My friend, Laura Pauli, gave me an interesting gift this morning on a Zoom call. Laura is a classically trained professional chef. She asked me if I knew why a traditional chef’s hat had 100 folds. I didn’t even know a chef’s hat had 100 folds much less why. She said it’s because a master chef knows how to prepare eggs one hundred different ways. I only know about three ways to cook an egg. I’m still trying to figure out those other ways.
Paul Simon told us that there are 50 ways to leave your lover. Now Laura Pauli has told us that there are 100 ways to cook an egg.
I think it’s about more than eggs. A chef’s work is creative. They don’t blindly follow recipes that other people have created. They add their own touch and personality to create something special. They constantly ask, “How can I make this dish more beautiful and delicious?” They know there are more than 100 ways to create a beautiful and memorable meal.
I’m going to start wearing a virtual chef’s hat to remind me that there are more than 100 ways to make my life more beautiful and delicious. I don’t have to follow the old recipes that were given to me by my parents, the church, the culture, and the ageist attitudes of people who think they know how an 80-year-old person should be. There are so many ways I can spice up my life.
At 80, I’m on TikTok, took a surfing lesson in Baja, still ride a motorcycle, learning to play a guitar, sky diving on my bucket list, and still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. My new virtual chef’s hat gives me even more options. Bon appetit!
The Dalai Lama said, “Learn and obey the rules very well, so you can break them properly.” Someone else said, “If you want to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs.”
Life is a banquet, and most people are starving to death. If we want to make a life, maybe we have to break some rules.