Finding Meaning in Life - "The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a world Obsessed with Happiness" by Emily Esfahani Smith

What meaning does life have? Where does meaning come from? Is meaning the source of our happiness? Are we only happy if life has meaning? These are some of the questions that "The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a world Obsessed with Happiness" by Emily Esfahani Smith attempts to find answers to. The book delves into the subject of "happiness and meaning" using personal stories, referring to philosophical literature and psychologists, and providing a variety of perspectives through individuals' stories.

Smith says that there are "four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence." In Belonging, the stories of the residents of Tangier in Chesapeake Bay and the members of the Society of Creative Anachronism were provided as examples. Both groups of people had a place where they belonged - one group was born into their neighborhood while the other was a group created out of similar interests. In order to belong, it is said that you must look at others before yourself and reach out to them. Loneliness is a critical part in being unhappy but if you are able to have support, love, and interactions with people that you care about, then you are one step closer to finding meaning in your life. Then, we get to Purpose. Finding our "calling" or knowing how we can contribute to society is a great source of "purpose," but not everyone has a calling and it is not the only factor. People who see their jobs as a way to help others find their jobs as "meaningful" even if they don't love it. Finding purpose, unlike belonging, starts with ourselves and figuring out what we are good at, what we want to do, and what we need to do. Storytelling, the third pillar, "emerges from a deep-seated need all humans share: the need to make sense of the world (104)." Narrative identity and coherence are key elements in finding meaning in our lives. Once we make sense of who we are and understand critical life events that have shaped us, we not only reflect on those moments by sharing our stories, we help others by connecting with them. Finally, the fourth pillar, Transcendence refers to when we are at peace... when we are able to connect to everything that is around us... when we are just able to accept life and its meanings, and even death. The stories involved those who transcended from meditating, by focusing on their environment, and even from taking drugs like magic mushrooms.

Simple acts of kindness, social interaction, listening and caring, acknowledging the people around you and your environment are acts of building the pillars to a fulfilling life. It's sounds like a no brainer but the book was a nice reminder of all there is to life. I enjoyed reading the different stories - it really helps put things into perspective and reflect on what priorities you might have or have forgotten about. Everyone has a different road to find meaning; not one path is the right one. All the different stories connect us, let us view life from different perspectives, and give us things to think about. I think this book would be a good starter for those who question life's meaning, want to and want to start somewhere. It's not going to give you answers but it's starts you off with questions and topics to think about.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. 

Looking Back, My Day in Edinburgh - Scotland Trip Part 1

A view of the Ferris Wheel and the Scott Monument on Prince Street 

I was looking through my photos and I realized I never wrote about my trip to Scotland, but I was amazed at all that I remembered. Sometimes, I remember trips better than days that I've spent at home doing nothing but eating & surfing the web. Perhaps there's a psychological reason for that - being proactive versus non-proactive? In any case, I wanted to write about the wonderful places I saw and delicious meals I had - black pudding, anyone?! This is only Part 1 of my Scotland Trip, so please look forward to the rest!

Last November, I visited Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews in Scotland. I went mainly to visit my boyfriend in St. Andrews, but it became a trip where I had some amazing views, quality alone time, and an overall wonderful time with my boyfriend and friends - do I even have to mention the delicious food I had?! The only con from the trip was the cold weather. I love layering and wearing my thick fuzzy pajama dress during the winter, but boy does the frigid air slap hurt!

November 2016.

The beginning of my trip started with a night in Edinburgh. I stayed at a B&B a few minutes out of the bustling city center. With an hour of sleep on the 7 hour overnight flight, I arrived to a lovely house and a staff member who greeted me. The owner, David, was out but he arrived a few minutes later as I was unpacking in my room - a Victorian style room decorated with yellow walls, white furniture, and light pink drapes on the window. David was so friendly and welcoming. He was so quick to explain transportation routes, recommend different restaurants he visited and enjoyed, and point out the go-to places in the city. After speaking with him for a few minutes, I got ready to head out for my 5-6 hour walking/sight-seeing event.

My Layers of Love for Lasagna

*This is an updated version of a project I did previously*

Lasagna

My Layers of Love for Lasagna

 The Family Encounter

I don’t remember how young I was, but my great-aunt was the first person to introduce me to a pasta dish called lasagna. My family and I were up at her house for a family gathering and I remember eating this meat sauce and cheese layered “thing.” I didn’t ask what it was called. It was good, and that was all that mattered. When did I learn it was called lasagna? Even that is very hazy. I don’t recall the specific date or time I learned it was called lasagna, but I sure do remember eating it, loving it, and being fascinated by it. The next thing I know, I was asking for “la-ja-nya” during dinner. As I’ve gotten older, my childhood memories have faded – heck, even memories from a few days ago get a little hazy – but I sure know that lasagna wasn’t common on our dinner table. As I’d eat my Korean meal – rice with various ban-chan (side dish) – I’d hear my parents and grandparents talk about their days, the future, upcoming family plans, and the next meals to cook. Those next meals were rarely American, and if they were, my mom would just cook whatever she felt like cooking – usually non-Korean food meant Japanese style curry, mom’s homemade spaghetti, cheese pasta with leftover spaghetti sauce, or chicken stew.

After that first encounter, my great-aunt made lasagna so many times I cannot possibly count them all. Each time, when we were ready to leave her house, she would yell, “Wait!” in a hurry as she would remember about the lasagna she left in the freezer for us. They were cut into cubes and packed in Ziploc bags. She instructed us, “You take one out and put it on the plate. Remember, it has to be microwaveable plate. Ask your mom if you don’t know. Two minutes. Microwave for two minutes, okay? If two minutes is not good, microwave every one minute,” and we’d respond with nods. Now she skips that step. We’re capable enough to at least microwave food. 

With my grandparents and brother.

The only other time I remember having lasagna with my family was when my grandmother decided to make it. It was during the summer. Her passion to cook was ignited by my brother and I whining about how much we wanted our “great-aunt’s” lasagna and how we never made it at our home. Next thing you know, she decided to make the lasagna and I remember that that day was her first time making it for us, and she was really confident about it.

I don’t know if she made it for my brother or grandfather before I was born (my brother is six years older), but it’s a day I still remember so well. I was really excited as I watched her boil the pasta and make spaghetti sauce. Then she would take a big aluminum pan and layer it with lasagna noodles and pour the homemade spaghetti sauce over it. On top of that, she would put on another layer of lasagna noodles (this time, perpendicular to the original layer) and then a layer of ricotta cheese. I’d stick around nibbling on a plain pasta noodle and put my hand into the pint of ricotta cheese trying to salvage any leftover smears of cheese. She would continue repeating the process of layering lasagna, sauce, lasagna, ricotta, lasagna, sauce, etc. until it filled to the top of the pan. The final piece would be topped off with shredded mozzarella cheese and it would be popped into the oven until the cheese was toasty and bubbling. However, our oven’s temperature knob fell off so we never had a precise temperature – the only people allowed to touch the oven were my mom and grandma, and maybe my grandpa. They would usually crank it up to whatever degree they thought felt right, but to keep things safe the only thing we’d bake were sweet potatoes and potatoes, and we very rarely baked chicken (that would take so long). The day grandma made lasagna for us was really special... because she hasn’t made it since.

Within the Layers of Lasagna

Cheesy Eggs in Toast Recipe!

Hello Food Friends!

It has been far too long since I posted a recipe, so HERE IS A RECIPE. I have a delightful, easy recipe for all egg (& cheese) lovers out there!

I made Eggs in Toast (also known as Egg in Hole, Eggs in a Basket, etc) on a whim once because my boyfriend was hungry. I didn't want to make the classic Eggs with Toast so I thought I'd try something I hadn't done before. Thankfully, it turned out delicious and I made it for myself recently as well. It's really easy to make and doesn't take that long either. :) I hope you enjoy.