TAKING STOCK
… with three wise guys
Friday Mar. 28, 2014
The rest will wait.
Weekend of writing, sleeping and making stock(yikes, I’m out), stirring ingredients in my stock pot, home-made broth and froth, fresh inventory for soup and sauce making . . .
Interesting week – string of encounters – stories of people with problems so real, so vivid – mine so tiny, trivial, by comparison. My role – listener, observer and reflector – but not having to deal with much difficulty. Lucky me.
Three quotes caught my attention yesterday. Mind candy, or food for thought? I can’t remember what I was doing a Google search for, but there I was, starting at these quotes, all on one page:
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness.” – Jean Vanier
“You only lose what you cling to.” – Buddha
They go together, don’t they? I wondered, if those three guys met, what would the talk about, agree about, disagree about?
I like stirring ideas, feelings and people.
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of that – not just in terms of dealing with my dad’s possessions and amalgamating those into my life where some things fit, many don’t and the collective total is too much, over-stocked, time for a garage sale.
Buddha’s words ‘cling to’ puzzle me. Those words make me pause, wondering what I am clinging to that I should never let go, vis-à-vis what those things/issues/people/feelings are that I must let g.
I’ll take my list, my desires and talents – I’ll take it out and review it. Time for taking stock, re-evaluating priorities because so much has changed. Or it seems to have changed – lately. Deep down, I believe my values are intact. I believe my goals haven’t shifted – but maybe my plan of attack, my route, my journey need scrutiny.
I’ll spend some time with Mr. Shaw, Monsieur Vanier and Buddha . . .
Mark Kolke
198,064
column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: -11C / 13F, more light snow – still … continuing, light breeze. We took the long loop, quiet streets with some owners out shoveling walks even though snow is still falling ..perhaps to lighten the burden later. Gusta sniffing frenetically because everything that smells is now buried under a fresh blanket ..
Reader feedback / comments always welcome:
You hit on a very obvious common problem with excellence in wait staff, or should I say 'lack thereof'. I think I remember it starting about five years ago and noticed that the best servers were those who were, shall we say 'long in the tooth'. Somewhere along the line the position of serving people in restaurants must have shifted from 'calling' to 'just a job'. There are still those places that answer to a higher calling in the area of service but they are few and far between. Maybe the shift happened about the time their wages came under the scrutiny of the taxing agents. Not sure, but I do know good service, having been raised by a grandmother who proudly served in the restaurant business for most of her life and I do recognize it when it happens with a very generous tip. It is sad to see the decline in excellence in this area as it does greatly contribute to a fine dining experience, GW, Bon Wier, TX
Yeah, I hear ya. I too have taken exception to sloppy workmanship/service over the years. It seems to me that poor service reflects something of a person's self-perception - that if we highly value ourselves and others, then we will seek to give our endeavors all that we've got... I have compassion for those who do not know themselves as diamonds, or at least diamonds in the rough. And for what it's worth - I vote with my feet too, all the while hearing my 1st world voice saying, "easy to bitch on full stomach..." :-) …. I am new to your musings and am appreciating your flow of thoughts. In response to today's meanderings... good service can make or break a meal, but starving to death sucks (not that I speak from experience). I am reminded that these are first world problems - the starving would perhaps be pleased to have a calorie or two without too much consideration for the politeness or chattiness of the server... we are the privileged, BH, Camrose, AB
I liked your comments this morning. My understanding is that tips are shared with everybody: waitresses, busboys and cooks. Having said that, I agree with your decision to not tip. If I were a cook preparing good meals and noticed the tips were low then I might wonder what was happening out front. As your experience demonstrated, good food will not trump poor service. JL, Calgary, AB
Thinking about you about your Dad. Had a similar relationship with my Dad and still miss him, PL, Calgary, AB … I am always impressed at the speed in which you reply to emails. It is valued.
