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Let’s
start with meat loaf. Although it can be a pretty mundane dish, it needn’t
be. Actor Alfred Lunt clearly saw fresh possibilities in it when he was on
the road with a hit show, moving from city to city, hotel to hotel. Longing
for the comforts of home, he felt increasingly frustrated.
So, he decided to do something about it. He cooked meals in the homes of
friends on the road. His prize improvisation? Meat loaf. What did Lunt do?
He lined a pie shell with ground round, filling it with a concoction of
rice, zuccini, onions and sour cream. After baking, he cut it into
pie-shaped wedges. The dish—a favorite of mine—remains original and
delicious today.
Despite the best of our intentions, food can be dull and utilitarian. Or it
can stimulate taste buds, open one’s eyes to unsuspected pleasures, allow us
to discern fresh meaning in an eggplant or beet, and awaken a stagnated
imagination. Take a carrot: why not sharpen its taste with nutmeg and a few
drops of lemon juice? Take a new approach to a cauliflower: after steaming
it, place it in a baking dish, spread sour cream and buttered crumbs on it,
and bake.
Fresh breads and delicious soups are among my favorite foods. Yet we all
know that a tasteless loaf of bread is a bloody bore. It’s chomp, chomp,
chomp —without a reward. Of course, a bowl of soup can either be lukewarm
drivel or a classic experience. I fondly remember my grandma’s vegetable
soup, simmered to perfection. I’ve also vastly enjoyed a steaming hot clam
or oyster soup, an ice cold cucumber potato soup (with buttermilk), and a
bowl of satiny avocado cream.
‘I’m so bored by many aspects of my life,” writes a reader. “I envy people
who seem to do interesting things. I wish I could get a pair of wings and
fly, or maybe learn to dance like Zorba the Greek. My mind stretches out to
the limits of the universe, but I continue to stay snug and play it safe.
Sometimes I feel as dead as a rock by the side of the road. How can I wake
up and smell the roses?”
A
good way is to improvise. This can be extremely helpful to rigid people who
reject a new idea because is threatens them, are not willing to risk or try
on something new for size. Yet improvisation is required if one wishes to
follow in the footsteps of poet Robert Frost and pursue a path less
traveled. This can be an introduction to courage and faith, developing
trust, and commencing a spiritual journey.
Spiritual development is a bit like cooking a good meal—adding or deleting
certain ingredients, subtly changing tastes, allowing improvisation to open
up fresh possibilities. An example of successful improvisation is found in
Oysters Rockefeller. It was initially prepared by a New Orleans chef who
died believing his recipe would remain a secret. It didn’t. As the dish
gradually became an international sensation, all sorts of folks began to
improvise with different ingredients. In Paris, Alice B. Toklas dramatically
added a new one—spinach—to parsley, tarragon, chervil, basil and chives.
Why consent to stay the same or occupy a rut? The best things in life are
free. Improvisation doesn’t require money. It requires faith. It is
democratic and accessible; it requires our sparked interest, imagination and
patience.
A
spiritual journey is an experience in awakening. There is no precise Thomas
Guide for it; hotel and meal reservations are not available. Credit cards
can’t buy anything and there’s no cash. Old ways of looking at things shift.
Hills are made low. Valleys are exalted. The unseen is clearly seen, while
what appeared to be visible is out of view. Some people who led the parade
are now last in line. Others who used to be nearly invisible in the rear are
up front.
If we’re interested in taking a spiritual journey, shouldn’t we get used to
improvisation?
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