Dawn of A New Dream

We had a wonderful meal this Sunday at Circa in High Bridge, NJ (37 Main Street, High Bridge, NJ [908-638-5560]).

There were 6 of us (4 grownups, 2 kids) and we were celebrating our friend’s 38th birthday. When we arrived about 12:30 there were only 2 other diners in the restaurant. But in spite of that, each of our meals was prepared with all the attention you’d expect from a great NYC establishment. The modern Victorian-style interior has a dark stamped tin ceiling, plenty of cozy bench-style seating, and a bar with some of the best beer on tap in the area.

Here’s the Sunday brunch menu: http://www.circa-restaurant.com/dinner_menu.html. Everything we had was delicious! I had the ROASTED BEET SALAD — with walnuts, bleu cheese, apple, spinach, horseradish cream ($10). Beets were chopped into small squares and the walnuts gave a candied crunch, the bleu cheese a flavorful tang. The PUMPKIN GOAT CHEESE CROQUETTES were a symphony of taste — laced with honey, almonds, thyme ($10) — they were crispy, crunchy and sweet on the outside, with a soft, melting bite of goat cheese/pumpkin on the inside.

My husband had the STEAMED CLAMS — ginger, garlic, lemon, lime, chili flake ($12) and a special of lamb meat balls with soba noodles, perfectly cooked. (more…)

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Tonight on my walk, I took a different way.

I was feeling into a space of hopelessness and depression. It has been a familiar stopping off place for me.

It all began this morning in the bed, with our two cats, talking with my husband about a TV show we watched last night: “In Treatment.”

In the story, the hero Paul has an awareness, and in it I saw the possibility of seeing the original sin that we are all born with, the “I am not enough.” And that in this seeing, we have the hope, the chance of a lifetime, to realize that this is just a belief, just a thought that we believe — not the truth.

I believe that this realization, like Paul’s in the story, is the evolution of the human race. By no longer believing “I am not enough,” by knowing that this idea has been passed down from parent to child for generations — we have the opportunity to change (for the better) the life we are living. We have an opportunity to live life as a flow, not pushing against, not pushing away, not ignoring. Just flowing. This takes a new kind of courage.

My husband, on the other hand, felt that this is how humans were naturally selected. Those who were “lazy” he said, died off, and those who had this drive that arose from “I am not enough, I have to prove myself,” propagated themselves. And that it is all good.

I wanted to convince him that this is natural selection all over again, what if, like Paul, some humans can see that this life is more than trying to prove “I am enough” by doing things, making more money, getting more things. What if, like Paul, we can take responsibility for seeing that it is all our own creation? That this “I” itself is simply a creation, an illusion?

He didn’t agree and ended the conversation. I went into a funk. It seems so important for to me to connect with him, with others on this subject. (more…)

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