Syncing with the Seasons
Spring symbolizes the beginning, fertility, and rebirth. After dormancy in Winter, new life starts to emerge, and life starts to pick up the pace. Do you feel it, too? We’re almost a quarter done with this year!
New Year's resolutions are a moment to reflect on the previous year and set new milestones. However, there are many cycles in life, including the change of seasons, which are prime opportunities for reflection, celebration, and recalibration.
Seasonality is a cycle, not a trend
When I get into my analytical engineering mindset, I am more concerned with control, constraints, and the concrete. However, life doesn’t operate in rigidity and is in a state of constant change. Rather than subjecting myself to that reality with anxiety, I found peace with embracing uncertainty by grounding in the truths that do not change.
I know today will turn into tomorrow, and it will be summer after spring. I know I’m alive, breathing, and able to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I’m also constantly rediscovering myself and knowing who I am relative to the life I’ve lived so far.
Know thyself
When I was little, I used to have binders of collectible fact cards with animals from around the world called “Wildlife Fact File”. One of my hobbies was daydreaming about what it’d be like to be these animals if I were in their place.
What would it be like to live the life of a cheetah, running fast in the tall grass and hunting for gazelle? Or a small, deep ocean fish surrounded by seemingly constant darkness?
A card from Wildlife Fact File!
And thou shall know the universe
When grocery shopping, I choose ingredients intuitively as I browse. However, I don’t always get the opportunity to enjoy live shopping because I don’t own a car or drive. Once I became primarily an Instacart girl, I found different ways to connect with how I wanted to stock my fridge.
Seasonal produce was one way of syncing to the world around me. I’ve felt immense satisfaction imagining eating the foods that grow to their peak at the same time as I seek them. It’s pure serendipity! When enjoying wine with food, the wisdom of what grows together goes together also illustrates the harmony of going with Mother Nature’s flow.
I like getting to know my food better. I’ve always found close, intimate connections to be the most rewarding relationships. How did this ingredient end up in front of me? What life did it live prior?
This first started when I moved to California from Boston and was amazed by the variety of plants (edible and decorative) abound. While living in Berkeley, I was fascinated by the fig trees on the property I stayed at during an internship. After looking up more information on figs, I learned that each species had a specific fig wasp that pollinates it. The female fig wasp has to crawl into the fig, sacrificing her wings and limbs to lay her eggs. She ultimately is reabsorbed by the fig. Talk about energy exchange!
Imagine everything that had to occur to produce a delicious fig, and it’s hard not to believe we are so blessed.
Discover More with Me!
Starting this spring, I’ll post about ingredients and their uniqueness, giving you a glimpse of the delight I derive from food.
I’ll highlight their seasonality and fun facts, like the Wildlife Fact File I loved as a child.