Anyways, there was this revelation I had concerning chicken wings......
There I was, at Native New Yorker on a Tuesday (or Thursday, whatever) night chowing down on some 50 cent honey BBQ's. I realized that the way I happened to be consuming the wings was just that-- consuming. I wasn't taking time to savor the delicious flavors of the sauce, the texture of the poultry, or even the atmosphere of the restaurant. About four wings into a set of eight, I examined my process and reversed it. Instead of eating the wing to eat the wing, I took time to appreciate every aspect of the task. I even took a moment to check out the aesthetic qualities of my meal- the shiny, rich mahogany exterior, which opens up to a steamy, beige, chicken-y center after every delectable first bite. Needless to say, if I had continued eating the second half of my wings in the same manner that I had the first, it would not be the memorable experience that it was. And definitely not worth recounting, although it is arguable that this version of the story is.
The important thing here is not the story or the chicken wings (which are quite good, by the way. That's a fact). What I took from the experience and applied into my life is what makes this, in my opinion, something worth telling. For the record, I do realize that it sounds utterly ludicrous to take a chicken wing and make it a life lesson. I get that. But did anyone ask questions when Doc Brown hit his head in the bathroom and came up with the idea for the Flux capacitor? Where the idea originates is not what matters. The results are what matters. So let's say this: Doc Brown achieved time travel, Eric Smith achieved both satisfaction with and awe of life itself.
Okay, this is getting a little too "motivational speaker"-ish for me. My name is not Matt Foley. I'm not pushing an 11-step program. I just have a fun little way to look at life that works for me and I thought I'd share.
Basically I just took the idea of enjoying the chicken wing and generalized it to enjoying life. I'm not sure if analogy is exactly what this is all about, but it is the simplest way to get across my point. Let's compare the chicken wing to a day. Whether you like it or not, that chicken wing is going to be eaten. At least, when you put it in front of me, but I digress. I can either say, "Let's get this day over with..." or I can say, "Let's have a good time!" and the day seems to go accordingly. For me, a lot of it has to do with attitude. Like most, I was once a teenager with a bad attitude. For that reason, several of my junior high and high school years remain pretty low on the list for "best ever." Now I've adopted (or rather, formulated) the philosophy of "Life is Cool," even wrote a song with such a title. "Life is Cool" differs from similar, more nihilistic philosophies such as Immanuel Kant's "Transcendental idealism" and Timon and Pumba's "Hakuna Matada" in that it has an inherently positive connotation. It's not, as it could be mistaken, some sort of naive optimism. "Life is Cool" recognizes the importance of social obligations and work-related responsibilities, and instead of avoiding or ignoring them, embraces them for all that is positive. We, as humans, have an all-too prevalent tendency to go into a situation expecting it to be unpleasant in some way or other. With that sort of predetermination, it is entirely too easy to find something unpleasant. So I say: Why not flip that around? I like to reverse my thinking, just like with the chicken wing. It is just as easy to find good when you look for it, and it just so happens that nine times out of ten that's just what happens.
Hopefully that's as cool as I think it is. Anyways, see y'all later, blog-readerzzz.
Out.
-Eric
