Celebrating Rain

Rain is very much a part of life. It quenches Nature's thirst. It brings to life many creatures and many landscapes. It gives people water, the essence of life. Can you imagine life with no water? So, how can life be without rain?

Rain in Central Park

Yet, we don't necessarily welcome rain. A rainy day is not my favourite, at all. It is wet and makes me feel dreary. But it has its own beauty, too. Have you ever watched when rain comes to the lake? It is like a shroud around the sun that still shines even with the rain.

Once, a wise woman told us that rain like the sun is there for us to enjoy. A few of us took this seriously and went out in the rain. We got wet but we had so much fun, walking in the hills and enjoying the streams as we sang the song of St. Francis, A Prayer for Peace. We were filled with so much joy. Just like when we lie on the dock to enjoy the sun. This time, we enjoyed the dripping of the rain on our faces, catching some of them on our lips and enjoying the feel of its cold caress on our bodies. 

In life, it is not always sunny. Times are there when rain comes and they come in torrents, in hurricanes, in storms, in typhoons and drench us, fill our souls with dread and pain. When this happens, we cover ourselves like we do when it rains. We protect ourselves and we stay in. We hide from it. We run away to take shelter. 

This is what we tend to do when misfortune comes. We avoid the difficulties that come our way. We run away. We hide. We don't want to look at it so we try to avoid it. Pretend these are not there. 

We label them with negative words. Crisis, adversity, strain, struggle, trouble, distress, mishap and what have you. They make me feel the negative in these words as I type them. We ask ourselves, Why? 

Negative Feeling about Rain

That was what the wise woman asked us when we were running to go in as the rain started. Why? 

We had been raised to think of rain as negative. We were told to go in each time it rains. We were covered to protect us from it. We do this with the sun but only when it is really intense. We go out and welcome it. We don't hide away from it. 

What about embracing rain in our lives? What about transforming its negative connotations by embracing it. Maybe when we embrace it fully as part of life, as part of us, joy will come.

Pain comes to life whether we run away from it or hide. It is there even if we keep it in. Our loved ones know when we are in pain and they want to be part of it. They, too, are in pain. They want to celebrate this with us. 

Yes, celebrate the pain. It is part of life. Many things, persons and incidents in life pain us but we try to hide this. We only celebrate joy, not pain. 

Pain and rain are there. It is up to us. Run from it? Hide it. Or, celebrate it.

Celebrating Abundance at Thanksgiving

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving earlier than the United States. Harvest is early in Canada given the Winter. So, this weekend is Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving. Source: aesta1

What do we really celebrate on Thanksgiving? I don't think we remember much the friendship of the natives who welcomed the first settlers to this land. Most of us have no experience of that. So, for us, what really is the true meaning of Thanksgiving?

Well, relax, breathe, open your arms fully to the world. Take in its abundance. Feel your unending breath, the rhythm of your ever pulsating heart, the beautiful scenes your eyes enjoy, the heavenly music your ears enjoy, and the magnificent taste your palate savours. This is only the start as you know. There are more there to be amused by, to be fond of, to be exhilarated with.

There is much more. We are in abundance. This is what Nature shows us. It keeps growing and giving when cared for, appreciated and cherished. So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

The Joy of Slow-Paced Dining

The evening foot race in North American homes called dinner has almost ruined any incentive to cook well or for families to talk between mouthfuls or for the concept of enjoyment through living to eat rather than eating to live to come back into fashion.

Who knows what caused this. In the '50s and 60's the utter blah-ness of Kraft-based recipes (mayonnaise +cheese whiz + Kraft Dinner + Kraft mini-marshmallows) meant the capacity for speed eating was fundamental to survival.

Dining Out. Source: aesta1

Come the 80s and the 90s in the obsession of parents with ensuring children participated in every activity known to man from sports through arts and culture meant there was no time for food anyway and the inedible outcomes of fast food shops were standard fare and gulped down on the way to the arena.

Snack Galleries

Today, chairs are disappearing from tables and dining rooms have become snack galleries. Speed eating is an international phenomenon. 

Dining Today

Whatever we have gained through hyperactivity, we've lost in time to enjoy real food, to see good cooking as a pleasure, and to value conversation as an art and craft and not an opportunity to spew food chunks on your neighbour as you raced past.

Recent Dining Experience

Recently, I invited our grandson and his girlfriend to a celebration dinner. They just got engaged and I thought this merited a celebration. So, I asked them to choose a restaurant.

The day of the dinner, our grandson sent me a message of the restaurant's name and address. Lee Restaurant. I thought, "why are we going to a Chinese restaurant?" Not that I don't like Chinese food. I like it very much but our grandson's girlfriend is Muslim and pork often features in Chinese food.

However, I asked them to choose the restaurant so I went along. Lo and behold, I was in for a big surprise. The waiters ushered us to our table and explained what this restaurant is all about. It was all about sharing.

A Meal Meant to be Shared

I was impressed. Many times, we have to ask the servers if we could share and here they say it's that. You order the dishes and they're all meant to be shared. We were gruntled as that's how we want it to be.

We ordered drinks and I ordered the sangria. Drinks are not meant to be shared, only food. I just love the way they did the sangria, even better than what we had in Spain. Ok, different, not better.

Then the waiters came for the order and our grandson's girlfriend knew from some friends some of the best dishes. The waiter concurred so we enjoyed our drinks as we peeked at the delicious-looking food in the other tables. Oh no, we had oysters with our drinks. All the way from Nova Scotia, the seafood capital of Canada. It was heavenly.

Oysters from Nova Scotia

Our first dish arrived.

Server in Lee Restaurant

The server explained this Singapore fusion signature dish of the restaurant. As we tasted it, I can say it was magnificent if such a word can be used for food. Just take a closer look and if you don't salivate now, you don't count. You're not even to be welcomed in this restaurant.

Singapore Fusion Dish

The next dish. Spring Roll. You have to eat it wrapped in lettuce, the way the Vietnamese do it. 

Spring Roll

And the next. Achicken Dish with Pineapple.

Chicken with Pineapple

The dishes were so tasty. Lee Restaurant features the dishes of the famous chef Susur Lee. Want to know more about Toronto's famous chef, click that link. But better still, go to this King Street restaurant in Toronto and you will eat like a king.

We were so full by the time we finished those dishes so we had a pass on dessert. But the restaurant outdid itself again. Knowing we were celebrating an engagement, they came out with this ice cream for the two celebrants.

Engagement Dessert

Ah, I did not get a good picture of that, did I? But the restaurant shot up to its stars, at least, for me.

We tarried because we enjoyed ourselves. It was a nice evening. We paced our eating, enjoyed every dish as it was explained to us and overall, it was an experience of slow-paced dining.