A Happiness Lesson from Julia Child?
Recently, I read a wonderful book, Julia Child’s My Life in France. It describes her first move
to France, when her husband was transferred there, how she fell in love with
France and French food, and how she became utterly absorbed in learning about
French cooking and in cookbook writing.I must confess that I have very little interest in the ruling passion of Julia Child’s life. Food has never been very interesting to me. I love certain foods, of course, but I like very plain food best. I don’t get much of a kick from visiting new restaurants, or from eating a wonderfully cooked meal. One of the sad aspects of a happiness project, for me, was to Be Gretchen and to admit to myself that this area of experience, so vibrant for so many people, leaves me cold.
But I picked up this book, and I was utterly captivated. It didn’t matter that I don’t care about cooking or food. Julia Child’s enthusiasm, her love of her subject and the zest with which she tackled even the drudgery involved, her respect for the masters in her field and her curiosity constantly to learn more, swept me along.
Enthusiasm is a terrific quality. The more I think about happiness, the more I value enthusiasm. It can seem cooler and smarter to be ironic, detached, or critical, and it’s certainly much easier and safer to adopt that sort of stance. But enthusiasm is more fun. Enthusiasm is generous, positive, energetic, and social. It’s outward-turning and engaged. It’s unselfconscious, warm-hearted, and kind of goofy. Like Julia Child!
Julia Child’s love for French cooking was so contagious that even today, almost fifty years after she wrote her first cookbook, we still feel her influence. I’m not sure whether I agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” – but enthusiasm certainly helps. What a passionate life Julia Child led! And what a marvelous flavor she left behind.
If you'd like to read more along these lines, check out Happier at Home, chapter six.
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