Is it? To an expectant father whose wife is in labor, life might seem eternal. To a mom dropping her child off to school for the first time and she goes home alone, counting the hours until she can see him again, life seems never ending. To the man sitting in the cancer ward receiving his chemotherapy infusion, the minutes probably feel like days.
Okay, so I know that all of those examples could actually be flipped on me to prove that life is indeed not long. Each of us has our own lens to view the passing of the hours, days, minutes, and years and there is no right or wrong way for our clocks and calendars to unfold. But I offer you this: how can we expand the time we are given on the planet? As there is no promise of tomorrow, how can we juice today for all it has to offer?
Time is long, but life is short. - Stevie Wonder
In my kitchen, and in my life, I have a small formula that I try to employ each day:
- Learn something new
- Be open to SUCCESS
- Share
- Be grateful
Not every day is a success, but most of the successful days are in the effort, not the result. Results usually come later.
A few years ago there was a restaurant trend to put a perfectly poached egg on top of everything. I became obsessed. It was like my bucket list item for the kitchen. I wanted to achieve that pillowy white creation with the sunny runny yolk. It seemed fancy. It seemed hard. It seemed worth the effort. So I researched methods. I practiced. Thomas Keller had the winning technique for the perfect poached egg. He can teach you too! I usually start my day with a poached egg on toast to empower the rest of my day. If everything else goes wrong, I got my egg right!
In the spirit of life being short, is there something you've always wanted to cook but were waiting for the perfect occasion? Make it tonight! Have you always wanted to learn to make pasta, bake bread, or shuck oysters? Stop putting it off and sign up for a class. These are very small ways to expand the quality of your life, no matter how short or long it might be. Start in the kitchen and see where else you can make the most of things.
