Live Spherically...
"You have to live spherically - in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm - and things will come your way." - Federico Fellini
It is this quote from Fellini that comes to mind when I think about how society is kind of going in the wrong direction these days. What do I mean? An example: Branding. Branding a product is one thing, but branding ourselves is perverse. In my job search and other aspects of life, like social media, I've come across this idea of how you have to brand yourself; to sell yourself. But the problem is that often this means saying, "I'm X," and leaving it at that. People aren't two-dimensional beings. We have countless aspects to who we are. We are spherical creatures. We can't lose sight of that!
I've never been good at picking just one thing, I'm a bit of a Renaissance-woman. I'm not going to deny my multi-faceted self anymore. I'm going to live my life spherically - in many directions.
All Things in Moderation...
Although this is often quoted as from the Bible, it's not an actual quote, but the Bible does teach this idea throughout (according to my web research), but it doesn't need to be a strictly Christian idea.
The number one problem in American society is our lack of moderation. We do things big and have lost sight (in many ways) of our Puritan roots of moderation. The Puritans believed in receiving earthly rewards for their hard work, but without being ostentatious. Today, we reward ourselves after a hard day at work with a treat or purchase, but instead of eating one small, appropriately sized slice, we eat half the cake, or go on a shopping spree! Our Puritan founders would be ashamed of what we have become in this country.
Part of how America was able to build itself up from nothing was this cultural value that we inherited from the first pilgrims; irregardless of whether we be Puritans by religion or not, these values were ingrained in the foundations of our nation, our culture. But we will very quickly start to lose our prosperity if we continue to be wasteful and ostentatious.
I believe moderation needs to be true in all aspects of life and at all levels of society and I will try my best to observe moderation - in all things.
Life Spherically & Moderately...
So why a cooking blog? Cooking, and eating, is something we all have to do every day of our lives. It's also an area that has such a powerful influence over our society, our environment, and economy today. Through our own individual food habits we can change the path human society is taking, and steer ourselves in a healthier direction.
One way to cook spherically is to explore more dietary options, like: vegetarian meals, purchasing local produce, growing some of your own food, eating free-range meat, and exploring organic choices. Now here's where the moderation part comes in: I don't believe it's healthy to follow any single diet or choice about how we eat. I don't think it's healthy to cut out all meat or all carbs. I also don't think its economically realistic for most people to only buy local, nor do I think it wise to focus on just one of the options I listed above. Take a spherical approach to how you obtain and prepare your food. If you do those different food choices in moderation, you can incorporate a greater number of them.
Example: Imagine if you only ate local: how would ever (especially if you live in a climate like the Midwest) be able to eat tropical fruits, like bananas, that contain vitamins that are part of a nutritious diet? Not to mention how would that effect the economies dependant upon that export? How much more limited will your diet and nutrition become? Now, what if you did a little of everything: investigate what you can buy locally, like eggs, milk, and lettuce. Buy free-range meats, organic milk and cheese products. Grow an abundance of your own vegetables. Eat less meat. Reduce, but don't eliminate, carbs from your diet. Eat a variety of grains, instead of just wheat, rye and oats.
How many ways have you improved your health and helped the planet now? You have reduced fossil fuel burning with the items you have grown yourself or purchased locally. The free-range meats are healthier, and happier lives for the livestock. You're eating less meat, so paying a little more for free-range and organic products isn't so hard to fit into your budget. Growing some of our own food also helps stretch the grocery budget. Further, you're eating less unhealthy fat and improving your health, but you still have enough protein to meet your bodies primitive needs. Eating a range of grains increases the nutritional range you consume, but also gives your digestive system a chance to rest from the gluten you've given it too. It also helps developing countries expand native crops for export. You are eating rounder and healthier, and you are helping to improve the world in a number of ways as well.
Eating spherically & moderately is healthier and better for the entire planet, not just one facet of life.
