Writing is hard—even for me. And when we do write, often the things we have to share are not that profound, not that interesting, dare we say it? They’re boring.
We just don’t have much of substance to share. Our words are boring. Our conversations are empty. Our stories are flat. Our ideas are artless. And it can feel a bit powerless to recognize this about ourselves: Oh geez. I put myself to sleep.
To that, I say the same thing I say to my English students: Your writing is boring because you are boring.
(Welcome to my TED Talk: “How to Lose Readers Real Quick” with Chad Ashby).
Stick with me here. While some of us may be limitless wells of interest and intrigue, generally, we have to digest new experiences and ideas in order to have something to share with others. This is the good news: Just because your life is boring today doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Here’s two basic encouragements.
First, live a more interesting life. Notice, I don’t say live a more risky life or a more exotic life or a more extraordinary life. Often a bland dish doesn’t need anything more than a little extra salt.
Cook a new recipe. Return to an old family recipe. Go for a walk down a new street. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in years. Read your Bible. Pick up a new hobby. Start a new exercise plan. Visit a local state park. Walk through downtown. Go to the local bakery. Join a sports league. Sprinkle some salt on your week.
Often, the library is a fantastic place to start. Just this past week, I picked up the book Masa by Jorge Gaviria which is all about the ages-old process of nixtimalization. Did I enter the Greenville Public Library thinking about tortillas, tamales, and sopes? Nope. Am I seriously considering ordering field corn and trying my hand at making my own masa now? Much to my wife’s chagrin—yep. Live a more interesting life.
Secondly, live a more interested life. Enter into each day asking questions, starting conversations with others that have no purpose other than curiosity, opening books on topics you know nothing about. Cultivate in yourself a hunger to know—to know others, to know about the world, to know how, to know why.
One of my favorite questions when I meet someone new is the one that comes after, “What do you do?” It’s the follow-up: “That’s cool. What does that entail?” People love to talk about their work, and I love to hear about it. In our church small group, we have a graphic designer who mocks up carports. Not the sexiest job, but it’s amazing how fascinating they become the more questions you ask.
Live a more interesting life and a more interested life. Notice how un-groundbreaking these suggestions are. Essentially, I’m encouraging you to treasure the mundane. It may not be that your life is boring; maybe you don’t think you have anything to share because you don’t value the weird, quirky, or normal things about your life.
Or maybe you have allowed that 3 inch by 5 inch screen in your hand to suck all of your interest into a small sad world. While you stare at the lifeless equivalent of a black rock, the wide-world filled with reality and experience and vibrant life is passing you by.
Ultimately, this is an encouragement to press “further up and further in” to real life. And as we do, we are traveling toward the one who is Life (John 1:4).
Sometimes the best way to spice up your life is a new kitchen gadget. Have you ever tried your hand at making tortillas? Once you’ve made them at home, store-bought tortillas will always disappoint. You’ll need a griddle, masa flour, and one of these babies:
Tortilla Press
Once again, I get no kickbacks from this, but this is the tortilla press we use at the Ashby household. Below are the basics to making tortillas in your own kitchen—let the kids help!
Make homemade corn tortillas.
Crank your griddle up to high heat.
Mix the masa flour with water by hand according to the proportions on the back of the bag—I also add a good pinch or two of salt. You want it to be soft but not too tacky, otherwise you will have a hard time getting it loose once it’s pressed.
Line the tortilla press with a ziplock bag cut down the sides (this is absolutely necessary to prevent the tortillas from sticking!)
Roll the hydrated masa into golf ball-sized amounts. Put a ball in the middle of the press and press between the ziplock liner. You want it to be thin, but still able to peel off the ziplock. If you find it sticks repeatedly, you may be pressing them too thin, or your masa may need to be a bit drier. (If a tortilla tears when you try to peel it off, you can always ball it back up and try again).
After peeling the tortilla from the ziplock onto your palm, slap it onto the griddle and cook for a minute or two per side.
Stack cooked tortillas on a plate inside aluminum foil to keep them warm.
Enjoy! (My kids eat these plain)
I have been making tortillas for about 20 years after I picked up a cookbook at the library! You’re right about not being able to go back!