January Reflections
Porridge
This is where it all begins, with porridge.
My day starts this way - I get up, (absurdly early according to some folk), flow through my morning rituals and practises drinking black coffee along the way. I wake my body, my mind... and then just before I turn my focus outward to the world, I start to think of porridge.
I will be honest, there are days when I ruminate over whether I should be having a more fancy breakfast, particularly at this time of year when the media tells me I should be giving my whole life a wellbeing overhaul. I wonder in those moments, should I be eating something involving an avocado, a quality handmade granola, a seeded artisan sourdough with scrambled tofu. My mind pictures the possibilities & weighs up the amount of protein on offer (I’m Ultra training again...).
It’s appealing for a moment; I challenge myself to break routine and perhaps smash that avocado on a weekday morning. And whilst this thought process is happening, without noticing, I’ve picked up the heavy orange cast iron pan that I always use for porridge, I’ve tipped oats into the bottom without a measure these days as I instinctively knew what 'enough' look like. My body is seamlessly repeating a pattern it has experienced hundreds of times.
Water, Oat milk, salt (controversial!).
Hob on and here I am, I am anchored into a ritual that grounds & sustain me. This is the point at which I have a choice to make.
Some days I stay mindfully stirring until slow soft bubbles begin to gently rise, I stay connected to the moment and the alchemy begins. But on other days I play fast & loose with the process and inevitably end up untethered. On these days I am cramming in tasks and chores that usually involve taking laundry upstairs, which leads to noticing another half completed task, and then I may as well gather abandoned socks and look for a load of washing to put in before I head to work...all the time ensuring that the pan will now be burning and porridge will have angrily spat itself out in a bid to be noticed.
My choice is always whether I remain present & preventing anything from getting stuck, the other way I put faith in luck and always end up getting burned.
By the time my porridge reaches a bowl I have eaten at least one spoon of peanut better from the tub - (it's necessary for training of course!). If I’m honest this happens partly to regulate myself as I decide what delights I’m going to smoother this divine breakfast with. Nuts, seeds, cinnamon, berries, the possibilities are endless and vary from day to day depending on my mood... but always peanut butter.
The simple breakfast that momentarily was overlooked as I compared it to fancy morning foods, suddenly it is the vehicle for all that want and need. It provides the base I to be creative, to be playful, to be nurtured, to feel full and happy and 'me'. I realise now, this is why I return to it. Because these are the things that serve me well, that anchor me & provide all I need to head outward to an unpredictable world.
Often it is the simplest of things, the most overlooked and unassuming things (and people) that provide the most stability & sustenance. There are days we might choose to smash the avocado & be forever finding Chia seeds in the gaps between our teeth, days when that kind of difference is exciting & inspiring. But on the whole, give me my orange pan, a wooden spoon, the presence to stay put without comparison stealing my joy and a kg of peanut butter. Any day.
-Katy