Loving/Loved Leaving the Desert

(Photo by Maryanne Mesplé 2011)

A desert is a desert is a desert. You can do anything you want in it, but you cannot change it from what it is. It still lacks water. This is why it is a desert. The thing to do with a desert is to leave (in Absence from Felicity, p. 236).

I opened the cover to Pauline Edward's book Leaving The Desert and was hooked. I can't swear on a stack of religious text that my enthusiasm for this book is not directly related to the fact that I am very familiar with the book, A Course in Miracles. I can say in all honesty that Pauline is a skilled wordsmith and knows how to pull her reader forward ... or is it because I am familiar with A Course in Miracles that I went oh so willingly? I can't answer that question. I can say, for me, Ms Edward found words for much of what I felt regarding my personal experience reading ACIM (ACIM is short for A Course in Miracles) and she found words for so many questions I entertained and agonized over during and after reading ACIM 14 times and beginning the 15th. Bravo Pauline!

So, now on with my experience reading this book, but first I am needing something to eat so I am going to the kitchen to whip up a batch of Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins ... I found the recipe in the back of Pauline's book. I found the recipe when I let myself be distracted from reading on page 97 and then discovered on page 114 that she makes note of said recipe at the bottom of the page! Oh, yes, I am feeling a bit of resistance in this moment and ... you'll have to read the book to understand that one!

(photo by Maryanne Mesplé 2011 Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins)

When I was reading the book Leaving The Desert and discovered Pauline's recipe for these muffins, I did not want to help myself so I let my resistance to reading her words that were pushing at my spirit, and nudging my right mindedness take over.  I set the book down, and gave in to my meanderings. Pauline's recipe is absolutely perfect and as she mentions one can do so many different variations that all you need is a good culinary imagination ... okay so that is paraphrased but as you can see there is some yummy goodness happening in my kitchen AGAIN. For "my" fruit I soaked 2 cups of dried cranberries in the juice of one fresh orange and used the zest of one whole orange and added that to the batter too. OMG! YUM is not a big enough word!

 (photo by Maryanne Mesplé, Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins, May 21st, 2011... a bit burned!)

When I was supposed to be reading but finding myself in the kitchen I was not done with being resistant ... I put the muffins into the oven and looked at the book Leaving The Desert that I was really really enjoying and relating to and then I noted the sunny day outside calling me and then remembered that it was the 21st of May 2011, you know, the day that the world was supposed to end, so,  I abandoned my muffins in their 400 degree oven and went to my garden. I played in my garden and posed post-rapture photos of what was supposed to be me but only my empty clothes because the photo story is that I was raptured up and I was silly giddy with the idea of posting the photo on my husband's Facebook page and anyways... the muffins continued baking away whist I was playing .... so the oven did it's job and I did not do my job (being attentive to baking items in a 400 degree oven) and my muffins, on the 21st of May got a little overdone but they were excellent in texture and taste! Today's muffins will be Dandelion muffins and I shall not let them burn (I am going into the kitchen now to sit with them). Oops! I am supposed to be writing about Leaving The Desert not about Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins! I'll be back shortly.

Hugs,
Maryanne