My story is about freedom and cooking, which might sound like a strange combination, but it will all make sense shortly.
And while this is my personal story, there is definitely a practical application for you, which we’ll get to in just a bit.
So let’s start with the feeling of freedom.
Freedom is #1 on the emotional scale. It’s a high vibe emotion that feels so very good.
Think about where in your own life you experience a feeling of freedom—and where perhaps you don’t. I’m hoping you have experienced how good freedom feels, and I’m sure you probably also know what it’s like to experience the opposite of freedom—as in constriction, restraint, limitation.
While you and I may experience the emotion of freedom differently, I’m sure we would both agree freedom feels good.
So what does this have to do with cooking?
Well, to explain that we need to go back to the beginning of the pandemic, which where I live in Michigan, USA was March 2020. It was March 24th, 2020 when all residents of Michigan were subject to a “stay home, stay safe” Executive Order by our governor.
This, of course, drastically changed daily life.
Hans and I are so appreciative to live in Ann Arbor, which has an abundance of fantastic restaurants. Before the pandemic, we’d been used to dining out several times a week. And so cooking, at that time, had been to supplement our very regular routine of eating out.
All that changed with the shelter in place order, and it looked as if cooking would become the norm.
At the same time we were no longer dining out in restaurants, Hans was suddenly working from home. Whereas before he’d been at his office five days a week—so never home for breakfast or lunch—now he was working from home, and so that was even more meals to consider!
Stick with me here, I’m telling you the backstory to get to what this has to do with freedom!
So…sheltering in place had begun.
Almost immediately I realized all this cooking—and everything that goes with it—the decision making about what to fix and purchasing and prepping—all this did not feel like freedom to me.
Quite the opposite! I was feeling friction and overwhelm simply at the thought of everything all this cooking would entail. It felt like the absolute opposite of freedom.
Well, friction and overwhelm are negative emotions I don’t want to hang out in, so…that’s where Home Chef comes into my story.
If you’re unfamiliar with Home Chef, it’s one of the meal kit home delivery options. You sign up, pick your meals, and a box is delivered weekly.
I hadn’t even heard of Home Chef, but as soon as I had identified the “problem” of cooking, I aligned vibrationally with the solution I desired—something that would feel easy and do-able. I wanted a solution that felt supportive.
And as the Universe has a way of doing, Home Chef almost immediately came on my radar. It was the answer to my question, What on earth are we going to eat? It was the solution to my problem.
While Home Chef still meant a version of cooking, all the fresh ingredients were provided and pre-portioned. It was so quick and easy to pick out meals we would enjoy for the coming week.
Bottom line: Home Chef made cooking super simple and quite delicious.
- We enjoyed Hot Honey Salmon with zucchini and tomatoes and Sweet Chili Ginger Pork and Broccoli Stir-Fry with green onions.
- We dined on Tuscan-Style Pork Chops with scampi cauliflower and Smoked Gouda Chicken with garlic butter green beans.
- Moo Shu Pork Lettuce Cups with crispy onions was a favorite!
We were soon enjoying four Home Chef meals every week. Hans and I would take turns being the Home Chef. The meals were delicious and it really felt like we were dining out even as we continued to shelter in place.
I found freedom in Home Chef.
- I found freedom in not having to think about what to make and shop for ingredients.
- I found freedom in following a recipe and enjoying everything already being portioned.
- I found freedom in all the variety and the ease of preparing a delicious meal.
I found freedom and it felt very good indeed!
This freedom went on for hundreds of meals. 470 to be exact. Yes, that’s right—470!
I so enjoyed the freedom found in Home Chef and not cooking from scratch.
And then…after 2+ years, something changed.
Somewhat as a surprise to me, the freedom dried up. I no longer felt freedom from Home Chef.
Lo and behold, I suddenly wanted to cook. From scratch.
I wanted to discover recipes and buy the ingredients and chop and peel and slice and dice and measure. All the things that had felt like freedom before with Home Chef because I didn’t have to do them now felt like freedom in getting to do them.
Interesting, right?
First there was freedom found in not cooking and getting Home Chef and then apparently there would be freedom found in cooking and not getting Home Chef.
I’m too far along in my LoA journey not to pay attention to how I feel.
So I followed my alignment and cancelled Home Chef. While I felt so appreciative for the freedom I had found in Home Chef, I happily closed my account to follow this current version of freedom.
For now, I am finding freedom in cooking.
My story goes to show it is never the action—cook, don’t cook.
I found freedom in not cooking and now am finding freedom in cooking. It’s not about the action. It’s the thoughts about the action.
So let me be clear: When the pandemic began along with sheltering in place, I could have cooked three meals a day, every day, and done the thought work to get in alignment around that action. I admit, it would have taken some work to get in alignment, but it was possible.
What flowed, however, was following the path of least resistance at the time, which was discovering Home Chef and aligning with home delivery of the meal kits.
Back then I delegated my problem to the Universe and like magic, but really it’s just Law of Attraction at work, the Universe pointed me in the right direction.
But sometimes a solution is not always the solution.
We have to be open to following what feels good now, and now, and now—because what feels good can change over time. We have to trust alignment is always the answer, not a particular action we take or decision we make once.
Since my obsession with all things Law of Attraction I’ve become very used to following what feels good. So it was easy to follow the high vibe emotion of freedom. Even though the action I took changed according to where freedom was leading me.
I was following what feels good, not following the decision to cook or not cook. Not following the decision to get Home Chef or not.
Cooking and Home Chef are actions. I always want to choose the emotion first. Find the freedom first. Then take whatever action or non-action goes along with it. Not the other way around.
In addition to following what feels good, I want to emphasize another core aspect of LoA that’s showing up in my story. And that is: Actions can feel good and actions can feel bad. But it’s never truly about the action. It’s your thoughts about the action.
My story is a perfect example of this. Cooking is the action. I can cook and feel bad. I can cook and feel good. So it’s not the action itself. It’s the meaning I’m giving it. It’s the thoughts I’m thinking.
- I can cook and feel like I have to, it’s a lot of work, it’s overwhelming.
- I can cook and feel like I get to, it’s fun and creative, and relaxing.
It’s my thoughts making the action feel like freedom or constraint. It’s my thoughts that cause cooking to feel fun or frustrating.
I think this brings up an interesting point.
Some actions are just so fun and aligned from the outset. It’s easy to feel good and choose the path of that action.
Other actions might not feel so fun and aligned from the outset.
And so, if we are going to do them, it’s important to do the thought work necessary to get in alignment around that action. In other words, not to take the action begrudgingly or with a bunch of friction in our vibration, but to get our thoughts in a place that allows us to feel good about the action.
In either case, alignment is always the answer. Because when you are in alignment, Law of Attraction delivers circumstances and conditions that are of a vibrational match. And that is what you want.
I had fun sharing my Home Chef experience with you, but this isn’t really about cooking or meal kits. It’s not really even about freedom. Or at least not specifically.
The real takeaway here is to follow what feels good.
And to be flexible and open about that changing over time. What feels good today might not tomorrow. And vice versa.
As always, follow what feels good. Don’t assume what feels good today will feel good tomorrow. Which means pay attention to how you feel. Have the courage to follow your alignment and what feels good.
And remember: It’s not the action that is causing you to feel positive emotion or negative emotion. It’s your thoughts about the action.
