I love to cook. It’s one of the ways I most easily get that feeling of flow. I love to look through cookbooks and cooking magazines, picking out new and interesting recipes to try. The whole process around planning and preparing delicious, interesting, flavorful food is life-giving for me. It fills my bucket. It’s one of my core infrastructure practices.⁣

⁣Also, I hate it when cooking feels like pure obligation. That feeling is energy draining and tends to trigger crankiness and self-talk that is less than kind.⁣

⁣But here’s the thing. I’ve noticed a pattern. That feeling that cooking is an obligation is not really about the cooking; because once I actually start cooking, I’m fine. It’s about the things that make starting to cook harder than it has to be. Here, for example, are some of the things that trigger “cooking is obligation” feelings for me:⁣

• when the kitchen is messy and I have to clean it first so I have room to cook⁣

• when the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry are disorganized making it hard to see what we have and what I need⁣

• when I’ve cooked more than a few nights in a row⁣

• when I haven’t done any meal planning and I’m experiencing decision fatigue⁣

• when I do a major grocery run and then unload and put groceries away right before I have to cook (At that point I don’t have energy to fold and put away grocery bags, much less cook!)⁣

⁣Cultivating Sanctuary is about creating space for rest and renewal. Clearing obstacles to what gives us energy is a tangible part of that process. Here are some ways I can do that with regard to cooking:⁣

⁣✨ Work together as a family to start each day with a clean kitchen⁣

⁣✨ Meal plan two weeks at a time. Build in nights for leftovers and takeout (especially on errand day) and move meals around as needed to make life easier.⁣

✨ Do a 10 minute tidy of the refrigerator/freezer and pantry when making the grocery list to make it easier to put the groceries away.⁣

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What is one thing you could do differently to make it easier to do a practice or activity that is life-giving for you?⁣

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