The Square Root of Abundance

Sometimes chocolate cupcakes feel like too much -

then, vanilla seems more satisfying.

Do you feel it, too?

This experience that the richnesses of life

are, in moments, less filling as one ages

and the comforting, uncomplicated things

particularly satiate the soul?

Maybe the lowest common denominator

isn’t always a bad thing.

What is the square root of abundance?

Enough.

Background:

About a year ago, maybe a bit more, I had a cupcake, maybe at work, maybe made by my baking enthusiast sister, and I realized the chocolate that I often favor felt too rich in that moment. I wanted something lighter, blander perhaps.

I have often found myself leaning that way with food as an adult - simple vegetables, easy pastas. I love variety, don’t get me wrong, I love rich foods, too, but sometimes my body and soul just hunger for something easy and simple, something that doesn’t take checking a recipe ten times or making sure things are timed just right, but instead feels so familiar and uncomplicated that it almost feels meditative.

Challenges, both in food and life, help us grow and learn. They should not be avoided or discounted, but they shouldn’t crowd out familiar and meditative things either.

Not at the cost of the richer, more complex, or more challenging versions of food and existence, here I raise an imaginary glass to the foods and experiences that leave space for thought, that make our bodies feel light instead of heavy, that are a reprieve for the mind that helps prepare us for the richer and more strenuous things to come, and that help us be content with enough so that we can more deeply appreciate and understand true abundance.

Wishing you goodness without end,

Jess