Cooking

Puzzled by the concept of humanist practice? Try baking a loaf of bread from scratch. Try making a flaky pie crust. Try baking a cheese souffle. 

Baking and cooking are activities which make the concept of personal practice clear. Concentration, timing and educated standards combine with intentional repetition to pursue an ideal result. With practice, confidence grows. Confidence with more practice develops mastery. Mastery with more practice develops innovation and creativity. 

It has taken me years of following prescribed recipes over and over again to be able to make up my own. Each new recipe I concoct must be repeated again and again to achieve a result which is consistent with my standards of taste and presentation. I can walk into any kitchen prepare my recipe from memory. It is simply part of what I can do. I aspire to eventually feel this way about my humanist practice.