Pathway Blooms

Sitting at a kitchen bench recently, a dear friend and I chatted over a cup of tea. Friends for years, and although separated in age by a decade, we often feel like kindred spirits - right now, more than ever because of our common circumstances. Both of us are teachers and neither has a job.

We talked about the emotions that often accompany a situation like ours, feelings of not being wanted, of feeling redundant, perhaps even pushed aside. We also talked about the distasteful ‘icing on the cake’ - not being able to do what we love to do - teach children. It’s not a comfortable place to be!

Perhaps because the kitchen is a place of meal preparation, I’m not sure, but as we chatted, an everyday image flashed across my mind, an image of a meal set before me.  It reminded me of something that had been tickling the edges of my thinking for days, so I shared it with my friend.

It seems to me that life comes in chapters or since we’re talking kitchens, it comes in courses - entre, main, dessert, coffee. Wandering down this pathway in my thinking, I imagine myself sitting at a dining table, the main course in front of me, and a selection of items on my plate. The food about to be consumed may be of the very finest culinary standard but if my attention and my focus are directed solely on the dessert to come, I’m robbing myself.

So then we chatted about the redeeming aspects of our present situation, things that are luxuries when we are time-poor. For me, it’s writing, gardening, reading, cooking for others and visiting with friends. For my friend, it’s having the opportunity to invest time in the many little extras that her family enjoys.

We all need things to look forward to, especially when life is dry or challenging. I guess we just need to be careful we are not robbing ourselves of delectable little treats from the plate right in front of us.