What is "Happy"?
Happy - characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy.
Frederick Keonig said, “We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
An unknown author said this about happiness, “Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
So according to Frederick, we must appreciate in order to be happy. Another person says we must look beyond imperfections.
When we are happy what do we do? We smile. We are more apt to listen and respond. We learn and care and give off an aura of "Pleasure, contentment, or joy". When a person is happy they are in my opinion appreciative of the small things and I think many would agree with me, but I also think that the happy are easily entertained. That is what I'm writing to you about today.
When we are appreciative of the small things how do others view us? Do they think we are superficial, or fake, are they jealous or angry? Who knows? Who cares? If we are really happy then we can share our happiness with others in those small moments when an action with a stranger or even a friend changes someone's day.
I have a story to tell you about a realization I had today.
My classes ended as usual and I as usual walked with my friends out of the building. We then said our good days and separated. After saying good bye I walked into the quad. When I walked into the quad area the sun was shining brightly and hot on the skin of my face causing me to squint my eyes, the wind blowing strongly against my body making me lean in just a little to the force, the smell of the city and the grass mixed together to form a fragrance of life that I've come to love.
I looked up through the light after my eyes adjusted and saw a familiar sight, friends, but today my friends were doing more than keeping warm like they've done so much recently. They were wearing shorts and tee-shirts. Shoes cast carelessly on the ground bags from classes and purses placed absently on the sidewalk. These friends were in a circle, a carelessly made circle, but a circle non-the-less. Passing between these friends in the air was a volley-ball. Friends laughter filled the air and mixed with birds and cars and a train. As I was talking with one of my closer of friends who left the circle to ask a question we noticed something moving through the air.
As we looked in the same direction and began to chuckle gently we heard a sound from behind. someone else noticed the same thing dancing gracefully on the wind. In perfect circles it waltzed and twirled on the wings of the wind. The brown sight was majestic and happy. I looked at the faces of those that had stopped passing the volley-ball as they watched. Some faces were amused others wondering why they had stopped playing for this. I looked at the others who had noticed the sight and exclaimed their attention to it. These faces showed amusement.
We watched as this majestic dance, across the sky higher and higher away from the grounds of the quad, was performed in the air and I heard from the ones behind. "Danny it's great the we are watching the same thing."
To which I replied, "Funny isn't it."
When I looked back at the dancing brown in the air it acceded over the building out of sight, I looked to my friend standing with no shoes and a small amount of mud on his feet, and said, "Let's go watch it."
We turn to run down the steps and around the building and I grab the hands of the ones who were watching with us. They laugh and follow behind.
When we reach the other side of the building we find the dancer continuing on the wind. over the cars and the street. A few more circles and it's over another building then moments later, it's out of sight, and we stand laughing and watching in hopes we will see the beauty one more time. It doesn't happen. I turn around and cast my gaze at the passers-by. They are staring and wondering why we smile and laugh like we are happy. Judgmental glances don't change our mood. We laugh back to where it all started. The beauty we saw was a brown plastic shopping bag someone had discarded on the sidewalk.
As I walked to my room I was thinking of the small things like the bag and the ones who were amused by the sight, the ones who stood and watched as something so everyday as a shopping bag, floated through the air. Those who followed to watch more and those that stayed behind. What were they thinking? What were they feeling. I think the ones who followed and laughed, I think they were happy. I think this because they could appreciate the small things and laugh about them. I can't help but wonder what the bag was thinking and feeling though as it lost control and was swept off the ground into the dizzying dance of circles, twists, flips, and turns; carried higher and higher until we no longer saw it, is it on the street? is it still flying? I may never know, but I do know that happiness is something we all need.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
New
I hope everyone notices all the changes that have been made and likes them!
To begin this post I'd just like to thank those of you who read this, so thank you.
To play on that thank you, I have another thanks to give away, and that is to an amazing chef, speaker, and man. This thank you, goes to Chef Peter Reinhart. Chef Reinhart recently gave a speech to a club that I am in, and in this speech he speaks not as a chef, but as an intelectual. I personally am an intelectual being. The reason I must make this thanks is I have a new view on food, life, and myself. I know sounds crazy right? It's not. Let me explain why, then I will jump back to his speech.
Recently I've done a lot of soul searching, mind searching, and questioning. I've done this of late simply because I want, no need to know who I am. Everyone shares the same basic needs, shelter, water, and food...ahh what is that? Did I say food? I did. You may not have realized it, but the title of this blog is "Journey of an Aspiring Chef". What do chefs do? Exactly, I know you just answered it in your mind. Food, that is what we do. So, now I know that I have a duty and that duty is to provide food for the hungry, but my life's dream has been to inspire people through my food. "How am I to do that?" I've often wondered. I hope you are doing the same. If you aren't I ask that you start pondering how are you going to inspire with your life. I am going to tell you how I am going to with mine.
Jumping backwards now. In Chef's speech, he mentions Dante, now when quoting Dante chef is referring to our lives and everything in them. Dante said, "You can't understand the three deeper levels unless you first understand the literal." what are these "three deeper levels" you ask. Ah what are they indeed?
First, we begin with the obvious: literal, very self explanatory
metaphoric or the poetic level
political or the ethical level
mystical or more commonly called the anagogical level.
Now, you know of the four levels, what do these have to do with cooking? That was my question. I soon found the answer. Thinking back to Dante, I realized that in order to inspire i had to understand, but in order to understand i had to try. Now that is where the title of this post comes into play. "New" I've done a post on new things before, but that was my new literal life, now this is the three deeper levels of new. From here on this blog will no longer be about my literal life, but the deeper more who I am and what I'm doing to inspire others and myself.
I leave you for now with a task and a blessing. First the task. Share this with others, I'd love for people to read and hopefully benefit and be inspired by this as i live and write it.
Now for your blessing. May your hunger for food be satisfied with wholesomeness, and your hunger for life, love, and happiness satisfied with knowledge and enlightenment.
To begin this post I'd just like to thank those of you who read this, so thank you.
To play on that thank you, I have another thanks to give away, and that is to an amazing chef, speaker, and man. This thank you, goes to Chef Peter Reinhart. Chef Reinhart recently gave a speech to a club that I am in, and in this speech he speaks not as a chef, but as an intelectual. I personally am an intelectual being. The reason I must make this thanks is I have a new view on food, life, and myself. I know sounds crazy right? It's not. Let me explain why, then I will jump back to his speech.
Recently I've done a lot of soul searching, mind searching, and questioning. I've done this of late simply because I want, no need to know who I am. Everyone shares the same basic needs, shelter, water, and food...ahh what is that? Did I say food? I did. You may not have realized it, but the title of this blog is "Journey of an Aspiring Chef". What do chefs do? Exactly, I know you just answered it in your mind. Food, that is what we do. So, now I know that I have a duty and that duty is to provide food for the hungry, but my life's dream has been to inspire people through my food. "How am I to do that?" I've often wondered. I hope you are doing the same. If you aren't I ask that you start pondering how are you going to inspire with your life. I am going to tell you how I am going to with mine.
Jumping backwards now. In Chef's speech, he mentions Dante, now when quoting Dante chef is referring to our lives and everything in them. Dante said, "You can't understand the three deeper levels unless you first understand the literal." what are these "three deeper levels" you ask. Ah what are they indeed?
First, we begin with the obvious: literal, very self explanatory
metaphoric or the poetic level
political or the ethical level
mystical or more commonly called the anagogical level.
Now, you know of the four levels, what do these have to do with cooking? That was my question. I soon found the answer. Thinking back to Dante, I realized that in order to inspire i had to understand, but in order to understand i had to try. Now that is where the title of this post comes into play. "New" I've done a post on new things before, but that was my new literal life, now this is the three deeper levels of new. From here on this blog will no longer be about my literal life, but the deeper more who I am and what I'm doing to inspire others and myself.
I leave you for now with a task and a blessing. First the task. Share this with others, I'd love for people to read and hopefully benefit and be inspired by this as i live and write it.
Now for your blessing. May your hunger for food be satisfied with wholesomeness, and your hunger for life, love, and happiness satisfied with knowledge and enlightenment.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
wow
sorry i haven't post anything in forever to begin.
i would like your permission to give a brief summary of some experiences that have happened to me up to this point. i've made some major decisions on my future that i hope are the right things to do, i've made some good and great friends (who i feel will be in my future because they are just like that), and i have an amazing opportunity right now to start "making a name for myself".
since you are reading, i obviously have your permission to continue.
one of the decisions i've made basically is to not continue on for my third degree. for those that didn't know i was going to go for a fifth year to receive a third degree. my degrees would have been an associates in culinary arts, a bachelors in food service management (a business degree), and an associates in nutrition. i'm no longer doing this route because i feel better opportunities are to found on an alternate path.
the friends i've began to form relationships with are the kind of people you want your children to be friends with, on most days. they are there for me when i need them, and i them. we encourage each other, help with problems, and also are forming bonds daily.
the afore-mentioned opportunity is that JWU & the nutrition club that i am a part of are holding a "Nutritious CookBook Competition" and we are in full swing of creating this cookbook. a little more about it, basically any JWU student of faculty member may submit a recipe for editing and testing to the club. once we have received the recipes we "run them through" a program called ESHA. ESHA breaks down the nutritional values of each ingredient and also the dish or food item as a whole. after ESHA if the recipe is "up to par" we then test the recipes that made it to "level 2". in testing we are in the kitchen making each recipe if they make it past level 2 then they are in the final draft. then off to the publisher!
so that's just my little amazing opportunity!
i'm thinking of starting on a cookbook...BUT i need recipe testers. i need about 25 people who are willing to test the recipes that i email to them and write reviews on them. my idea for the book is start with novice recipes and techniques then build up to more advanced recipes that require advanced techniques. my reason for the gradual progression is to take the novice on a journey from the stage of basics to the stage of a "home chef".
i want to spread this process out over six months to a year so that the testing has time for details and it's not expensive for the testers.
can i get feedback on this idea, if you can tell your cook friends about the idea and see if they are interested in testing. if you are interested e-mail me at cb.recipe.testers@gmail.com
i would like your permission to give a brief summary of some experiences that have happened to me up to this point. i've made some major decisions on my future that i hope are the right things to do, i've made some good and great friends (who i feel will be in my future because they are just like that), and i have an amazing opportunity right now to start "making a name for myself".
since you are reading, i obviously have your permission to continue.
one of the decisions i've made basically is to not continue on for my third degree. for those that didn't know i was going to go for a fifth year to receive a third degree. my degrees would have been an associates in culinary arts, a bachelors in food service management (a business degree), and an associates in nutrition. i'm no longer doing this route because i feel better opportunities are to found on an alternate path.
the friends i've began to form relationships with are the kind of people you want your children to be friends with, on most days. they are there for me when i need them, and i them. we encourage each other, help with problems, and also are forming bonds daily.
the afore-mentioned opportunity is that JWU & the nutrition club that i am a part of are holding a "Nutritious CookBook Competition" and we are in full swing of creating this cookbook. a little more about it, basically any JWU student of faculty member may submit a recipe for editing and testing to the club. once we have received the recipes we "run them through" a program called ESHA. ESHA breaks down the nutritional values of each ingredient and also the dish or food item as a whole. after ESHA if the recipe is "up to par" we then test the recipes that made it to "level 2". in testing we are in the kitchen making each recipe if they make it past level 2 then they are in the final draft. then off to the publisher!
so that's just my little amazing opportunity!
i'm thinking of starting on a cookbook...BUT i need recipe testers. i need about 25 people who are willing to test the recipes that i email to them and write reviews on them. my idea for the book is start with novice recipes and techniques then build up to more advanced recipes that require advanced techniques. my reason for the gradual progression is to take the novice on a journey from the stage of basics to the stage of a "home chef".
i want to spread this process out over six months to a year so that the testing has time for details and it's not expensive for the testers.
can i get feedback on this idea, if you can tell your cook friends about the idea and see if they are interested in testing. if you are interested e-mail me at cb.recipe.testers@gmail.com
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