Most people know that I am intentionally loosing weight. So, I don't do a bunch of baking anymore. Before, when I didn't care about what I was putting in my mouth, I had no qualms about baking a pie and eating it myself. Or cookies. Or brownies. Or whatever. But, I have put a lot of energy and focus into knowing exactly what I am eating and making choices that are healthy and fulfilling. This doesn't mean I can't bake wonderful things, but I know my personality. If it is in the house, I will eat it. I stopped baking.
However, as my body is going through this transformation, I have been thinking about ways to be as conscious about other aspects of my life as I am about what I eat. I have been thinking a lot about what makes me happy. Writing makes me happy, which is why I have recommitted myself to this blog. And I can't deny the fact that baking makes me happy. But how could I bake and still care for my body? The answer came to me in a recent Deacon meeting at church (of all places - who knew that committee meetings could actually cause creative thought?). We were planning a Saturday morning Lenten spiritual discussion series. So, every Saturday morning in Lent, I have committed to bringing some sweet treat to share. I can bake again, and share it with others.
Which made me realize I love baking even more when I can share what I create. That is why I think I love to blog. Writing makes me happy, yes, but this way I can share it with others. And by making something from my heart, something that brings me joy, and then sharing it with people I care about, I am expanding that joy.
This may seem like a pretty obvious correlation to some, but for me, it has really opened my eyes. As a committed introvert, my mind doesn't instantly go to sharing and engaging with others. I realized I can do things that make me happy, caring for my health, baking something that makes the apartment smell amazing, and sharing all of this joy with people I love. Why deny happiness? I will not anymore.
Sure, I won't be baking things full of sugar or fat. Tonight's banana bread for instance, has whole wheat flour and just 1/2 cup of light brown sugar. But, it has FIVE bananas! If it tastes half as good as it smells, then it will surely be a winner.
I hope that you too can find things that make you happy and then share them with others. They take a lot of time? Who cares. You deserve to be happy and those around you will be happier because of it. So, make some banana bread, bake some cookies, or whip up a pie and sit down to a lovely meal with people you care about. I can't think of a better way to spend your weekend.
Well, five posts in one week! As I said, making time for writing and sharing it with others has increased my happiness, so I have no intention of stopping! I already have my 'blog calendar' mapped out for the next month. I will be taking the weekend off, but will be back on Monday. Next week I will introduce two new features which will have a regular appearance on my blog: Random Life Experiments and Old Fashioned Book Reports. And on Monday, come back to read about my week as an official Nielson TV Ratings journal keeper. That should keep your mind active, as you consider the fact that my particular tv watching habits (refer to yesterday's post) will be used to determine tv listings in the future!
No comments:
Post a Comment