I’ve horrified my son, Henry, for decades by talking to strangers (like my dad does), but my intention has been compliments. Passing a woman at the grocery store and telling her she looks fabulous. Seeking out a dad to look him in the eyes, smile and say “your child is behaving so beautifully.” Speaking the good into life. “See it, say it….” Henry has learned to do it now too, and has also found the value in this daily action rather than horror 😂
This guy (Blake of Today) on Instagram just nailed my approach and articulated it so beautifully…. and he shared the lasting impact that strangers have made on his life and self-perception. Campsite Rules. His reel has be pondering a bit this morning. I wonder if I can weave this into classes for my teen students…? It’s about the bigger picture for me. My goals lie far beyond the skills to navigate the culinary world and whatever the end of the year assessments say that need to be learned. My lofty focus is their mental & emotional skills: their kitchen confidence, if you will, and how do they feel at the end of class each day? If I play my cards right, the overall energy of the school population will positively shift, if only incrementally…. “actions speak louder than words” and contagious enthusiasm are at play here.
My classes are going to be a little bit like the fabled “NYC taxi cab driver” experiment from days of yore. Someone predicted the extrapolated math to determine just how many others could be positively affected if a taxi cab driver in NYC was happy and therefore extremely nice to the strangers in his car. I say “fabled”, as I cannot find the article. Just like I can’t find the study that explains that pasta made by Italian nonnas (which auto corrected to “Italian ninjas” LOL) contains loving energy that makes the food taste better and helps the consumers feel better internally because it was infused by their hands, not machines, therefore transferring bits of the nonnas’ intentional love. But this digresses me into a downward spiral of “things I know but can’t prove”. I just trust the knowledge, because it feels good to believe it and isn’t that really the entire point?
*PS if you don’t have Instagram, you can still click on the link and the video should open.
#foodislife
#campsiterules
#beyourself
#choosejoy
#spreadjoy
#sharejoy
#chasingjoy
#barefoot
#boundaries
#complimentingstrangers
#positive
#adjustyourperspective
#newvantagepoint
#happybaker
#foodislife
#lovewhatyoudo
#newperspectives
Kibby Jardine 