Celebrating the Baker as Poet and Everyday Artist

This great quotation was sent out in an email newsletter from Elizabeth of Elizabeth Anna's Old World Garden, a wonderful little nursery in Fort Worth that is an advocate of locavorism and helping people grow their own delicious food in their own yards.

In his acceptance speech in the noble prize for literature, Pablo Neruda, said "I have often maintained the best poet is he who prepares our daily bread: the nearest baker who does not imagine himself to be a god. He does his majestic and unpretentious work of kneading the dough, consigning it to the oven, baking it in golden colors and handing us our daily bread as a dutiful fellowship..."

This is beautiful and fits in with ideas from 2 of my previous blog articles about individual talents and values and the idea that everyone has something they can do well, their own strengths that they can contribute to the world.

I am reminded of a link to an article sent to me by my friend Michelle Rhea a few weeks ago. The writer talks about the value of the work done by people in what we think of as menial jobs, and just how involved those jobs can be and the skills and minute to minute decision making they involve. Michelle and I both worked as waitresses in our younger days, so we really understand about all the many things a waiter or waitress is dealing with at one time in a hectic restaurant, while at the same time constantly putting on a happy face and practicing some pretty intense human relations.

There are a lot of prestigious, high paying jobs that I really cannot see how they effect my life and my world, but thank goodness for the people who come by every week to collect my garbage!

And Thanks to Elizabeth Anna for the inspiring quotation.