Looking back, it was an exceptional find. Great food and service. The ambiance created an experience that went beyond the obvious. I enjoyed the past and present, each revolving around culture and cuisine.
My local colleague enjoyed lunch. He only had one question. Why this restaurant?
As I paused to consider the reasons behind my meal choice, the answers then are helping me shape my approach to the day ahead.
Experience can teach if one is willing to be a student. Having enjoyed home cooking in a Parsi home, I had come to appreciate and enjoy the dishes with the unique spice blends and cooking styles. The memories of conversations and laughter shared over many a meal automatically put this establishment on a short list. I knew my images, smells, and emotions from the past were not linked to the present. They did create a willingness to choose with faith.
The short-listed recommendation was not based on anything to do with me, it was all about the other. I was not playing chef, so my abilities were not relevant. I did not know anyone with first-hand knowledge, so again, my insight was non-existent. What I did have is the awareness of the other and what s/he would do. Cooking techniques, flavours, and dish combinations, and the possibilities of new experiences were compelling details that influenced my thinking in the present.
Every moment we have is a decision point. Not choosing was a choice. At that moment, I had no other shortlisted restaurant. I did not know the area. Given the time and window for a meal, as uncertain as this was, it was time to decide.
I am not the first. “When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!”” (Romans 4.18)
I am not the last. Welcome to a new day.
