Living Sassy, Living Well
I am at a stage in life when I sometimes cut prunes into raisin-size bits to add to my bran cereal for breakfast. One morning, as I cleaned a sticky knife, I randomly thought, “Life is like a bowl of bran cereal…” It sounded clever and witty, but I could not think of an ending, so I dug the cereal box out of the pantry and searched its packaging for conclusion assistance.
The manufacturer printed valuable information about the cereal’s ingredients and their benefits however, none of it inspired me. Not even the suggested recipe for Bran Brownies sparked an idea. My simile remained semi-complete.
Still, I did not give up. I thought of the motivational mantra, “You can do anything if you put your mind to it,” and decided that although trivial, I could apply such positive thinking to something inconsequential. Why not make finishing this trite analogy my goal for the day?
As a retiree, I have no bold, aspiring, or enterprising objectives and no personal, self-improvement, or developmental ambitions. Instead, I dabble in hobbies that keep me entertained and ward off boredom, writing being one of them. Occasionally, I will make an auspicious beginning to a project, but eventually I lose interest or decide it doesn’t hold enough value to make the time and effort worthwhile.
A one-day goal, however, is not too lofty and one to which I can commit. In fact, after cleaning up my breakfast dishes, I began to obsess over why life is like thirteen grams of fiber per serving. Completing the simile became a game, a challenge, and thus, with sassy grit, I vowed to solve the parallel puzzle before the day ended.
Throughout the day, I proffered mostly senseless solutions that I scratched at once, but which got me thinking again about the maxim I thought of earlier. Perhaps with small steps, I can do anything. I may not be a dauntless go-getter with entrepreneurial blood, but with baby steps, so as not to become overwhelmed and discouraged, I bet I could achieve… um, but …exactly what kind of anything should I put my mind to?
A quick web search found platitudes like “Practice gratitude daily and be open-minded,” “Live authentically and believe in yourself,” “Nurture optimism and don’t stop learning,” and “Identify your passion and define your vision of success.” All but one of these truisms are already me. The last one, however, grabbed and caught my attention.
Without a doubt, I passionately love God and my family. My passion especially lies in the love verses found in 1 Corinthians (13:4-7) which God designed as a blueprint for living well and which are often read at weddings. I enjoy other pursuits and pleasures, though not with fierceness and frenzy, so I would not say I have a consuming passion for any of them.
Intrinsically, I am content with who I am and comfortable being me, an attribute that I consider to be an ultimate success. I float through life enjoying simple activities like sipping herbal tea, lazing in the sun, listening to cascading rain, and curling up with an engaging book. These mild activities may not bring me prosperity and popularity, but they fill my life with joy.
Moreover, I am successful at living serendipitously because I expect to accidentally find something wonderful without pursuing it. Finding unexpected grace — that’s my goal! It is an ongoing one I need to refresh each day, and if I continue to live boldly and full of spirit, so as not to overlook a chance moment of grace, I will have successfully achieved my anything.
Well, by day’s end, I did concoct a striking, though not entirely inspiring analogy: “Life is like a bowl of bran cereal. We always have crap to deal with but with reasonable consumption, we can manage it comfortably.”