Conversations can be interesting, or boring, depending on the content. Either way, conversations can lead our minds to think in new ways, about new things.
Just the other day, I had a chat with someone, who had, at one time, been trained by the capable staff at Subway. The Brave and Fearless Sandwich Line Trainers. The trainer told this person an ultimate truth about sandwich making, and cooking in general.
So says the Trainer: “Now…. … if someone comes through the line, and they ask for… say… lettuce, tomato, and onion, on their sub. Right? Now…. You love tomatoes, but you hate onions. Here is what happens when you go to make the sub. You are more likely to put a LOT of tomatoes on that sub, and not very much onion. Now….. You have to resist this urge. This compulsion. You must keep things even, and use equal amounts of all things on the sandwich. You cannot favor one over the other. You must slay the dragon that is rising within yourself. GO. Go Forth! And be a FIERCE sandwich maker.”
That is sort of my spin on how the training went, but you get the gist.
The thing of it is, I think this is true. I know when I cook, I tend to add more onions, or garlic, than most people might prefer. Hold the sage, hold the nutmeg, and a hold on a bunch of others for me. My rejection of spices can be attributed to my dear, late Mom. She was the Queen of Salt and Pepper. THAT, is where her spice rack ended. And where my tastebuds began.
Regardless. Back to Subway. I think this is true. Not only about sandwich making, but about a lot of things in life.
Let us consider scandal. The headlines have been full of it. A couple of examples. We have the Trump Team and their interactions with Russia. We have sexual misconduct and harassment. (Oh, and there are many more.)
But here is what I have noticed in me. Our Judicial System here in America is set up on the premise of “innocent until proven guilty.” That is how it is supposed to work. Yet, I sort of start to pass judgement when the charges have been filed against someone I dislike. Like Roy Moore. I totally believe he committed those crimes. Donald Trump. Albeit, we have video and audio of him stating that he gropes women, and they enjoy it coming from him.
Yet, on the other hand. When we LIKE someone who is being accused, (and INITIALLY, for me it was Kevin Spacey, and now Charlie Rose), we have a more difficult time believing the accusations against them.
Even still, if we are following the rules in our Judiciary System, all the accusations must be proven in a court of law before guilt is assigned (unless the accused person pleads guilty to the crime.). But you all know that.
It all flows from one thing to the next. All of this reminds me that the people, ( or the places, or the things) that seem to annoy us the most, can truly be our greatest teachers. Well. They can be if we are willing to learn.
I am learning that we see life through our own set of glasses. Every situation we see in life, we see through our own eyes, with our own perspective, and we tell ourselves our own story. All of us. We can’t help it. We are human that way. Our past experience shapes those glasses we wear on our faces. And the more something, or someone, annoys, the more we stick to our story.
If we take a big step back, we might be able to see the beliefs, and the assumptions which are limiting us the very most. The next time we get upset about something happening in our lives, maybe we can see what is happening from the inside, and not necessarily the out.
Maybe we can put equal amounts of tomato and onion on that turkey sub.
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“Persons appear to us according to the light we throw upon them from our own minds. -Laura Ingalls Wilder, author (1867-1957)”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder
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“Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in.”
― Ashly Lorenzana
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“To expect life to treat you good is foolish as hoping a bull won’t hit you because you are a vegetarian.”
― Roseanne Barr
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