A quick reset
How many cookbooks do you have?
I have too many.
There are favorites, e.g. the quintessential “Joy of Cooking” and a shelf full of tiny cookbooks that I’ve collected when traveling or obtained from brand named food companies.
I readily admit that I really love my Bisquick cookbook.
It’s probably not for the sophisticated and accomplished cook, but then I’m neither and — I don’t apologize.
Cookbooks are wonderful. They are a kind of alchemy -like way to take ordinary items from the earth and create, sometimes marvelous things.
Sometimes the marvel is in the utilitarian, simple clear soup and sometimes it is the caloric high of a lemon mousse with a raspberry chocolate sauce.
Sometimes the magic takes you to faraway places with recipes for Shah Jahani Rice and Kashmiri chicken or a big bowl of Arroz con pollo redolent with chicken, rice and saffron.
I love the easy recipes with a few simple ingredients that are quickly prepared and delicious.
I have this so expensive and but so delicious recipe for osso buco that engenders emotion close that which is generated by pictures of my grandchildren. And my chicken and dumplings recipe, now committed to memory is, well, beyond words. My apple pie recipe is right up there as are the Bisquick magic coconut cream pie and my sister-in-law’s ricotta cheese cookies.
And among the many recipes, written or remembered is another recipe that I have that is simple, easy to complete and in its way, also delicious.
You won’t find it on my cookbook shelves. It is a process as much as a recipe.
It’s called the Examen.
The Examen is also known as the Ignatian Examen, being the preferred way that members of the Jesuit order of priests pray twice a day.
This is most certainly not a theology piece.
The Examen is a practice that has been adopted by people all over the world, regardless of religious preference. Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and those without any religious affiliation have found this recipe to their liking.
What is it?
It’s a “prayer” for those of faith and an easy, quick “clarification” for those without.
It’s recommended as a twice a day event, taking no more than 15 minutes.
It is as malleable as the user and has, if what I’ve read is true, been able to redirect one’s day.
It begins in as quiet a place as you can find with Gratitude.
One reviews the previous hours of your day to find those parts that are positive, where things worked out well, where you felt connection with that which is good.
It is gratitude for the gifts small and large that we have experiences so far in our day.
For the faithful, it’s gratitude for that which God has placed in our lives.
It can be, as it was for me this morning, something as simple as scoring a parking spot close to the store, or it can be something as momentous as the Cubs winning World Series — the latter takes a lot of faith whether you have it or not.
For those who are more inclined to see this as meditation only, it’s a way of teasing out the best parts of a sometimes messy and unsatisfying passage of time.
I’ve counted smiles from co-workers, holding a door open for another as positives.
It doesn’t have to be, nor is it meant to be a puffery piece, although from time to time puffery happens and you should acknowledge this.
What do I mean by puffery? Maybe a standing ovation or its ilk for something you did? Winning the lottery? The Cubs and the Indians? Puff yourselves up!
Then you turn to the not-so-good things that happened during that same time. But first, for those of us who see this as a prayer, we ask God to help us see these things in perspective, to acknowledge failings, mistakes without beating ourselves up.
Did I cut a conversation short with someone who needed me to listen? Should I have left three days of wet laundry in the washing machine? Did I think poorly of someone who disagrees with me about the election? Did I eat a bowl of ice cream for breakfast? Am I worried about a friend’s health and haven’t done anything to help? If you are like me, this list could go on for pages, but the goal is to bring these things to light so that we can interpose the next step.
Next, we have to review these not-positives and analyze how we can remedy any consequences, adopt behavior that will mitigate the chance that an issue will arise again and to seek forgiveness from ones God and one’s self. The one’s self part is imperative for both the believer and the non-believer.
Finally, we release the burden of the previous hours and ask for help in living the next hours in our day, renewed by this quick “check under the hood” as one author has described it.
For those who are less inclined to ask a higher power, it can be as simple as releasing the negative emotions from earlier in the day and capturing the sense that it’s a new beginning, even if you are carrying on activities that have begun earlier.
It’s a little “reboot”.
It’s quick, a simple, depending on your perspective, chat with God or a self- talk that leaves you refreshed and pointed in the right direction.
The bonus is that it has no calories and no dishes, pots and pans to clean up.
