Small beginnings

“Do not despise the days of small beginnings,” was a quote I heard from my Sunday school teacher as a kid… who was also, my mom.

Easier said than done, right? Despite our honest grumblings, we can keep doing our work – and focus on what will be, instead of what isn’t, yet.

I once helped open a restaurant, as a pastry chef in North Carolina – The Big View Diner (featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive ins, and Dives!) check them out at https://www.bigviewrestaurant.com.

It was, to say the least, rough. Developing recipes in test kitchens, trying to calibrate the ovens in our real kitchen, trying to not burn hundreds of dollars worth of brownie batter, which is a story for a later post! Trying to sync the hot kitchen and the cold kitchen, to find the flow in our team, to understand the personalities of the owners and chefs, and being so overrun with diners that we would run out of basics like eggs.

It became evident to me, that there were a few types of restaurant people.

1. Ones who wouldn’t dare set foot into the restaurant until we had worked out all the kinks and had great reviews. Like a blister, coming out when all the hard work is already done.

2. Ones who would show up at the beginning, starry-eyed with promise, nod their heads like they understood what they were getting into and promise to support the team – and, then when things got rough as they always do, would either think of a lame excuse to quit or simply ghost us.

3. Ones who understood that signing up meant volunteering for uncertainty, for discomfort, stress, misunderstandings, and maybe second degree burns. People with faith in the process. People who were willing to dream of what lay beyond the difficulty of the day, and put in the work to get to the other side.

The rewards on the other side, were so much more than a steady paycheck playing with sugar and reviews to look good on your resume’. The intangibles were so much more fulfilling; friendships and bonding, pride in work well executed, humility in all the mistakes I made, and gratitude for the patience of my Greek diner pastry god Frank Kaltsounis, who taught me so much. The rewards, included increased resilience to weather the next challenge.

Did I mention, we’re opening a yoga studio? It feels remarkably similar. I’m bracing for the challenge, but simultaneously so excited for the possibilities! A restaurant, is a not just about the food. People go to celebrate, to spend quality time in conversation, to come together in ways that reduce stress and bolster our wellbeing. In a yoga class, I hope we cultivate a place for people to see friends, or meet new ones. To celebrate milestones, to laugh and work hard at the same time. To reduce stress, and bolster our feelings of self-worth and connection. Getting into fabulous shape is an okay side effect, too. 🙂

I have a Shinto teacher who just posted “in this time of harvest, let’s ponder the saying ‘ from one grain of rice… one thousand grains of rice.'”

These are the days, of our yoga studio’s small beginnings. Thanks, mom. 🙂