I happened on the Food Network today... for the latter part of Chopped Junior, then stayed for a Chopped Redemption program. I have been checking on the kids that cook on these shows to see what they do... it is really a strange thing to see a young person so into chef-related activities. I think I was enjoying the lazy days of childhood in my life at their ages. Some seem to be so focused on being a chef already. I am amazed.
Today there was a young boy who was recovering from leukemia and treatments. He had gained a lot of weight in the process. I didn't see the beginning of the program so I don't know what details I missed. The kids are so serious about the competition, and the results of a loss. I suppose there is a link to the whole child-star issues... beauty pageants, child actors, etc. I don't really know.
Today, I watched how they took their secret ingredients and made things... food I wouldn't even know about. The same thing happens for the adults, which are often seasoned chefs already, but looking for an award... and cash. The kids get $10K if they win, the adults got more (I think... but not sure.), and one commercial said the champion cook-off is worth $50K if you win. I might try for something to get that kind of money, but I don't think I have any one skill that I could use to compete with. (I have thought about this in the past, and wondered what I could do if I was competitive.)
I think I am more... I really don't know what I am more of... I better think about that and see if I can get funding for something with skills I don't know I have.
I have always wanted to just ignore all the flack and start the changes I felt needed... maybe that is the way I look for answers that will work. Not being competitive changes things... I loved that part of my life where competitive and cooperative were being discussed... finding solutions cooperatively was heralded at the time as being more productive. I just want to win the big lottery prize and get it done myself. What does that mean in this world... I guess it means I'm a "loser." :-)
I noticed today that the underdog theme is big on TV competitions. The worse your story, the better the TV likes you... the boy battling leukemia won... so did the previously homeless man. When I was younger I tried out for one or more of the game shows. Some were based on skill tests, others were just audience members of the day being chosen to play the game. People who bring drama with them are always picked... they help fill the attention spans of people watching... that was my evaluation. Later, somewhere, I discovered that there was a "formula" for the contestants being chosen... large groups attending usually had ONE person picked (at least), military members were chosen, the wildest and most excited got picked (for drama value), and I can't remember what else was on the list. It changed my view of the game process.
We are all the product of our life experience... the things that happened to me left a perspective in my mind that would never go away... and would never be there otherwise, if I hadn't had that experience. The young man who battled leukemia had to stay at home a lot, or in the hospital maybe, but he said that watching Chopped Junior helped him get through his medical ordeals... and pointed his life in a food/restaurant direction. Poverty propelled me into the need to see changes... somehow, somewhere... and led to creating Working Together. We are all motivated by our lives... good and bad.
I guess my thoughts are filled with questions and realizations today. I don't know how to apply all these little pieces of reality to my life right now. I am trying to work it out. This "journaling" I am doing is letting you into the process.
I will have to go do some more thinking right now. Life is at a juncture for me, and I am not sure if I have the ability to choose the direction it is taking. I want to. Or, if LIFE takes me on it's own idea of an adventure, I need to be ready for that, too.
Until next time,
In Christ,
Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
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May GOD help us to see our destiny, and show us how to deal with our own paths. Amen.
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