You may be wondering at the photo next to this blog because an omelet – yes, that’s what it is in case you were wondering – may not seem to correlate exactly with the subject matter but I assure you that it does and will. For the first time in my life – and that’s not an inconsiderable amount of time up to this point – I successfully (mostly, if you don’t count the minor crack that appeared after) flipped an omelet in a pan – WITHOUT USING A SPATULA.
For some of you who are experienced chefs either professionally or in your own home you may be saying – Pshhh – BFD. Well, to me, not necessarily the most confident cook in the world and whose dinner in her 20’s consisted of pizza rolls and gin and tonic it was a very big deal. I’m also the same woman whose mother stated to her once – “you’re a good cook, you’re just not a natural cook.” It should be noted, however, that this same mother also complimented my home-made fried chicken gravy as being as good as her own. My comfort level at being in the kitchen may have something to do with my HSP trait and perfectionism because preparing and cooking food has never really been relaxing for me as it is for some people – or so I assume because they certainly seem comfortable. I’m always worried about cooking the food too much or too little and when I was raising my sons giving them salmonella-laced food was always at the back of my mind. No, that never happened – thanks for asking.
As you can see by the photo there was the aforementioned small crack that developed afterward which marred the outcome only just a little and my spirits none at all as it tasted delicious. It may seem silly to you that I should write about this seemingly every-day-occurrence event except that in my life – and perhaps yours – an experience like this one would create a platform on which to stand and announce to the world – I AM QUEEN OF AN OMELET! Not saying anything about the next omelet or the hundreds before this one – just that the stars aligned for this one and the kitchen goddess granted me the grace to flip the pan just so.
The reason for the photo is that both of my sons are excellent cooks and they did cook with me while they were growing up as I felt this was an important life skill to have. They mastered skills in the kitchen that I never had quickly moving past me so I took the photo to share my albeit minor victory with them. That’s when it struck me that perhaps there might be an area in your life where a smallish kind of victory would fill your heart with gladness as mine did for me and that your success at an endeavor was made possible not by one grand leap but by a series of baby steps.
With the typical emphasis on success for humans cross-culturally being placed on mostly highly visible and tangible results it’s easy to see how for most of us there may be a feeling of “I’ll never get there” and perhaps even “what’s the point in even setting goals if I can’t reach them” feeling? Sometimes – as with my omelet – what is necessary is many attempts, perhaps a few less failures than those attempts and then – BAM! – comes that one up-til-then-elusive shining moment of success that is as sweet as any grand achievement. And that is because it is a crystal clear indicator of all things that are possible, all goals that can be surpassed and all steps both large and small that are necessary on one’s path to anything anywhere in the world. It is validation that behind the misty veils of uncertainty that sometimes impede our vision of just how gifted we are – at omelet flipping or making the world a better place – lies the true essence of not only the skills we have to succeed at anything but the mystical ingredient of our true divinity of being able to part those veils consciously and see where we’re headed with clarity and confidence. Any step in the direction you’re going is a good one, large or small – it’s just important that you risk and take them on a regular basis. You may hold your breath like I did while the omelet was in the air and out of the pan and then sigh with relief when it – and you – land safely in a brand new place that’s already waiting – just for you – ready to being again with another step.