Prelude To Love
Why can’t infatuation be as long-lasting and honest as true love? Why is that when you meet the person that you’re sure is perfect for you they are, in fact, the one thing you should run away from?
In my case, one fateful night in December 2016 all the stars aligned and I thought I met the one. As I mentioned in the episode, he had everything on my public and private everything-I-want-and-need-in-a-lover wish list. It couldn’t get any better than this.
In hindsight, I think that meeting the beautiful red-haired Viking was simply a mirror into a lost part of me that was frantically searching for. The end of my relationship left me so fearful, overly self-conscious, and closed that I couldn’t imagine allowing happiness and optimism back in.
Meeting the Viking reminded me of what it was like to be free and let life happen. That was the first night in a long time that I felt real joy. I understand that it may seem like a bit of a stretch to equate a chance meeting with a hot redhead with joy, but that’s exactly what I felt at that moment. It was so unexpected that I didn’t have time to mentally prepare my usual spiel and put up my armor. I had no choice but to let go, and that’s exactly what I did.
I let myself just be, and say, what I wanted without second-guessing myself and questioning whether or not I was interesting or cool enough. That night I was the silliest, funniest, wittiest, and most honest I had ever been in a long time.
My story with the Viking didn’t turn into love, but it did help to reset something in my heart and psyche that led me to be more spontaneous and living with less fear when approaching new relationships.
Prelude to Love
Roasted salmon filet with turmeric rice
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of powdered turmeric
¼ white onion
½ cup of rice
2 cups of water
1 salmon filet
6 baby tomatoes
1½ tablespoons of olive oil
2 ½ teaspoons of salt salt
½ teaspoon paprika
black pepper
Preparation
1. Roughly chop of the onion and add to your saucepan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions until soft but now brown then add turmeric powder. Keep an eye on the turmeric and onions because you don’t want the onions to burn
2. After about one minute add the rice, water, and tomatoes and bring it to a boil. Once the rice has begun to boil turn the heat down to the lowest setting, cover and let the rice do its thing. Once all the water has been absorbed, taste a bit of the rice to see if it is at your desired level of softness. If it’s not soft enough add a bit more water and cover to allow the rice to steam
3. As the rice is cooking away add the remaining olive oil, salt, generous amounts of black pepper and paprika the filet. Make sure all sides are generously seasoned.
4. Place in a roasting pan and pop the filet in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 12-15 minutes
5. Serve over the turmeric rice