Alaska has taught me many invaluable lessons — but the one I cherish most involves the art of letting go. The sweet surrender to stillness. The magic of releasing schedule urgency. The importance of settling into the pace of what is.
This is because Alaska, in her infinite wisdom, takes the hands of time and molds them into the shape of a heart, her winds whispering: slow down, be still, enjoy. She turns routine into ritual, rushing into revelry. She compels you with her skies to pause, look up, and not simply see the stars — but really behold them.
So, when we sit down for a meal — be it for a holiday, or just a special meal— why not take our cues from the grace of this great state? A state that, in my view, is also very much a state of mind.
- Prepare Meals Together — Nothing sets you up more beautifully for a shared experience than the act of crafting said experience as a group. The more hands lent to the making of a meal, the more love is transferred to it. It can be as casual as an assembly line of salmon canapès, or group chopping the multitude of veggies to compose an earthy seafood stew. The joy of doing it all together feeds the joy of its result.
- No Device Zone — Allow your special meal times to be free of unnecessary distractions, such as the dings and blips of endless notifications. Put your phones away and instead tune into presence, to the frequency of togetherness.
- Interactivity — I love interactive food, the kind that one must engage with in order to enjoy it. Like artichokes, for example, whose heart can only be relished once all the leaves have been peeled off first. Or like Dungeness crabs, which are delightful to crack open around a table with friends and family (and also happen to be a current Member Special!).
- Real Talk — Without the distractions of phones and with the advent of good food and chosen company, there are few forums more primed for good old-fashioned conversations than around a dinner table. Use this time to share not just fare, but also anecdotes, sentiments, gratitude and most importantly, connectivity.
- Clean Up Together — What we cook together, we clean up together, which can serve to forge an even tighter sense of collective ownership over the rituals and activities. It’s a task that says, I care, I participate and I contribute.
- Honor New Rituals — Codify all of the above. Etch these practices into being by doing them all again next year, or next week, or next month. But make these steps little micro-musts that define those meals that you wish to designate as special.
After all, creating shared experiences — besides being one of Wild Alaskan Company’s core principles — is how we turn our lives into love.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A shared experience around a festive tablescape of wild-caught seafood.
