Click here to read my Slice of Life column in Mail Today for India Today for March 7, 2020. Or read below.
Life: A Loot of Discoveries
Life has rich, colorful magic waiting to be discovered. We only need to be mindful and paying attention.
If we are mindful, a rainbow of colors turns life into a kaleidoscopic journey of bright, erudite, simple, nuanced gossamer and mysterious moments and much in between.
Life and death—water and vapor—shall spark an interest, nurture, and provide till our own time comes to move on in the cycle.
Life is cyclical. Life is ever living. We are transient. Our emotions even more so.
Learning the smallness in the larger scheme of life of our role in it is humbling, revealing, and freeing.
Life moves forward with or without us. Are we moving with it or hanging connected to some abstract sense of the past that we feel is waiting for us? When we see beyond that which we want, a new world opens up to us. A place filled with discoveries and boundless promise. All for our taking.
We need only be ready to be honest to self and not allow cloudy thoughts to paralyze us. There is light inside us, waiting to be seen. Waiting to take us to that place where we find more light and then another beyond where still more light awaits and then the next vision of more magical light. Will we allow ourselves to escape our ego to capture true freedom?
Another glorious day begins. Opportunities shall abound. How many will we capture and make ours to discover, learn from, and delve into?
Gandhi and Mandela: Brave Rare Heroes
Gandhi and Mandela were talked about at dinner.
We chatted about the lives these two men had to endure.
How their actions and the choices they made gave them a unique place in history.
Vicissitudes of life and burdens of societal realities never broke the greater will of these men.
People are afraid of the unknown. These men forgave the cowards that stole away the bulk of their lives. Where people would have chosen violence they made peace with peace. They freed themselves by freeing the other and self of the baggage of the past.
But they did so with dialog and thoughtfulness. With cunning and articulate erudition. With Machiavellian insight. With saintly candor.
We spoke about the complex nature of the being that is human. A bundle of mixed emotions and reactions. A melting pot of good and bad decisions. A lifetime to change the imprint left behind on the pages of history. History with both bright colors and dark depths.
Holding potential for much discovery. For great magic to unfold.
I am grateful to the courageous amongst mortal humans that do not just parrot Pollyanna but understand life and strife.
Those brave souls that fought before us with the weapons of their minds, humanity, and vision. Those that speak up today just as a brave few did yesterday, when they see injustice. And those that will be brave to stand up tomorrow against the injustices that the future holds.
These are women and men that are one with nature and greater amongst equals for their strength, fortitude, and the ringing clarity with which they act. Knowing their actions might not be popular but will save humanity from its uglier instincts.
We need strength to speak. Humanity is not the friend of the weak. When we lose courage and strength we are part of the breeding ground of hate and bigotry.
Men mightier than I in wisdom and brilliance, in power and in courage, have shown that a lone voice can change a society comfortable with its darker side and deeds.
As the sun sets here and rises somewhere else, let us hope that we never allow humanity to set and evil to rise.
Those that speak up against the evil and the bigoted are not our enemy. They are like the sun, emblems of hope and shining brilliance.
Let us all strive to be less popular and be better humans. Life ought not to be lived with shallow purpose.
Let us not forget the blessings we have. Knowing these, let us make sure none amongst us robs another of freedom for reasons not of their own choosing.
I am grateful for my family and friends. I am proud to see them fight for those that are least fortunate and to speak up for the rights of the other before protecting their own. That is what is selfless.
Mindful Living & Breathing
Life is anything but predictable. Certainly beyond limits. Boundless. Breathtaking. Bright. Brilliant. Brimming. Beaming. Bursting. And most of all it is unpredictable.
A new dawn, a new chapter, with new opportunities and discoveries, seems to always be on the horizon.
All we need do is to breathe with life. Believe and respect self. Find dignity and value for our own life and individuality. And then we become in sync with life and live with all that make up the mosaic that is the world.
In unison we are gayer than gay. Beyond words. Magical where magic fails. Bright when the sun sleeps. Shining in depths deeper than the ocean. Miraculous in the face of adversity. Strong even when crippled by challenges that are ours to face but not of our creation.
When we respect self and other, it seems life is respectful of us and able to give us a new lease on living mindfully.
Rabbit Stew with Porcini and Picholines
Serves 6
In the country, people find themselves cooking with all types of proteins other than chicken, pork, and beef, and it’s not without a laugh that I found myself cooking rabbit at the farm. Anyone who knows me would probably never believe that I absolutely love this Southern France–inspired rabbit stew and happily make it for guests, as it has become a favorite in our kitchen. I have David Setford, the executive director of The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, to thank for introducing me to this wonderfully hearty collection of autumnal ingredients, including robust rabbit, earthy dried porcini, and mild picholine olives. It is sublime over fusilli or rotini pasta. You can remove the pits from the olives if you like, but picholines are rather small and cumbersome to pit. We keep it rustic and serve the olives whole—just forewarn your dinner guests that the olives have pits. I like to serve this hearty stew on plates with roasted potatoes or fresh crusty bread.
1/2 cup/60 g all-purpose/plain flour
1 tsp freshly ground mixed peppercorns or black pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2-lb/1.2-kg rabbit, cut into 6 pieces
1/4 cup/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 bay leaves
1 tsp freshly ground mixed peppercorns or black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme (preferably lemon thyme)
1 1b/455 g cipollini onions, peeled
8 garlic cloves, smashed
1 1b/455 g unpitted picholine olives
1 oz/30 g dried porcini mushrooms
1 bottle Pinot blanc wine
Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C/gas 2. Whisk the flour, pepper, and 1/2 tsp of the salt together in a large bowl. Pat the rabbit dry with paper towels/absorbent paper and then dredge it through the seasoned flour. Place it on a large plate and set aside.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil with the bay leaves and pepper until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes. Add the floured rabbit and brown it on both sides, about 10 minutes total (it won’t be cooked through). Transfer the rabbit to a large plate and set aside.
Add the thyme, onions, and 1 tsp salt to the pot, and cook, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s fragrant, about 1 minute, and then stir in the olives, dried mushrooms, and wine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then return the rabbit to the pot, wedging the rabbit into the broth and covering it with the onions, olives, and broth. Return the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover, and braise until a fork can easily pull the meat from the bone, about 2 hours. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary, divide between plates, and serve.
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