Why I don't bake when it rains - more unsolicited advice from my kitchen
Yesterday, I wrote about some of the rules that I have in my kitchen when it comes to baking, and it occurred to me as I was writing them, that these rules can also be applied to life! So I thought I would take a slightly different look at them today.
Never bake when it rains - the same way that there are environmental factors that can affect our baking, there are things that can also affect us in life. There are some factors that can trigger us to be angry or sad, or that can affect us badly, and there are other things that can bring us joy and life. For me, over time I have noticed that there are some things that can trigger my mood such as lack of natural light and time outside. I noticed when I lived in England, especially in winter, how much the lack of sunshine and time outside affected me. I would make a special effort to go out walking at lunchtime - rain or shine, and ensure that I could stack the odds in my favour when it came to also doing those things that lit me up such as - seeing the autumn colours, visiting friends, and planning breaks and time off. Even after moving back to Barbados, I know the things that fill me up include going to the beach and watching the sunset, and of course baking! So the bigger advice here is - know what triggers you and what brings you joy and use this knowledge to manage your well-being.
Always be prepared. In reality, (and I have found out many times also in baking), we can’t always be prepared for everything that life throws at us. For me, what has helped with this more, is understanding that more often than not - things will not go according to the plan. This means being prepared to be adaptable and flexible, and to keep my eyes open to opportunities to do things differently (in baking and in life!) The knowledge that things won’t go according to the plan AND they will probably turn out alright anyway goes a long way to helping me to be prepared for when things do go awry. More on this in another post later on in November.
Never bake at night. I have already explained why I don’t bake at night. But it took me a long time to accept this about myself. Instead, I would be annoyed and beat myself up over the simple mistakes that I tended to make at night, but less so during the day. It was when I accepted that there is an ebb and flow to life that I stopped being so hard on myself, and instead worked with how I felt that baking and life became a lot more manageable. The truth is sometimes I am at my peak in terms of energy and focus, and other times I am winding down and need rest. And there is a lot to be said for honoring that ebb and flow, and going with it. When I started to do this, I found that the things that took me an hour at night took twenty minutes in the morning when I was more alert, and I realized that sometimes pushing past our own limits can be a complete waste of time and energy. Some time ago, I also wrote about the rate limiting factor, and the fact that sometimes it is the very thing that we are ignoring (such as the signals from our body that we need rest) that can have the biggest effect on our outcomes. So now, if I can absolutely help it, I don’t bake at night, and if I feel a strong pull to rest, I tend to do it.
So now I am curious - what life lessons have you learned in your kitchen? Drop them below. And in the meantime, I bring you big love from a small island!
PS the best lessons almost always come from the things that don’t work the way I expect them to. Like those hot cross buns above.