The Idea Behind Spiritual Sushi

I’m not making art, I’m making sushi. — Masaharu Morimoto

This blog is named spiritual sushi because it will serve up bite-sized ideas that I have curated, remixed, and plated to be consumed by myself and others.     

Sushi is an eclectic mix of rice, vegetables, fish and seasonings elegantly wrapped in seaweed or artfully layered into bite-sized pieces that can be savored one at a time. The possibilities for what can be created is bound by the wrap and the imagination. 

I love food, both consuming and creating dishes. I often mix foods from different cultures and traditions. The foods are infused with spices and ingredients, blended to create an experience, an adventure, something to savor and share.  

Preparing food and eating it, however, are but fleeting pleasures. Food is envisioned, created, and consumed… then it is but a memory. Ideas are different.

Like food, I like to collect ideas, put them to use, and merge them into new possibilities. Among these are wisdom and spiritual stories. Unlike the fleeting delights of food, spiritual ideas have staying power. They can be consumed repeatedly and nourish us for life.

Sometimes, they are like comfort foods to console us at hard times. Other times, they provide a burst of energy or a bit of sweetness. Sometimes, they can be complex and dense; sometimes, light and fluffy; sometimes spicy in a way that brings heat to our face and tears to our eyes. Sometimes, they present a reliable and predictable taste. Sometimes, they offer an unexpected medley of flavors that are a revelation. 

I like revelations. It is why I read, listen, travel, and talk to people. And all these things accumulate and accrue into a mental library, where they connect and combine in sometimes novel ways. In writing, I offer the forms these ideas have taken shape in my mind. In expression, they find more concrete form. And like food, they can be served up and shared for others to enjoy. And, perhaps, if found beneficial like a cherished recipe they can be shared with others to try or to recreate into yet new variations. 

In choosing to put these ideas in a blog, I want to make them more easily shared. This is food for thought and life that anyone can partake in or pass it on. So, what’s in your sushi roll?