I do a lot of reflection as I am watching Martha, reading her magazines and books and trying out her recipes and projects and I thought I would share of some my recent thoughts with you.

Good Things: What I like about Martha is that she is always looking for the best of things. She likes ideas and things that are high quality, innovative, thought out, and reliable. Her entire concept is based on “good things” and I find that she has taught me to be more discerning and give more thought to things that I do and choose.

Elegance: So much of what Martha does and owns is elegant, whether it is has simple elegance or over the top elegance.  Both are worth pursuing I think. We just remodeled our bathroom and the idea of keeping things elegant in a clean and pure way was quite directive for me. For me, elegance also means finding the natural order of things.

Constant Learning: Martha talks often about she loves to learn about new things. I find that exploring new ideas gives a spark to life, so I appreciate this about her. I, too, am naturally curious and am always happy to learn a new fact or discover a new way to do something. Sometimes I have to remind myself to be open to learning. I am often hesitant to do her crafts since I am not naturally talented in that way, but I do find I learn something each time. She has also helped me be open to new foods and ingredients.

Tenacity: On a recent show, Martha’s guest showed her how to fold parchment paper into a little box to cook fish in. Martha really had a hard time getting it and he reached over and wanted to finish it for her and she said something like no! I want to learn how to do this. I love how she is strong-willed and will not give up and I am trying to take that sensibility to heart in my own life.

Friendliness: As I watch Martha on tv, I am sometimes struck by how human she is in her interactions. She might misspeak, say “umm”, lose track of the train of the conversation, or stumble a bit. I despise public speaking, but do it sometimes as part of my job, so I admire how Martha approaches every person and situation with a friendly attitude and how that seems to see her through even if she is human and is not absolutely perfect in all she says and does. (I believe Martha is a perfectionist, as am I, so I think it must really bug her when she is less than perfect. I feel the same way, but am encouraged by watching her.)

Appreciation: If you watch Martha on tv, you will see she is always exclaiming about something is BEAUTIFUL or PERFECT. She can get so excited about a carrot or some bread dough. I think it’s easy to lose sight of these small perfections, and Martha has helped me open my eyes to them. When I am cooking, I try to appreciate the colors and shapes of the vegetables, the scent of the soup or the shape of a cookie. There’s something very zen about approaching things this way and I find it to be very centering.