Joy.

Ritual can be given short shrift as modern people strive to achieve their life’s dreams. Competition and official demands have created a life that may be anything but.

When I noticed life had become a list of “to-do’s” and compliance requirements, I also noticed my level of stress and preoccupation with matters that were quite unimportant to me were absurd.

I wanted to turn attention back to basic emotions and activities. Slowing down was the first challenge. Ritual seemed to be a time-honored tool of humanity that can be found in the farthest corners of antiquity.

Because food is essential second only to air and water, this seemed like a wonderful place to start. I wanted to create an emotion through this ritual, and chose joy.

The relationship between food and joy is inescapable, and who would want to escape it anyway. My conception of heaven is wind and sparkle; yours may be different. But using this thought, I began to bring together ideas for the table setting that would suggest this emotion of joy. Consider what your personal abstract idea of joy may be. Half the fun is imagining the physical manifestation of the internal conception.

 

 

I decided on exuberant color and plate of silver or gold. I found place mats with an exquisite gold scallop edge that picked up the glow from the candles that were tall, thin, and red. The Spring season suggested lilacs that were blossoming in my yard, along with tulips. But I’ve found magnificent silk flowers that last throughout years, and are fun and easy.

Don’t forget the elegance of table cloths. Fine dining in restaurants typically includes lovely cloth and napkins. You can purchase beautiful napkins and table cloths, but I enjoy purchasing material and making my own. It is fun and easy; and if you enjoy embroidery, throw on a few petal-stitch and French knot flowers, all the better. Perhaps you can use applique, if that is your talent.

And of course, the food. You can’t cook? Oh, contraire! If you can eat, you can cook. I assume most people reading this can cook with the flair of a chef. It has been my experience this is the case. But don’t suppose you need to overdue the cooking process; unless this will add to your joy.

In fact, the less cooking is often the healthiest. This is about the presentation of the food, and the enjoyment of its consumption. I have found the most exquisite colander into which fresh fruit such as strawberries or blueberries can be washed, drained and presented on the table. This beautiful porcelain colander includes a matching dish---nothing could be easier or more beautiful.

Serve with a crystal bowl of freshly whipped cream. This is one of the simplest and most delicious foods imaginable. Your taste may be different, but served with iced mint tea, and the senses will soar.

From Herkimer, New York, you can purchase a wonderful bread that is beyond delicious, and contains no chemicals and only about 5 ingredients. Butter, jam, and cinnamon, all served on plate that one can find anywhere, is so simple, but so beautiful.

And how about experimenting with nuts, a most nutritious food. Find a unique and interesting nut-cracker. They are a culture statement in and of themselves.

Play with color, and my concept of joy, influenced by my interpretation of heaven, is about sparkle, color and airiness. I adore wind and the energy that is generated---not so good during meal time. So my interpretation is for lightness, space, and fresh air. Creation of this aura is a challenge. But remember this is ritual which is a part of the process and the means of inspiring atmosphere.

Don’t be afraid to explore your own dream of what joy will imply. Working off my concept of wind, sparkle, and color, I’ve used mirrors as table tops. This is unusual, beautiful, and simple. According to mood, I will use the mirror as is, or with a lace crocheted table cloth. Along with candles, small and colorful lanterns, or a lovely lamp, the result can be breathtaking.

In particular with a mirror-topped table, one can use candles floating in a crystal dish. Floating candles are easily obtainable and crystal or colored glass is fun and beautiful.

In my world, the food should be very healthy, simple, and as integral and vital to your lifestyle as air and water. The modern population has only been indoctrinated into the idea that there is no time or energy for such fundamental everyday joy, by the requisites of the outside world.

Slow down and smell the roses and the toasting bread !!