As I was absentmindedly pouring, measuring, and waiting for the mixer, my mind reached back to how I learned to make cookies. I've done it with my Mom, I've worked at a bakery, I've continued because I was a single guy at BYU for a couple of years, and girls like it when guys make them cookies. I've done it by hand, I've seen hand mixers go up in smoke trying to do it, I've purchased the above mixer to do it for me. All of my own history sorted through my mind, showing how I came to be a master at the art of making chocolate chip cookies. Then, I had to ask myself, why do I do it?
The answer, I love to think!
At any moment, you might find me staring at a blank wall, scratching my chin, deep in thought. In class we watched this movie (which I highly suggest) and I resonated with Hugh Nibley's opinion that there is always something more to learn about the world if you have the mind to discover it.
"What does that have to do with cookies?" you ask. Well, as I was watching the mixer go around, I realized my memories were sparking new that ideas and each concept, old and new, joined the stream of thoughts running through my head like a school of fish. Everything aligned, and while some thoughts changed the overall direction, it all stayed in a cohesive form, tied, somehow, to the cookie dough forming in front of me. I realized that making cookie dough helped me to think.
What did I do when I reached this realization? Well, naturally, I continued to think. I thought of how bread making has some of the same elements as making cookies, and adds an additional step of kneading.
"How long has bread making been around?" I asked myself. Could the reason for bread's longevity be more than that people just like fresh bread? Might it be that the bread maker has enjoyed the clarity of mind that comes from creating something new, structured and tasty, from raw ingredients that often are not new, structured, or tasty (ever tried eating raw flour?).
Finally it hit me, "That's why I should care about the past." I know, even saying that sounds pretty dense, but I have built a rationale around being a computer scientist that is dependent only on the state of the world now. I can make software that will fill the needs of my employers today without ever caring about the events of yester-century. However, traditional skills--making bread, making cookies, stalking prey when hunting, knitting, instrument playing, working on a car, grooming a horse, the list is endless--have the potential to help me think and grow by providing a physical object to anchor me in reality, and a creative process launch my thoughts into the cosmos.
I make cookies, for the same reason I always have: because I can learn more about the universe. Eating the cookies is simply a bonus. I might as well just leave the oven off.
(Cookie dough is better anyway!)
Thanks for your insight on thinking. It's great that making cookies provides such a productive, therapeutic purpose for you. I have thought analogously about cookies before in that it takes a bunch of seemingly unrelated ingredients to create something delicious--something that can't go back to its original substances after-the-fact. They all work together to create a tangible, tasty product. However, it takes the work of stirring, heating, baking. etc. It's always worth the effort!
ReplyDeleteI came to a similar realization the other day, and it was a sad one. I realized that the time I had used to spend thinking is now being replaced by readily available mindless activities. I'm going to try and set aside some time to just sit, think, and be still. Or perhaps I'll take up making cookies and use that time for my musings. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteWe're kind of opposite in a way. You find some repetitive tactile thing, in your case making cookie dough, to do in order to think about things. On the other hand, I use a repetitive tactile thing, in my case the half hour walk to and then from class, to clear my mind. It's interesting how some people's minds are stimulated by a routine physical action and other people's minds are put to rest.
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ReplyDeleteJames, I think you are experiencing something called "FLOW." In my major we constantly talk about this idea by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, where you lose consciousness of body and you are completely immersed in a focused channel of thought. Generally FLOW is found when doing something like running, painting, rock climbing, or in your case, making cookies, and you get into this state of mind that allows you to think and reconnect to your inner core. It is very therapeutic. (FLOW is a lot more complicated than that, but this is a small fraction of the idea).
ReplyDeleteJared, I am the same as you; however, usually its on my way to school when I think, and then on my home where I unwind.
And Alex, its so true...sometimes you just need to take out your headphones and take time to process your day, your life, and yourself. (Being able to process your life by yourself is called the Pinnacle of Processing--the highest level of processing you can achieve...and some people never do, probably because life these days are so distracting).
Its amazing how exhausting thinking can be, especially after a really busy day--and how some people just decide not to because can be so exerting. But thinking is like exercising, the less you do it, the harder it gets. Its awesome that you can do this by just making cookies!
Brenda, thanks for extending this discussion fruitfully by referring to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's important book. I wonder, are there any correlations from history to this concept? Does it tie in to Zen Buddhism?
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