Moments
How do you perceive the value of time? Is it most valuable on a cold Monday morning when you’re waiting around for a cup of hot aromatic coffee? Or is it more valuable on a lazy weekend when you snuggle up cosily under a fluffy blanket and time just seems to slow down to be enjoyed at your absolute pleasure?
The concept of time and its value is fascinating and rather subjective, don’t you think? At different phases in our lives, we feel and value time differently. When we were children, a day would seem endless. I vividly remember moments spent as a nine or ten year old child sitting next to a street vendor on a cool early morning in Saigon as I waited patiently for her to slowly charcoal grill each banana wrapped in sticky rice that had been cooked to perfection with coconut milk – not that I minded imperfections! Those moments seem so distant yet so near, and I would still say they were very well spent! Then there were other moments when I looked forward to the school bell ringing so I could put my hand through the gap in the gate and buy some street food from the street vendors, and how the moments before the bell rang seemed like an eternity. We didn’t have much, but we had time.
As we passed into adulthood, the days started to shorten, and as matured adults they rush by, and often we wonder where the time has gone! Time becomes a luxurious commodity.
Have you ever wondered why some places in the world seem more serene than others, places where time seems to have paused? Is it that the serenity has paused time, or have we ourselves paused, to breathe in serenity? Perhaps serenity is like the fresh air that breezes past, magically slowing time down by transporting us momentarily far away from our hectic lifestyles.
Some of us see time without any limits, while others conceptualise and prioritise to fit as many things as possible in a day. I am definitely one of the latter sort, unless I’m travelling, when time seems to slow of its own accord. I think it sometimes takes a conscious effort to switch that concept of time and allow ourselves to slow down. Then, time seems obedient. It is a precious commodity, and it is not unlimited.
Do you remember occasions when you’ve had to cycle uphill? Time seems to stretch, and the hills seem so steep, don’t they? But remember, too, when we are at the top of the hill, we breathe in deeply with a sense of achievement, and time seems intertwined with happiness, or relief. We made it! That satisfying feeling that time has been well spent, and every moment is a treasure.
Like most parents, and particularly as a mother, I spend hours in the kitchen as a labour of love, but sometimes it’s simply to relax, be mindful or to challenge myself. I do often wonder how much of one’s life is spent in the kitchen for our own pleasure. The time we invest may be equivalent to the passion and devotion that comes from our hearts. For those who don’t enjoy cooking, I don’t blame you for finding it a chore, but for me it is sometimes a chore and sometimes I am just living and breathing my cooking ambitions!
Soon I will share with you a recipe for pandan cake. It is one that I found challenging at first, the kind that wakes me up if I’m still dreamy on a Sunday morning. I will also share a muffin recipe that you can make to please yourself and others with much less effort and mindfulness (and time of course). The choice is absolutely yours!