Bounce Back
I did, finally, get around to making that cassoulet recipe that I mentioned a few weeks ago. It was fantastic. It's use of pureed onion, parsley, thyme and salt ensures maximum flavor throughout the dish, and is a technique I will likely use as I improvise soup making in the future. It was a great dish to cook last Sunday. The reheats carried us deep into the week.
After the variety of the holidays, and my recent trip to Fort Worth, I now crave a few weeks of consistency. What a great week this has been in those terms. I worked with focus, slept well, ate well - did all of things I intended to do. This is not to say that I accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. It is a rare week when I do that. I mostly overestimate what I can get done in a week.
Last year taught me the value of simply hanging in there - getting back to “normal,” however one might define that, as quickly as possible after straying. For example, I added the daily practice of Morning Pages to my routine last year. As with all new habits, there were fits and starts. If I fell out of the routine for a day or two (or more), I didn’t beat myself up. I didn’t try to write extra pages to atone for my lapses. I simply wrote my pages for that day, with the intention of doing it again the following day.
Somehow I was able to quiet my inner-critic. Rather than all sorts of harsh, negative things, I told myself “Everybody slips. Get back on the horse.” I got better at treating myself the way I try to treat other people - with kindness, and generosity of spirit. It has been really helpful - and sneaky. It’s only recently that I sensed a noticeable difference between today’s inner reality, and that of one year ago. It has taken time to create observable improvement.
In professional golf, there is a statistic called the “Bounceback Percentage.” It measures the rate at which a golfer makes a birdie immediately after scoring over par on the previous hole. If you know anything about golf, you know that birdies are quite rare, at least for amateurs. To me, bouncing back really means getting back to par at the next opportunity. You have to be pretty thoughtful about how you set “par.” It is easy to set the bar too high. In my experience, this is a recipe for disappointment.
The good news is that this is all iterative - set goals, translate them into daily measurables, and see how it goes. Eventually you will develop a sense for your capacity - and perhaps more importantly, you’ll develop a sense of what really, truly matters to you. Many goals I have set were based on vanity, or on what I thought other people might expect or value. When push comes to shove, we can only be consistent at the things that are truly important to us.
I’m not really into New Years Resolutions anymore. But I do set annual goals, translating them into daily and weekly measurable behaviors that will carry me in the direction of those goals. Now that we are about three weeks into the New Year, some of us may be fading a bit in our commitment to whatever changes we have articulated for ourselves in this New Year. If this describes you, please believe me when I say keep going. Building new “normals” for yourself does not have to be heroic. It can be boring. It can be simple. Just start doing new things, abandoning some old things along the way.
Last year I wrote 554 journal pages - far from the 1,095 I would have written had I been "perfect" every day of 2023. But if you had told me last January that I would write 554 journal pages longhand by the end of the year, I can assure you I would have been pleased by the prospect. Page count is now kind of secondary. What matters is that the practice of journaling is now available to me whenever I want it. I fully appreciate its benefits, and can feel its absence. Whenever I drift away from it, I am drawn back - not out of shame, guilt or self-criticism. But because I know how it will benefit me.
So, it was a good string of days. Let’s have another good one today.
Sunday Supper
This Sunday, French Onion Soup is calling to me. As with so many good Sunday recipes, this one requires a fair amount of time, but not a ton of active work. This Roasted Root Vegetable Salad would be a great accompaniment, and these Black Sesame Rice Krispies Treats look amazing to me as well.
A quick kitchen note: For Christmas, Lori arranged for an early January sharpening of all our knives by Lou, owner of The Finest Edge. His truck serves as a mobile sharpening shop. He paid us a visit, and does great work. Check out his website to see his schedule (he offers lots of different drop-off/pick-up options).
Sunday Music
This week I’m pleased to introduce you to a new singer-songwriter named Kat Eaton. Based in London, it feels like I’ve discovered her work on the early edge of “breaking through” into the mainstream. I could not find any long form videos of her performing, but I offer you these individual songs to enjoy this fine day: Both Sides Now (cover of the Joni Mitchell classic), Bad Advice (original song from her latest album), and Addicted. You can find more of Kat’s work at her YouTube page, or her personal website. When her career explodes, we'll know it's because she landed on our cultural radar. Enjoy!
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,