How Do You Unplug Yourself?

What is something that allows you to unplug from the world? Nowadays, it’s cooking.

I don’t have enough words to describe my excitement whenever I discover a new recipe to try out. From imagining how I can recreate it without the usual meats (I’m pescatarian so vegetables and seafood), to watching various YouTube videos so I can compare best practices, to hunting down the necessary ingredients, and to scheduling when I can actually cook it. I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I?say that there were nights when it was hard to fall asleep because I was too excited about my cooking adventure the next day! HAHAHA!

And then, when it’s time to cook, it’s as if I’m transported to a world detached from everything except for the task at hand. I go completely in the zone—no social media, chats, work or real world problems—just slicing, cleaning, cooking, tasting, experimenting, figuring things out, and sometimes, dashing to the grocery for an ingredient that just ran out.

Why am I sharing this? Because I just really love cooking and I really love writing! HAHAHA! Seriously though, I’m hoping this could be a reminder of how something so simple can help make our days brighter. I know a lot of us are in need of that boost, now, more than ever.

So whether it’s cooking, writing, talking out loud to the plants (or my angels), doing laundry, decorating my nails, having meaningful conversations, playing with the stray cats around the condo…I make sure I carve out opportunities to do them more.

The past months made me realize that the more I spend time doing things I love and disconnecting from outside forces (the news, social media, and the many, many group chats) that make me feel irritated and helpless, the more beautiful life becomes in my eyes—and the more regularly I experience these overwhelming flows of gratitude.

This is one of the ways I’ve made gratitude a part of my lifestyle.