Putting in place
Ready, set, go
One of the first things you learn in culinary school is the concept of mise-en-place (I’ve never been to a culinary school). Mise-en-place is the French word for ‘putting everything in place.’ Ingredients and tools must be gathered, prepared, laid, and ready to use. It shows the discipline and organization of a good chef.
Putting things in place is a vital part of being ready. It is the commitment to the slow pace of the process. Like the pre-game routine for athletes, and the many rehearsals of a performer before the actual show.
In the weeks leading up to my mid-term exams back in October, my mind was a clutterhouse, a chatter-box, an unmade bed of place. I simply wasn’t ready. It didn’t help that the weather in Ottawa went from Summer to Winter in two days (no jokes, Ottawa had its first snow for this season in October *screams internally*).
I had to reevaluate many different situations in my personal life to see what could be improved. It’s been a solid year for me, and I wanted the year to end on an even better note. Subconsciously, I had placed so much pressure on myself because of this. I had been distracted and burdened by things that weren’t even important. Then I started to drill down. Put things in place. Mostly just reorganize myself. I will let you know how that went.
Most times I am a process-oriented person. Staying committed to the journey. I prefer to take my time with things because I believe the journey/process shapes us and becomes the reward. I have a 934-day streak on Duolingo if that means anything. But I digress. Other times, I go into things in a hurry, underprepared, and jumping the gun. I am often bewildered by what I find because I had no plan, and I wasn’t ready. And yet, some of the most expansive experiences of my life have been those I wasn’t even prepared for. The happenstance I didn’t see coming.
This makes me wonder what roles hastiness and preparedness play in our daily lives. The differences between the people who plan, and the ones who just do. I guess there is a balance. There has to be.
It is hard to come to terms with the fact that life remains unpredictable. You never know the people who will enter your life, the ideas that will take root or the opportunities that will grace you. So how truly prepared can you be? How can you know exactly what you will need until you arrive? There will always be pieces you had missed, the tasks you had glossed over. The one small thing that made all the difference. Some of the best inventions in life have been made through the process of iteration, doing and then doing again.
This in no way downplays how important it is to plan and prepare. There are certain things in life you must be prepared for: the right relationship, a move to a new place, a new job. But it’s also important to leave room for flexibility and change. To plan and learn as you go, allowing mistakes to happen and adjusting accordingly.
For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace, 1987
Quote of the Week
“There seems to be a kind of order in the Universe… in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the changing of the season. But human life is almost pure chaos. Everyone takes his stance, asserts his own right and feelings, mistaking the motives of others, and his own.”
Katherine Anne Porter
What I’m Reading
How to avoid half-heartedness: Ava tugged at my heartstrings with this one.
“Don’t rely on someone else to give you what you need. Choose what nourishes you every day. See how strong you become when you remember that love is just reassertation, choosing something over and over. Do it one more time & watch mundane repetition become something transcendent.”
The Decision-Making Process: Make More Obvious Decisions:
“There’s a simple way to improve your decision-making process in your life: make more obvious decisions.
If it’s not slapping you across the face as an obvious “yes, I should do this right now,” then don’t do it. Just wait, and see what else comes your way.”
Clare, I loved this line "It is the commitment to the slow pace of the process." Slowing down, to the pace that things take the time they take, is a good life approach.
Yes! It's all about the mise en place.. if you have all the ingredients then you are ready for what life flings at you. Love the metaphor! (And the Duolingo thing is very impressive).