SWEETNESS OF OTHERS: VEGAN CUPCAKES

“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
― Roald Dahl

We ate, oh boy did we eat. The hall was lined with amazing vendors from all over the country, willing and wholeheartedly excited to sell vegan goodness to the masses. I did that thing you do, you know when all of a sudden you let out a tiny squeak, followed by a jump because you can’t wait to explore? I realised I was somewhere that meant I didn’t have to utter those words when ordering my  food, ‘sorry, is it vegan?’. I found myself laughing with people I only recently got to know, and stuffing my face at Veg Fest with an array of beautiful, decadent, and delicately created cupcakes while having my photo taken on the streets of Cork.

And you might be wondering, how did I get there?

There is something so wonderful in the sweetness of others. When you see that beautiful glow and feel the gentle light that comes from them. And there’s a real skill to that I think, in allowing yourself to see the kindness they have, a skill in knowing who invite into your world. Similar to how I wrote about placing yourself around people who make you shine, there is a gentle but strong ebb and flow in finding other humans who you want to travel with, dance with, eat ice-cream with and inevitably at some stage, cry with. A form of intuition in seeing someone on the street every day and eventually approaching them for coffee.

There is a magical wonder in trusting others. In accepting from them, and sharing their journey. That building of a friendship is so incredibly powerful. From the moment you first speak to them, to winding up driving across the country to a festival, or sitting on the street eating ice-cream. I have made the best friends, in the most unusual ways. Some things move slowly and others quickly, but they all move, we must remember that.

I believe there is a skill in allowing the light of others into your heart, especially when you are not burning so bright yourself. I know it heals you, but sometimes it can also hurt. There have been times when my heart was aching and I believed I wasn’t going to mend. I was permanent, but now I know, nothing is. There are times when the softness of others is a shock to our system because the world around us is often hard.

But it is in that, where you will see the sweetness of others; a towel at the beach to clean your feet, a suspended coffee in a cafe, a lift to veg fest, someone stopping to say, ‘sorry your bag is open’, the person cooking your meal when you’re cranky, a tote bag of goodies, a walk in the morning sun, warm hands closing over yours on a cold day, and a surprise box of cupcakes made with love.

Thank you to Lauren of Buttercream Dream for reaching out and offering me sweetness when I needed it. The vanilla chocolate was my favourite, followed closely by the others. You can find her vegan cupcakes around Dublin cafes, at her pop-up, in selected Super Valu stores (with a view to expand to others) and you can order some online. I would recommend that you spread kindness to someone else, and yourself, because the world needs more of that, especially when we least expect it. And thank you to all the new friends I have made, who radiate light in all they do.

Oh, and finally thanks to Casey (carbonspice) for the lovely photos, and for helping me look cool on the streets of Cork – plus thank you to Cork Veg Fest for their kindness on the day.

https://buttercreamdream.ie/

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