Tag: Mindfulness

My Abundant Life 7-15-26

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July 15th, 2026

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

“I learned early on that setting a table is so much more than just laying down knives and forks. It is creating a setting for food and conversation, setting a mood and an aura that lingers long after what was served and who said what was forgotten.”

Peri Wolfman (Author; June 1960)

“The rituals of nourishment cry out for the communion cups, the special plates on which to break bread, the candle flame, the circle drawn in the dirt. Ritual protects and heals, ritual symbolizes to all who come to your tale seeking rest and renewal that they are enclosed within a sacred space. You may think you’re only laying a place at the supper table, but when you trust and follow your creative impulses to bring forth something beautiful, you experience the Sacred in the ordinary. Moses looked for God in the burning bush. We need look no further than our tables, the tables that the Hebrew Psalmist tells us have already been prepared for us so that our cups might runneth over.”

“When you take extra moments to prepare an attractive table, you’re really performing an invocation, welcoming Spirit to be present in recreation and remembrance. Choosing to dine rather than just eat is a small but significant step toward self-nurturance, and one to savor as long as we live. Creating an inviting table is possible more nights than you think, especially if you approach is as another venue of artistic expression in your daily round and confine your efforts, as Peri suggests, to ‘the simple, the doable, and the affordable.'”

“Today, start using and enjoying the beautiful things that already surround you in the home. Don’t save their loveliness only for other people to recognize and appreciate. Using them, you will become aware that authentic aspirations–from setting a pretty table to finding your life’s calling–are legitimate longings.”

“I believe every meal is a dinner party and we use all our fine ware to celebrate our dining with one another. Use it or lose it!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 258 to 260 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-14-26

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July 14th, 2026

The Celebrating Table

“The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction.”

Laurie Colwin (American Writer; June 14th, 1944 to October 24th, 1992)

“The evening meal should be the highlight of the day. If the day has been peaceful, pleasurable, and profitable, it’s time to celebrate. If the day has been difficult and discouraging, it’s time for comfort and consolation–blessings by themselves and reason to celebrate. Either way, the celebrating table bids.”

“Planning, shopping, and cooking in the space of an hour is self-abuse pure and simple.”

“We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us. We must turn off the television and the telephone, hunker down in front of our hearths, and leave our briefcases at the office, if for only one night. We must march into the kitchen, en famille or with a friend, and find some easy, heartwarming things to make from scratch, and even if it is but once a week, we must gather at the table, alone or with friends or with lots of friends or with one friend, and eat a meal together. We know that without food we would die. Without fellowship life is not worth living.”

Laurie Colwin (American Writer; June 14th, 1944 to October 24th, 1992)

“Sharing a meal with my husband is one of the highlights of my day. I love how we creates meals with love and creativity. I see his full self-expression when he cooks.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 257 to 258 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-13-26

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July 13th, 2026

Stocking The Larder

“Cooking–yes, and living become simpler rite this month. I have made a list of satisfactory meals planned around only one cooked dish. This list is hung on the door of my kitchen cabinet for reference. When I am lacking ambition I do not wonder what to have for dinner.”

Nell B. Nichols (Author; August 28th, 1894 to May 28th, 1984)

“Won’t you agree with me, as you lie looking up at the leafy canopy above you, that a home now and in every other month must be a haven to the spirit as well as a place in which the physical needs are supplied?”

Nell B. Nichols (Author; August 28th, 1894 to May 28th, 1984)

“My own is my haven. I love to shut out the world and just exist in our hobbit house with my love and dog.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 255 to 257 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-12-26

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July 12th, 2026

How To Cook A Wolf

“There’s a whining at the threshold–

There’s a scratching at the floor–

To work! To work! In Heaven’s name!

The wolf is at the door!

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (American Novelist; July 3rd, 1860 to August 17th, 1935)

“When the wolf arrives, ‘Our texture of belief has great holes in it,’ M. F. K. Fisher recalls. ‘Our pattern lacks pieces.” Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, who was probably this country’s greatest food writer, knew all about lean times. In fact, one of her early books was How to Cook a Wolf, which she published in 1942 during the worst of the wartime food shortages.”

“Poverty is always experienced in the soul before it is felt in the pocketbook.”

“For those of us who would like to follow in her footsteps, she recommends weeding our desires, leaving only the holy hungers, ‘so that you can live most agreeably in a world full of an increasing number of disagreeable surprises.”

“How did she do it? By not running scared when the wolf arrived, by not giving in to her fears that he would blow her house down. She knew that the twists and turn of fate are usually just hot air. Instead, she learned to outsmart, catch. and cook the wolf. By concentrating on the goal at hand–a good glass of wine, a good tomato, a good loaf of bread. A beautiful sunset, a lively conversation, a loving relationship. She knew that the good life does not depend on extravagant indulgences. The good life does not deprive. It exults. ‘You can still live with grace and wisdom.’ she encourages us–if you rely on ‘your own innate sense of what you must do with the resources you have to keep the wolf from sniffing too hungrily through the keyhole.'”

“My husband and I have agreed to live a created life where everyday is a party. We lean into this and stay present with what is so and create magic in our lives every single moment. We are blessed.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 254 to 255 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-11-26

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July 11th, 2026

Cooking as Art: Creative Discoveries in The Kitchen

“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a star.”

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (Lawyer & Former Deputy of the French National Assembly; April 1st, 1755 to February 2nd, 1826)

“Few of us have enjoyed the thrill of mounting a one-woman show of our art. But all of us can put on an apron. Tonight, instead of thinking of dinner as just another obligation, think of it as an opportunity for jump-starting your creativity. Cooking is one of the best ways for your authentic self to remind your conscious self that you are an artist. Like the union of canvas and pigment, cooking alchemy, a work of Wholeness-in-progress.”

“… you can never re-create the past. But you can shape your own future. And you can make a cake.”

Jacqueline Deval (Author; ~1960)

“Since I am able to follow a recipe pretty well, I can make cake!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 252 to 254 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-10-26

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July 10th, 2026

Kitchen Mysticism

“After all, it is those who have a deep and real inner life who are best able to deal with the irritating details of outer life.”

Evelyn Underhill (English Writer; December 6th, 1875 to June 15th, 1941)

“I desperately need to restore harmony in my life, to find balance again between the inner and the outer, the visible and the invisible. The writing doesn’t seem to be coming from me as much as through me, almost in spite of me. Today the strings on this instrument are very taunt. I’ve got to loosen them so that they don’t snap. Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe the pitch of pressure is too high, the tone in your voice too sharp, the decibels of the demands on you deafening.”

“We need to explore the fourth Simple Abundance principle–harmony–most deeply when life is out of tune.”

“Evelyn Underhill, an English mystic and writer of the early twentieth century, believed that women mystics with worldly responsibilities often became ‘visionaries, prophetesses’ because they were able to combine ‘spritual transcendence with great practical ability.’ Be they poets, saints or cooks, they ‘remained all their lives the devout lovers of reality’ while seeking Spirit.”

“I feel my own unfolding and peeling transformation has led me to my own understanding as a goddess and mystic.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 251 to 252 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-9-26

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July 9th, 2026

Nursery Fare For Children of All Ages

“Animal crackers, and cocoa to drink,

That is the finest of suppers, I think;

When I’m grown up and can have what I please

I think I shall always insist upon these.”

Christopher Morley (American Journalist & Novelist; May 5th, 1890 to March 28th, 1957)

“When you’re cranky and cry easily, when you are so tired that your eyes burn from keeping them open, when you need hugs and someone to pat the top of your head and whisper ‘Shh… There, there…’ and no one is around, you need nursery fare. Nursery foods are the well-loved recipes from childhood that conjure up the happy, innocent moments when all was right with the world because we knew our place in it. The times when, dressed in our flannel pajamas, we sat down for supper before a story and bed…”

“I often wonder how I didn’t become 300# with the neglect was worse as food was soothing. Likely because food was scarce I could rely on that for all my needs.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 249 to 251 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-8-26

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July 8th, 2026

In Search of Soul Food

“Soul food is just what the name implies. It is soulfully cooked food or richly flavored food, good for your ever-loving soul.”

Sheila Ferguson (American Singer & Songwriter; October 8th, 1947)

“In 1900, a Kentucky mountain woman walked fifty miles to seek a place for her granddaughter at Berea College high school. ‘Hit’s a lot worse to be soul-hungry than to be body-hungry.’ she explained.”

“…a legacy clearly steeped in tradition; a way of life that has been handed down from generation to generation.”

Sheila Ferguson (American Singer & Songwriter; October 8th, 1947)

“And while the expression ‘soul food’ is usually used to describe traditional African-American cooking, this emotionally evocative cuisine is color-blind. Real soul food only knows the borders of the heart. Soul food is universal culinary memories, stories, and recipes.”

“When preparing soul food, we can’t cook by the book but rather by instinct, by using our senses.”

“You taste, rather than measure, the seasoning you treasure; and you use your eyes, not a clock to judge when that cherry pie has bubbled sweet and nice. These skills are hard to teach quickly. They must be felt… and come straight from the heart and soul.”

Sheila Ferguson (American Singer & Songwriter; October 8th, 1947)

“This summer, collect soulful recipes, or have someone you love but don’t see very often cook for you. Better still, try taking a personal cooking lesson. You might think you know to make jam cake with caramel icing, but do you?”

“Cooking is the center of our home…as the sous chef, I am so proud to be a part of my husband’s creations. Pure ART!“

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 248 to 249 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-7-26

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July 7th, 2026

Cooking For Comfort

“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so entwined that we cannot think of one without the other.”

M. F. K. Fisher (American Food Journalist; July 3rd, 1908 to June 22nd, 1992)

“Comfort food: quirky, quaint, quixotic. Personal patterns of consolation, encoded on our taste buds past all forgetting as unmistakable as greasy fingerprints. When the miseries strike and you’re down in the dumps, food transformed by love and memory become therapy.”

“Pleasure can be bought, but comfort must be given. Even if you give it to yourself.”

“Consider this: certain delicious foods—carbohydrates–make us feel calm and content because they literally change our brain chemistry by increasing the levels of serotonin, the natural feel-good enzyme recently celebrated on the cover of news magazines. In other words, pasta and potatoes are Mother Nature’s Prozac. Are your starting to feel better already?”

“Since we’re forced to nourish ourselves, why not do it with all possible skill… and ever-increasing enjoyment, And when we sit down not only to eat, but to be cheered and comforted, let us do so with grace and gusto and a grateful heart.”

M. F. K. Fisher (American Food Journalist; July 3rd, 1908 to June 22nd, 1992)

“Every meal is a gift of love and an exploration of a possibility. Our meals are a chance to travel the world via our cuisine.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 247 to 248 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Abundant Life 7-6-26

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July 6th, 2026

The Good Life

“The one fact that I would cry from every housetop is this: the Good Life is waiting for us—here and now.”

B. F. Skinner (American Psychologist; March 20th, 1904 to August 18th, 1990)

“Helen shared in her moving memoir, Loving and Leaving the Good Life:

  • “Do the best you can, whatever arises.
  • Be at peace with yourself.
  • Find a job you enjoy.
  • Live in simple conditions; housing, food, clothing; get rid of clutter.
  • Contact nature every day; feel the earth under your feet.
  • Take physical exercise through hard work, through gardening or walking.
  • Don’t worry; live one day at a time.
  • Share something every day with someone else; if you live alone, write someone; give something away; help someone else somehow.
  • Take time to wonder at life and the world; see some humor in life where you can.
  • Observe the one life in all things.
  • Be kind to the creatures.”

“All good tenants to live by for a life full of happiness and gratitude!”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 245 to 246 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.