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What’s Cooking?

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 01/07/10 at 10:34 am

Day 7

Did you see Julie and Julia ?

I enjoyed so many things about that movie, but mostly, I like the true-life success stories of Julia Child and Julie Powell .

Their triumphs were all the more remarkable because each woman started at the bottom of the field where she found her fame.

Julia Child took cooking classes, collaborated on a book, and the rest was culinary, broadcast, and cultural history.  Julie Powell decided to cook every recipe in Child’s classic tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking  in one year and blog about it. The rest is publishing and movie history, as the blog became a book and the book became a movie starring Meryl Streep.

These were life-altering miracles, made possible because the women were willing to try something new and they were willing to fail. They were willing to feel incompetent.

Once upon a time, a professional athlete asked me to teach him the basics of calligraphy  so he could practice while he was away at training. He told me he used training time every year to learn something new. I thought it was such a good idea that I was inspired – the next time I took a solo vacation, I taught myself to juggle  while I was gone.

I’m avoiding commitments this year, but I’m open to the possibility of learning a new skill or gaining knowledge in another field.  In my usual life, it would feel too frivolous and wasteful to take up something unrelated to my vocation.  But during a sabbatical? It’s what’s expected!

So – I’m going to keep my eyes open for opportunities to do something completely different, even if (especially if?) I’ll be incompetent at the beginning. What have you always wanted to learn or attempt? Is there a baby step or a one-time-only experience you could schedule?

Why wait?