deep in the moment

You don’t have to meditate to be deeply immersed in the moment. Today a friend and I cooked deep dish breakfast pizza in our daughters’ classroom as part of their social studies curriculum. As we discussed Midwestern cooking and the history of pizza with the children we existed truly and only in the moment. There were simply no other thoughts, no other distractions. We existed as a unit with the children. The children in turn really enjoyed the non-standard classroom routine of chopping bacon and ham (and tasting some), scallions, mushrooms and peppers, then mixing eggs and ricotta cheese, and spreading it on the premade pizza crust. Transforming a few ingredients into a delicious dish is so creative and rewarding. Best of all for me is watching the smiles on teacher and parent volunteer faces as the cooking smells begin to waft across the classroom and out the door into the hallway. Simple things can become incredibly rewarding when done deeply, and they are as meaningful as meditating, and just as in-the-moment.