Alchemy in the Kitchen

Barbara is, by trade, a caterer. To the blind eye, she is a hard worker and a professional focused on getting every catering job she undertakes completed with ease, and facility that comes from years of practice. She is good at what she does, but many don’t understand how this powerhouse of a woman manages to do what others are unable to achieve in a small town, the poorest town in this country, with such effortlessness.

I have known Barbara for over eight years now, and have glimpsed at the workings behind her success. Many people don’t always know how to achieve success or what that even means or looks like. But, what everyone does know is when they recognize success in the lives of others by taking note of how these individuals carry their energy and their lives. When this is seen, people have an “aha” moment. “There it is. That is what I have been looking for. Don’t know what it is, but give me some of that”. This is what makes Barbara such a shining example of success! In my humble opinion, Barbara will always hold this place of power because she would never dream to use it. She simply lives with it and privately imbues all the beauty, love and devotion she has put into accruing knowledge about food and its healing potential into what she does. She doesn’t have to speak of what is going on as she mixes, chops, stirs and bakes. People taste it and simply want more. It is her version of alchemy and it works.

A perfect example of the transforming power of Barbara’s quiet strength occurred just recently. As I work my way slowly into experimentation with raw food; sprouting, soaking, drying, blending …Barbara comes over armed with a formidable number of books on the topic as a gift to my growing raw cookbook library. She offers to come and play in the kitchen with me and she means it. Here I am thinking, “Isn’t that just like Barbara, taking time out of her hectic life to learn alongside me”. What Barbara didn’t tell me is as revealing as what she did. Barbara not only knows about raw foods but she is quite the master with it. She has been creating conscious foods for years now, and has quietly placed this energetic love for humanity into everything that she has done. This healing that shifts all those who take in her energy has been something that she has never once mentioned, and yet it is the one main ingredient in all she prepares. What can be a better gift than this to the people that she serves? To take in life, nourishment, and boundless love from someone that gives it willingly and never expects any of it in return.

If we were all to give of ourselves in this way, imagine what this world would be like! It is for this reason that I wanted to share the healing power of what Barbara has offered her friends and the community that she serves. She has touched my own heart in ways unimaginable and has taught me that to love, truly love, one must give the very essence of compassion and caring at your heart’s core, without strings or conditions. That to truly love means to give freely knowing that in the giving you garner love as your own silent reward.