Rediscovery
Recently I have made a Big Change.
A part of me wants to admit that it was a Difficult Thing to do. That is the type of thing that get people’s attention. But it wasn’t. It took a long time to finally make said Big Change, yes, but it was one of the easiest things I’ve done. A Very Specific Thing had taken up so much of my mind space that it should’ve paid my therapy bills. I needed to remove that Very Specific Thing from my life altogether. Now that it is gone I have already begun to feel the side effects of instant freedom.
My last post documented my new foray into the kitchen-sphere. That has become such an important part of my life, in a way that I could’ve never expected. It is my meditation: cutting up vegetables into tiny bits, lazily measuring spoonfuls into a pot, breathing in the very specific scent of heated parsley. When I found a way to cut an onion more efficiently I wanted to tell the world. “How have I never cut an onion properly!” I wanted to yell. When you feel more free in your life, you find more reasons to happily yell.
Recently I have tuned up my bike, something that has sadly leaned on my garage wall for many a year until now. I take it to the bike trail with an audiobook in my ears, pedaling straight and letting the wind blow through my helmet. Screaming about onions, reveling in the simple act of moving both feet in steady circles. Take that, Very Specific Thing. Look out how smooth I ride now that I cut onions like the greatest of them.
Wholesome. It has been a word that has become part of my girlfriend and I’s vernacular these days. It means comfort, finding your center, what makes you feel relaxed. Cooking a meal and cueing up the Jenna and Julien podcast or watching Julien cook on his own channel is a treat. Their laughter helps. Their curiosity for the world. How happy they are with themselves. And the constant interruptions from their numerous dogs, tongues a-wagging.
That is what rediscovery means to me. If you were asked who you were, what you like to do, and what makes you happy, how would you respond? A home cooked meal. A well-tuned bike. Watching silly and wholesome videos with your significant other. It is all about getting back to the basics with yourself.
It’s a wonder that ridding one’s self of whatever Very Specific Thing can uncover the things that have been there all along. Waiting. When you lift a burdensome rock you begin to notice what has been suffocating underneath. Especially this day and age when everything moves so fast. When there is so much to fear. It becomes overwhelmingly pertinent to find the things that give you calm. Be it food, a positive partner, a bike ride, a podcast, finding something wholesome to replace the things that cause you anxiety is the self-care you need. Photoshopping a dinosaur playing basketball while the world is ending? It fits in there somewhere.