Jasmin Tse
2020 – the year which threw a major spanner in the works or should I say, the world. Never in our lifetime have we seen such unprecedented disruptions to our lives resulting in many of us feeling anxiety and uncertainty of how to carry on. Yet in the midst of this great global pause, time has slowed down for each of us to rediscover our immediate world. Over the course of the next few articles, we will be exploring small things where we may have derived pleasure from during our collective journey of 2020.
English novelist Barbara Pym had this to say about small things:
“The small things in life were often so much bigger than the great things… the trivial pleasure like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.”
The collective global experience of lock-downs/circuit breaker (whatever you may call it) has bound us all with a common dilemma – “How do I find joy within my limited boundaries?”
The small thing of cooking kept many a household sane whether it be the cook or the taster(s), a.k.a. the guinea pig. We may not be able to control the external world around us but perhaps, we could derive some sense of control over what we create within our home.
Our social media feeds were bombarded with pictures from friends who were finally able to find the time to perfect the ultimate baking goal – the humble yet great sourdough boule. There was the simple pleasure of daily feedings of the starter (did you give your starter a pet name?) and the excitement of witnessing the resulting bubbles as it grew stronger affirming it’s activity – “Yes!! It’s alive!”
From there, the lovingly patient task of fermenting the dough resulting in the delirious satisfaction of hearing your loaf ‘sing’ once it exited your oven. One could almost swear that one is in a boulangerie in a quaint French village if you were to close your eyes, and inhale the warm, mouth-watering aroma that can only be that of a gorgeous, crusty loaf.
What were the little things which made us smile and kept us going during this great trial of 2020? Perhaps you too could let us know what are your small things which are so much bigger than this great pause?