Obligatory Trip Around the Sun Assessment
I'm preparing to celebrate the annual trip around the sun tomorrow, which always feels like an opportune moment to step back, savor the view, and see if you're ready to address a couple of life's big questions with the advantage of another year of wisdom under the belt.
First, of course, is determining what Life's Big Questions are. For that, I turned to the Google. Here's what I found: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-10-big-philosophical-questions-most-people-wonder-about. There were a bundle of other sites as well, most with a Biblical bent. Not all of the Life's Big Questions are ones that I found myself pondering at any point during this last year, but a couple were.
1. What is the meaning of life?
I actually witched around this one with significant angst during my adolescent years and landed on something my maternal grandmother told me: "You are here to leave the world a better place than it was before you were born." The ongoing struggle has been putting that guidance into action. Through my religious beliefs lens, the meaning of life, for me, has become ensuring that my days are governed by actions which reflect being the hands, feet and voice of Christ in the world (thank you, St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, West Des Moines, IA). How's that been going for me this past year? I'll say pretty good. I still fall into the Judgey McJudgerson pit more often than I should. I think I'm continuing to move forward on the kindness scale, with lots of room to grow.
2. What is right/wrong?
For years, I've been a fan of grey, that ubiquitous middle ground between the extremes of absolute right and absolute wrong. Grey, I feel, allows the ability to use circumstances to assist you in decision making. Truth be told, this has not always served me particularly well but I've come to appreciate the point of view I haven't considered. Thank you to all who challenge my perspective. Given the extreme views prevalent in our country today, going to grey is increasingly challenging. Often I want to throw up my hands in frustration, not despair, and scream, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" Their view of right and wrong is diametrically opposed to mine and while I've been working on trying to gain at least a modicum of understanding about the difference, I'm still not very successful at this. How's this going for me this past year? Struggling.
3. What happens after death?
Mortality is a subject that tends to pop up in many of the classes I teach. When you talk about the horizon line in the windshield gradually drawing nearer, I suppose it's normal. There are plenty of life circumstances where we choose not to confront the inevitable--this is just the biggest one, particularly when it becomes increasingly obvious that there are fewer trips around the sun in your future. As well, most people share that they are not afraid of death. They are, however, fearful of the process leading up to their death. Will it be prolonged, painful? Will they lose independence, become incapacitated? Will they be a burden to friends and family? How's this going for me this past year? My belief system around death has been pretty much the same for awhile. I believe that someone(s) will help me through whatever that ending process may be and then, I'm not too worried about it. Que sera, sera.
4. Destiny? Free will?
How's this going for me this past year? If anything, I've decided I am never going to come to grips with this Life's Big Question. (see answer about right and wrong and shades of grey)
I am enormously grateful for all the blessings that accompanied me and that I gained on this trip around the sun. There have been innumerable times where I have stopped, stepped back, and given thanks for my surroundings. These have, on the main, outweighed the moments when I wish I was living a different life in a different body in a different time and place under the illusion that things would then, magically, be much better. The morning prayer often remains, "Whatever" with the evening prayer, "Oh, well." I think that serves me and those on the trip around the sun quite well.
Cooking
I keep forgetting that the title of this blog includes cooking...lol.
Sunday is Steak Sunday in the O'Brien abode. For as long as we can grill outside, Dan is the back yard grillmaster. He moves it indoors when the weather doesn't cooperate, cooking the steak on a cast iron griddle in bacon grease.
Our sides tend to be the same: a veggie (corn on the cob in the summer, broccoli/green beans/asparagus in the winter) and a starch. Dan does a mean twice baked potato, so I'm sharing his recipe.
Twice Baked Potatoes
1 potato per serving, each approximately the same size
Butter
Sour cream
Salt and pepper
Paprika
1. Using manufacturer instruction, pierce potatoes and bake in the microwave.
2. Make sure to use pot holders when removing potatoes from the microwave. Remember that the potatoes inside their jackets will be hot.
3. Cut a small slit in the top of the potatoes. Scoop out potatoes into a bowl. Retain potato jackets.
4. Season potatoes with salt and pepper, butter and sour cream to taste.
5. Scoop potatoes back into jackets. Return potatoes for 2 1/2 minutes to the microwave on high.
6. Potatoes can be topped with another dab of butter, followed by paprika or just paprika.
First, of course, is determining what Life's Big Questions are. For that, I turned to the Google. Here's what I found: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-10-big-philosophical-questions-most-people-wonder-about. There were a bundle of other sites as well, most with a Biblical bent. Not all of the Life's Big Questions are ones that I found myself pondering at any point during this last year, but a couple were.
1. What is the meaning of life?
I actually witched around this one with significant angst during my adolescent years and landed on something my maternal grandmother told me: "You are here to leave the world a better place than it was before you were born." The ongoing struggle has been putting that guidance into action. Through my religious beliefs lens, the meaning of life, for me, has become ensuring that my days are governed by actions which reflect being the hands, feet and voice of Christ in the world (thank you, St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, West Des Moines, IA). How's that been going for me this past year? I'll say pretty good. I still fall into the Judgey McJudgerson pit more often than I should. I think I'm continuing to move forward on the kindness scale, with lots of room to grow.
2. What is right/wrong?
For years, I've been a fan of grey, that ubiquitous middle ground between the extremes of absolute right and absolute wrong. Grey, I feel, allows the ability to use circumstances to assist you in decision making. Truth be told, this has not always served me particularly well but I've come to appreciate the point of view I haven't considered. Thank you to all who challenge my perspective. Given the extreme views prevalent in our country today, going to grey is increasingly challenging. Often I want to throw up my hands in frustration, not despair, and scream, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" Their view of right and wrong is diametrically opposed to mine and while I've been working on trying to gain at least a modicum of understanding about the difference, I'm still not very successful at this. How's this going for me this past year? Struggling.
3. What happens after death?
Mortality is a subject that tends to pop up in many of the classes I teach. When you talk about the horizon line in the windshield gradually drawing nearer, I suppose it's normal. There are plenty of life circumstances where we choose not to confront the inevitable--this is just the biggest one, particularly when it becomes increasingly obvious that there are fewer trips around the sun in your future. As well, most people share that they are not afraid of death. They are, however, fearful of the process leading up to their death. Will it be prolonged, painful? Will they lose independence, become incapacitated? Will they be a burden to friends and family? How's this going for me this past year? My belief system around death has been pretty much the same for awhile. I believe that someone(s) will help me through whatever that ending process may be and then, I'm not too worried about it. Que sera, sera.
4. Destiny? Free will?
How's this going for me this past year? If anything, I've decided I am never going to come to grips with this Life's Big Question. (see answer about right and wrong and shades of grey)
I am enormously grateful for all the blessings that accompanied me and that I gained on this trip around the sun. There have been innumerable times where I have stopped, stepped back, and given thanks for my surroundings. These have, on the main, outweighed the moments when I wish I was living a different life in a different body in a different time and place under the illusion that things would then, magically, be much better. The morning prayer often remains, "Whatever" with the evening prayer, "Oh, well." I think that serves me and those on the trip around the sun quite well.
Cooking
I keep forgetting that the title of this blog includes cooking...lol.
Sunday is Steak Sunday in the O'Brien abode. For as long as we can grill outside, Dan is the back yard grillmaster. He moves it indoors when the weather doesn't cooperate, cooking the steak on a cast iron griddle in bacon grease.
Our sides tend to be the same: a veggie (corn on the cob in the summer, broccoli/green beans/asparagus in the winter) and a starch. Dan does a mean twice baked potato, so I'm sharing his recipe.
Twice Baked Potatoes
1 potato per serving, each approximately the same size
Butter
Sour cream
Salt and pepper
Paprika
1. Using manufacturer instruction, pierce potatoes and bake in the microwave.
2. Make sure to use pot holders when removing potatoes from the microwave. Remember that the potatoes inside their jackets will be hot.
3. Cut a small slit in the top of the potatoes. Scoop out potatoes into a bowl. Retain potato jackets.
4. Season potatoes with salt and pepper, butter and sour cream to taste.
5. Scoop potatoes back into jackets. Return potatoes for 2 1/2 minutes to the microwave on high.
6. Potatoes can be topped with another dab of butter, followed by paprika or just paprika.
Comments
Post a Comment