It’s interesting, what gets unearthed during stressful times. It was a long week, in spite of the July 4th holiday, thanks to my internship wrapping up and my mom’s knee replacement surgery. She’s doing really well, but these moments are fraught and trying for everyone. I haven’t exactly been a picture of equanimity or grace over the last seven days.
What I have been, though—and it’s been interesting to notice this—is honest. I’ve honestly expressed my needs (which included asking for help last week) and honestly communicated my feelings. Those feelings have been all over the map this week; they’ve included anger, frustration, resentment, fatigue, and anxiety. But I’ve allowed them to be what they are, and I haven’t edited myself around either loved ones or strangers.
I didn’t use to think of myself as being overly contained; after all, I share a lot of myself online, and I have no trouble opening up about seemingly intimate topics. The older I get, though, the more I realize how contained and controlled I can be. It’s not withholding of information so much as editing the narrative or the delivery in such a way as to make things sound a lot prettier than they’ve felt.
There’s much to be said for discretion and a health degree of privacy. But I’m always conscious of my impulse to control things, myself included. It’s important for me to close up the distance that I sometimes create between my inner experience and my outward behavior—a distance I maintain in order to make myself more palatable and pleasing—in the interest of giving others access to a more honest self.
This work, if you can call it that, includes being a little more impulsive, expressive, and not thinking so hard before I utter a word or give a response. It can mean stating boundaries when I sense that they’ve been trampled on or having the guts to articulate discomfort when I feel it. It means relaying sensations of vulnerability or hurt, rather than trying to maintain a posture of toughness around them.
None of this is easy for me, no matter how “in touch” with my feelings I consider myself to be. In many ways, the intensity of the last few months has exposed my nerves a bit, and while I dislike being irritable (which I am right now!), it’s not a terrible thing for me to in touch with a less edited, much messier self.
She’s interesting, this self; she’s pretty good at saying what she needs without stopping to worry about how she’ll be perceived. And in making a little space for her, I’m learning that my impulses and instincts are more trustworthy than I give them credit for being. My intuition endures a lot of cross-examination by my hyper-analytical, questioning mind; maybe I should spend more time listening to it.
I certainly haven’t found a way of communicating that’s a perfect balance of honest and conscious—both thinking and feeling, I guess. Maybe the deeper truth here is that a “perfect” balance is as much of an illusion as any kind of perfection is. My attempts to chart new territory, one exchange at a time, is the best that I can do.
Starting a fresh week with the intention of staying in touch with my experience—whatever that means and however it leads me. Wishing you a good one, too. Here are some recipes and reads.
I love the looks of Tuulia’s savory carrot and zucchini muffins. I almost never make savory muffins, but I always appreciate what a good snack they are when I do.
A hearty, versatile vegan lentil ragu from the wonderful Izy.
How scrumptious does Amanda’s homemade walnut butter look?
Tomato season is in full swing where I live, and I’ll be soaking up every second between now and October. This simple heirloom salad looks like a perfect way to celebrate.
And finally, a breathtaking vegan pavlova, thanks to the magic of aquafaba—and Agnes’ talent. (I used the translate function in Chrome to access the recipe.)
1. This carb champion never doubted the value of the macronutrient! But I was glad to see Carrie Dennett address one of the benefits of carbohydrates, which is gut health. Dennett accessibly covers new research into the disease-fighting potential of microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, or MACs. This is fancy terminology for the type of carbohydrates that feed healthful microbiota in our large intestine, thereby lowering inflammation and helping our bodies to fend off pathogens.
2. Via the New York Times, a second HIV patient has been reported to be cured of the infection.
3. Hospitals are loud! It’s one of the sensory experiences of working in clinical settings that I’ve noted most often in the past year. I’m pretty sensitive to sound, so I’ve wondered if it was just me. But this article in The Atlantic suggests that it’s not.
4. A look into the promise and potential of virtual reality as a form of therapy.
5. I’ve become a fan of Caroline Wright’s writing through Food52, and this essay is a reminder of why—so human and touching. Caroline writes about how her cancer diagnosis changed her relationship with tiramisu and with her parents (how’s that for zeugma?). Among other things, it’s a lovely expression of what it means to get older and to reconcile one’s ideals about how life should be with the reality that each one of us gets. It was a very good thing for me to read this week.
I’m signing off to gather up the last few hours of Sunday. Love and appreciation to you all.
xo
Good afternoon, all! New York has been graced with the most remarkable weather in the last few days–a spell of dry, cool, blue-skied and sunny days that almost carries the scent of September. I’ve been savoring every second of it, along with a chance to spend some time with Steven and catch up on cooking, recipe testing, and the usual weekend chores. Now I’m perusing some of my favorite blogs for weekend recipe inspiration, and as you’ll see, I’m finding plenty! To begin…
This past week in yoga, my teacher quoted a verse from a poem by Rumi. Some of you might know it already; the title of the poem is “On A Day”: When the wind is perfect The sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day. I wasn’t surprised at my teacher’s timing. We New Yorkers had just had two of the warmest and most beautiful days of an otherwise cold, rainy spring. The gleeful…
Happy Sunday, November, Daylight Savings, and so on–hard to believe we’re another month further into the fall. I’m feeling totally unprepared for the holidays and all of the commotion they create, but for the time being I’m enjoying crisp weather and a true change of seasons. Speaking of seasons, this week I’m linking to Adam McHugh’s lovely meditation on seasons, both external and internal. McHugh argues that external seasons sometimes serve as cues for internal change and flux — the transition to fall,…
Happy Sunday, friends. I hope you’ve had festive and restful weekends. If you missed it, don’t forget to check out my raw pecan sandies, which were part of Kristy’s fabulous vegan cookie swap party this weekend! And now, some weekend reading links. Of course I’m drooling–drooling, I say!!–over Cady and Maddie’s kabocha squash recipe with miso tahini dill sauce. My lord. This purple cabbage salad with pomegranate seeds is so spectacularly colorful! Did someone say vegan caesar dressing? With pine nuts? Sign me up. Now….
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Hi Gena,
I always look forward to your Sunday posts. For your open-hearted sharing. Your clear way you write.
These are challenging times, where all of our unfinished stuff is coming up, both individually and collectively. When is it time to release it to make space for our enlightened choices? Easier said than done, perhaps, but it’s at these times of the greatest intensity, when things might seem to be their worst, that we can make huge progress in our growth.
You aren’t alone. Nothing is wrong with you. You are evolving and scraping off the now-expired rough edges of your being. It feels harsh and intense and too much. That’s the time to call in your team.
Remember in yoga holding postures. The burning. The feeling that it’s too much. Chattery mind. Step back and just witness and feel, even for a moment, what it feels like to just be present. As you have been doing. Same. Choose. If you don’t like what you’ve chosen, choose again.
Thank you for being a Light in this world.
XXX
It’s a little too messy to explain here, but I think once we make friends with irritability, we can use it to our advantage. This past week I was able to not get taken advantage of in a situation where I normally would have rolled over, and afterwards I realized I had the irritability to thank for not backing down! Still trying to figure it all out, but it was a great lesson in not seeing negative emotions as the almighty enemy.