Sometimes, actually most times, when I go on vacation it takes me the first few days to process and let go of all the things that cause stress in me. Sometimes I find that there is more I’m holding on to than I ever realized. To relax and let go takes time. Patience does not always come easy for me in these times. I want everything fast and now. If I go to a restaurant I want to sit and eat immediately. If I’m headed to the store, I want to be done shopping almost before I begin. It’s like I want the next minute to come before I’ve lived this one. That’s not me – normally
However, I find cooking helps me with this. It relaxes me and causes me to do something that takes time. Patience in cooking soothes my spirit and releases anxieties. So many people could never understand why I treasure spending my free time to cook and create on vacation. It is for this reason that I love to stay in a place with a kitchen, instead of just a hotel room. I love to embrace local and regional ingredients. A foreign market or grocery store excites me. Then I get to experiment. Sometimes I don’t succeed but I learn. Then I relax. Then I release and detach from that which was holding me back. Then my vacation becomes about me.
That’s when I go out to eat!
