the zen of bagels
Written by Deb Dorchak - January 4, 2010 15 Comments
Behold the unassuming bagel. Probably one of my most favorite foods – especially when combined with a healthy slathering of cream cheese and a few melt-in-your-mouth slices of smoked salmon.
I never considered the bagel as being a metaphor for anything in life until Saturday night when I was watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate. First, let me share a word of warning, never watch this show on an empty stomach. This show is all about Food Network chefs talking about the best foods they’ve ever eaten. By the time this show was over I wanted to go to on a cross country food tour extravaganza and not return until I’d tasted every item, from every state, from one coast to the other.
When the Bagel Speaks, Thou Shalt Listen
Now, back to the moment of Bagel Enlightenment. The topic on the show was breakfast. Amazing breakfast. Breakfast pizzas, French Toast stuffed with peanut butter and bananas, chicken fried steak and gravy… you name it, and even if you didn’t have a name for it yet, these chefs talked about it.
After a while my eyes just sort of glazed over. I really did need to change the channel. Nothing’s worse than watching the Food Network and knowing that you have none of what’s on the TV in your refrigerator.
With my finger poised on the remote’s button I started listening to one of the bakers at Einstein’s Bagels describe how to make the perfect bagel. After the dough was made, it had to rest a bit before going on to baking.
The little tidbit of enlightenment was this:
Everyone needs to relax before they can be the best that they can be.
The Meaning of Life Has A Hole In The Center
This is so true. In fact, I was mulling over that exact idea earlier in the day as I basked in the afterglow of yet another project well done.
For the past few weeks I have been utterly content with my place in the world. No stress, no major worries eating away at me, the holidays (for once) were very enjoyable, the bills were paid and 2010 was looking mighty good.
Without the stress, the creativity levels spiked. Not only with me, but with the rest of the team, too.
That’s the thing about enthusiasm. It’s contagious. So contagious it may just rival the H1N1. Only let’s hope they never find a vaccine for enthusiasm.
My mood spilled over onto everyone else. They in turn had a sudden burst of their own Big Ideas and ran with them. Before we knew it, we had January and February all blocked out with great stuff.
And yes, you all will get to see it. Soon.
What’s the Point, Deb?
If you haven’t gotten the point by now, you need to get thee to a Bagelery.
The point is this: If you want to do your absolute best work, whether it’s graphics, writing, or just cooking dinner for the family, relax. To paraphrase a common saying: Your work is the mirror of your soul.
So, go ahead, start your day with a bagel.
Read the Comments
15 Outstanding Responses to "the zen of bagels"
Rose on January 4, 2010 at 8:33 am | Permalink
Mmm. Bagels. My favorite food ever. Deb, you’re a genius. Excuse me while I take a wee break and get myself something to eat.
Deb Dorchak on January 4, 2010 at 9:41 am | Permalink
Would you believe I have not one bagel in the house anywhere? My mission today is go out and get some.
Glad you liked. And Allison/Son? Love the photo.
Deb Dorchak on January 4, 2010 at 9:43 am | Permalink
*chuckles* or should that be “AlliSon”?
Allison Day on January 4, 2010 at 9:49 am | Permalink
Hehe Deb, thanks! And yes… we’ve been going by that for years. Helps people remember our names… it’s even inscribed on the inside of my ring.
Scott Roche on January 4, 2010 at 11:43 am | Permalink
That’s a good point. Any good baker knows that with dough (as with metaphors) if you work it too much then you end with something inedible. I’m working on something right now and I think I could benefit from this. I think I’m just trying too hard/trying to do too much and it’s blocking my flow.
Scott Roche’s last blog post… Progress?
Deb Dorchak on January 4, 2010 at 12:11 pm | Permalink
@Scott: Trying too hard, doing too much at once…trying to stuff the whole bagel in your mouth at once…all of that will block the flow. It’s okay to put something down for a day or two, or even sleep on it for a night.
Brett Legree on January 4, 2010 at 4:23 pm | Permalink
I like bagels too. But I’m going primal so I’ll have to leave them out of the mix.
Perhaps I can do “the zen of grass-fed steak” instead?
(PS good post)
Brett Legree’s last blog post… 6 weeks 2 days.
Deb Dorchak on January 4, 2010 at 4:40 pm | Permalink
@Brett: I guess if you marinate the steak for a few hours. *thinks about it* Yup, grass-fed steak counts!
Eliza on January 4, 2010 at 4:59 pm | Permalink
Bagel eggs. Absolutely to die for … easy to make if anyone wants details
Jigsaw puzzles. Yep, there’s a connection … wait for it.
For Christmas, I bought our household 2 jigsaw puzzles. The idea being that I am trying to wean all of us off of electronic gadget addictions. We have completed our first 1000 piece puzzle, and as I am typing this, the males in the family have started the next one.
Wait for it … I am getting to how jigsaw puzzles tie into your bagel post.
There we sit, pouring over tiny pieces of puzzle. Eventually, we just can’t fit any pieces into place and we wander off before we get frustrated. We do something totally unrelated to jigsaw puzzling. Then we come back.
POOF!!!! We immediately pick up the very same pieces we were staring at before and pop them into place.
And here’s the connection … yet more proof that when you don’t allow yourself to get frustrated or stressed, and you take a break, you come back recharged and find fresh ideas staring you in the face.
On a side note, I do not recommend eating bagels and lox while doing jigsaw puzzles. Cream cheese on puzzle pieces is not so nice. And you might end up inadvertently eating a puzzle piece. … just saying
Eliza’s last blog post… The (Mis)Adventures of Mike: Mapping out business processes
Allison Day on January 4, 2010 at 5:19 pm | Permalink
Bagel eggs? Eliza, I want that recipe. Pretty please?
You’re exactly right. Jigsaw puzzles were very popular in my family when I was growing up – my mom always had one in progress, and even now every time we go visit my grandmother she’ll have a partially finished puzzle sitting out, and we’ll all sit around and help put it together. And it never fails that after we step away for a little while, we’ll come back and suddenly find that piece we’ve been looking for.
Come to think of it, it’s that way with a lot of things – writing, coding, the logic puzzles I’m so fond of…
Deb Dorchak on January 4, 2010 at 5:25 pm | Permalink
@Eliza & Allison: Lovely metaphor. How about we make a puzzle out of Son’s photo? The best of both worlds and no mess!
Melissa Donovan on January 5, 2010 at 12:19 am | Permalink
Oh man, now I’m craving a bagel with lox and cream cheese. Problem is, I’m fresh out of smoked salmon and it’s way too late to go to the store. I’ll have to settle for a little lemon pepper and maybe a tomato (this is actually pretty tasty). And you’re right — whenever you just relax, creativity and ideas abound.
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post… Happy New Year from Scribizzy!
Steph on January 5, 2010 at 3:38 pm | Permalink
Weird. There must be something going around. My sister wrote something very like this just the other day! http://therese.neelands.net/2010/01/586/
And man, do I agree with both of you.
Steph’s last blog post… Sunshine on a Snowy Day
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