I love cooking. It's hard to say exactly what I love about cooking because I love everything. But it's the essence of cooking that gets me the most. The smell of fresh lime, the zing of sliced chili pepper, and the extraordinarily melancholic aroma of grated ginger - all of these, and more, have the ability to transform my world into something truly beautiful.
There are many things I love in this world - singing with others, leading people in musical worship, gathering together with God's people, dwelling on great and wonderful theological truths, walking along the coast, watching the starlings murmurate, and the garden birds gather materials for their nests, watching movies, reading books, socializing, theatre....
But cooking? Now there, right there, in the middle of that experience, when I lose myself in the chemistry of food, I am in my happy place. No stress, no difficulty, no performance worries - I am just there, in the moment. Food represents what I wish I could achieve in my music. I have a natural ability - always have - but something stops me perfecting my music. My natural ability seems to get swallowed up in so much other stuff. Maybe if I was a chef and I had to compete with others then it would be the same thing with food. Maybe not.
I wish I could just find my dream job - what I truly truly want to do - but I just don't know what it is. At the moment I'm following the theology path while teaching music to make a living. But I am not 100% convinced I'm on the right track. Maybe I should go into full time paid ministry...but there again, I'm just not convinced.
Where is my happy place when it comes to work? And do I need work to be my happy place? Not sure. But if I do... then maybe it should involve food...
