How to Be Grateful When Your Eggs are Cold
How to Be Grateful When Your Eggs are Cold
Hotel food sucks.
I know this because I recently stayed in several hotels and all of the food was suboptimal. One aspect of the food that is fairly consistent is that the scrambled eggs are always cold. Even when they’re stored in a fancy metal box with a curved lid, by the time I sit down to eat, my eggs are totally cold.
On my most recent trip, I decided to change my attitude about cold eggs. I asked myself how I could turn this seemingly negative experience into something positive. How could I be grateful when my eggs are cold?
I discovered several truths that turned my complaining into gratefulness:
I was grateful that when I have scrambled eggs at home, they are warm and delicious and I can add whatever I want to them (jalapeños and cheese are two of my favorites!).
I was grateful that I didn’t have to eat the cold eggs. I could have (appropriately) cold cereal, yogurt, or I could make a warm waffle with one of those fun waffle irons hotels often have. I could even choose to skip breakfast altogether in my quest to lose a few pounds!
I was grateful that I had enough money that I could buy something else if I wanted to. On this day, there was a Cracker Barrel next door with a multitude of options. Sonic makes a yummy (though not healthy!) Bacon, Egg and Cheese CroisSONIC.1 At Waffle House at least the eggs would be warm, if not that delicious. ;)
Most of all, I was grateful for a reason that had nothing to do with my eggs: I was at this hotel because I was on the way to visit my brother Doug who lives in Pennsylvania. (I live in Texas.) Just a few weeks before, I learned that my brother had just entered hospice care.
I realized that I wasn’t actually upset about the eggs, but because of the realization that I might be visiting my brother for the last time. Inside I was screaming: “Doesn’t the whole world see how much I am hurting? Couldn’t they at least try to keep my eggs warm?!?”
Unfortunately, the world doesn’t cater to us when we are suffering. It’s not that people are cruel or unfeeling, but that suffering is so ubiquitous. I’m obviously not the only person in the world with a loved one who is near death. Plus, suffering comes in other forms besides death: divorce, losing a job, losing a friend, tension at work, mental illness, emotional issues, and on and on and on. The list of ways in which we suffer are endless.
If we started asking everyone who is suffering if their eggs are warm, there’d be little time to do anything else!
Cold eggs are an example of the “one more thing” that can tip us over the edge when life isn’t going as we’d prefer. It’s OK to be upset about cold eggs, but realizing that it’s not actually the temperature of our eggs that is causing us pain can sometimes be enough to allow gratitude to seep in during our most difficult times.
When you’re faced with a difficult day, return to the basics. Find hope and gratitude in the simplest, everyday things. Be grateful for life. Be grateful for love. Be grateful for the wonderful person you are today.
But I leave off the bacon because I’m vegetarian! :)