"Is there a plug by this table? I need to plug in my CrockPot."
"Can you hold on a minute, I need to go stir my CrockPot."
Millions of recipes, billions of combinations, simple, and easy to follow instructions, minimal prep and voila, you have a yummy, warm, cooked-to-perfection meal. I am an absolute DISASTER in the kitchen. I mean it. But last night I made a soup, not even my own recipe BTW, via my CrockPot and now I think I could launch my own cooking network. It was gooood. So easy too! I cut up my vegetables, measured out the seasoning and set the temp to warm all-day-long. However, I realized afterward how happy I was that I followed the recipe. I realized that one wrong ingredient, too much of something, not enough of another thing, my meal may not have turned out so perfect.
Say for example I had added too much garlic and it was just sitting in there, warming...all day. My meal would have been unpleasant, maybe too garlic-y. Say I didn't add enough broth, maybe my soup would have been dry or too thick.
We, in a sense are human CrockPots. Each day, everyday we cook up something new..... how often are we taking a look at our ingredient list. How often are we paying attention to what is within us, growing, merging, boiling, simmering? What is the dialogue in your head, what words are you reading, what shows and images are you looking at, watching and committing to memory, what conversations are you having. All of these things we experience through our senses add to our ingredient list. At the end of the day are you exhausted, energized, frustrated or happy?
Take a moment in stillness to address all of the things that you're cooking up within you. Begin to notice what elements may or may not be helping to create a feeling that you want to cultivate. Fill your CockPot with things that will fulfill you, maybe even help serve others. The beauty of this practice is that each day is a new day to begin.
