what’s the hurry? Enjoy your life. Enjoy your pasta! And remember to eat it slow.
PASTA AND THE MANY THINGS IN IT Each time I twirl it round my fork I anticipate a good delicious bite when I finally take it up to my mouth. Because I know what goes into a good pasta dish-- bits of meat, mushroom, choice vegetables, red tomatoes, green pepper, cheese, and tasty sauce. Others would put in mussels, squid, sardines, bacon, ham, and some other ingredient to enhance the flavor. Some include olives and other spices unknown to me and which I think they should just leave out. Ugh! Still taken all together, the dish comes out delicious and a huge gastronomic delight, much to my utter surprise.
Isn’t that so much like life? Admit it, life would be just one blah-blah if there weren’t those itsy-bitsy bits of inconvenience, discomfort, hurdle, frustration, disappointment, and challenges splattered all over. But not only that --remember your moments of joy, happiness, thrills, adventure, and laughter? Ooops, do I see you grinning from ear to ear. So you remember. Lolz So many ingredients, just like a pasta dish, go into life, too. Each one lends to the overall flavor of our existence. The thing is we have to teach ourselves to appreciate the bigger picture of our lives. Believe me-- Mom had to rub that into my thick head and numb heart. I was reeling with all the darts of disappointments that came my way one after the other. And when the day came that she left me (the biggest sadness of my young life), I had to learn to fend for myself and hit my dumb head with the biggest hammer I could find! Ouch! Mom (bless her soul) made me see that our life is a huge beautiful colorful intriguing tapestry that often we don’t see because we are only focused on looking at the small square of our life before our eyes. But if you look hard at that tapestry with an open mind and an expectant heart, you will see that it’s not as bad as you think it is. In fact, you might even be surprised that you have more blessings that you ever care to admit or counted or didn’t bother to see. And just like a new pasta dish in which a lot goes in that you are quite unfamiliar with, but when you finally get your first bite -- you will find out much to your absolute surprise that it’s one gorgeous scrumptious delectable and perfect meal! And life is. Bite into life with good cheer, hope, and trust in the skill of the GREAT CHEF who knows how to put together a good pasta dish called life. Enjoy it! J
Now do you know why I love pasta? It reminds me of Mom and one of the great lessons of life that I have learned --- take life slow, savor it! May God help you see the many lovely threads of your life tapestry. God bless you all.
posted on Monday, May 01, 2006 8:39 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment