A Secret Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups of quiet

• 3 cups of solitude

• (NOTE: If solitude and quiet aren’t available, you might substitute a room full of hushed strangers or a leafy public park)

• 10 deep slow breaths (then continue breathing as usual)

• 2 Tablespoons of attempted attention

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine and knead gently for 15-20 minutes. Then let rise as long as possible before punching down (though the punching is often done before you can get to it, and often before it does much rising at all. To extend the rise time, try walking around the block, if circumstances allow.).

Deflated dough may not seem to re-rise, but all is not lost.  Shape into a soft pillow, cover loosely and store at body temperature.

When you are able (ideally within 24 hours), mix another batch. Invisibly, a knob of life from the first batch will begin to nourish the second. After the second batch is kneaded and beginning to rise, take the remaining slurry of the first batch and bake it in the blazing oven of your daily life.

It will not appear to be very appetizing, but a few air pockets will expand and solidify into a bit of spaciousness. After this mis-shapen loaf cools (ideally as you are walking around the block), tear through the crust, taste. Sharing, even of this lopsided nourishment, is strongly recommended.

Repeat with the second batch (ideally within 24 hours). Repeat again and again, as often as possible.

Though improvement may never be obvious, with each repetition, you will grow more tender.