Gazing Out a Window
My living room, before the great window.
The heat from the tea penetrates the heavy ceramic mug and into my hands. Steam floats before my face as I gaze out the window, thinking about nothing, feeling everything, and then my concentration breaks for an instant as I’m reminded of the cookies.
I can’t count the number of places I’ve sat gazing out windows with a cup of tea in my hand while allowing imagination to run wild for a time before reining it in to a focused meditation. Many scooter and motorcycle rides lead to such a place as have walks and journeys by cars and planes. As much as I want to say I have some calling to introspection, it’s the cookie that brings me back, over and over again, to a quiet place where a conversation with life is possible. The cookie – meditation fuel.
Heart of the Matter
Post-heart attack I wondered if all snacks and comfort food would by necessity vanish from life as a hard, plain diet slowly strangled me. Perusing nutritional information on packages of sweet, chocolate goodness yielded the same message – “No snacks for you!”.
And then, unexpected, appeared Chips Ahoy Chunky Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Dry, hard, crunchy cookies with fat content lower than their compatriots, a package of reasonable fat and carbohydrate matrices that I could live with – literally – by my estimation.
The cookie is a talisman, a reminder of life lived simply. My focus with the Vespa follows that path. Surely the same is possible with a snack. There’s no need to eat the entire package, half or even a quarter. The path begins at three small round morsels imbued with the sweetness of life and ends with one solitary cookie – the grail at the end of a quest where body and mind meet in recognition that where cookies are concerned – less is more.
Problems with this ritual? What if I need to meditate twice in one day? How much fuel do I need?
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You’re a better man than I to be able to stop at 3.
I can stop at three — usually. But there are times when an hour later I’m brewing another cup of tea. It’s tough.
As one of the great junk eaters of all times I have had a hard time with my low fiber diet. I do get weary of scanning boxes and menus for pesky ingredients. I never thought I would long for a fist full of nuts.
Diet changes, whatever the reason, are tough. Until you have to do it you really can appreciate the challenge.
Have you ever experienced
A period of grace
When your brain
Just takes a seat
Behind your face? – Paul Simon
Yes, it’s a lovely moment. And, like you, it frequently starts with that cup o’ tea. But for some reason (disconnected from any heath concerns), cookies fogure less and less in this ritual. I think I’m just less into the sweet-with-sweet thing now than beforem Give me a fresh, warm croissant and I can almost hear the brain cells gently bubbling. The focus becomes sharp, but gradual. Just the thing if I’m soon to thriw a leg over one of the bicycles or the Vespa. This happens less in winter, on account of what’s been called my bear-like tendency toward morning hibernation. When morning temps start at 40 degrees and up, Im a relatively early riser. (Well, tomorrow’s going to be warm-ish. We’ll see.)
That Paul Simon quote pretty much sums it up. At least for me.
I love croissants but have convinced myself that they’re worse than a couple cookies. That’s probably not true and the real story is I would have much more difficulty controlling myself with a croissant.
Wind blowing hard here now but supposed to be warm tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll find time to go for a ride.
I keep really cheap chocolate chip cookies from Family Dollar in the Cookie Jar which, hopefully, aren’t too harmful. I have been trying to shed some pounds in advance of the riding season since the 250cc Chinese scooter isn’t a powerhouse. Given it’s paucity of ponies every extra pound I lose is less those few horses have to push around. Hence I just gaze covetously at the jar and avoid it as often as possible.
I admire people who meditate quietly but I find it difficult. My brain is always abuzz with inner conversation.
My brain buzzes constantly and meditating is difficult. The moment I sit down there are a dozen things I think I should be doing. Sitting still for awhile eventually gives way to quiet. Writing really helps. So does riding.
If you really want to know max amount/day….you could send your doc the stats from the package and have him dictate. Then again, he might say….no cookie for you! 🙂
No way am I going to ask. I fear the answer. I have enough “no’s” in my life.