The Most Unappetizing Dish....

I've been served the most unappetizing dish of food! Just look at this: YUCK! It's bland, colorless and I have no idea what's in it. It looks like a mixture of mushy potatoes and some other unrecognizable ingredients floating in a disgusting liquid. There's some green in here but I am not sure if it's dried parsley or mold. I think it's parsley but regardless, I DON'T WANT TO EAT IT!

I don't recall ordering this dish and I most certainly would never cook something like this for myself or serve it to anyone I know.  This is a disaster, a nightmare, a tragedy.

Of course, you know by now,  this is just another one of my famous analogies--my way of  being cute, coy and slightly sarcastic.

This horrible looking dish of food typifies how I feel about what life has handed me right now.

I don't want it! SEND IT BACK!

Unfortunately, no matter how often I yell, scream, stomp my feet and attempt to return this dish to the horrible kitchen from whence it came, it keeps coming back. And it's not even served on fine china or a silver platter. I might be able to deal with that. At least I could admire the plate on which it has been delivered. But no!




I would much prefer something like this..........

It's simple, green and bursting with life. It's healthy, easy to digest and it will make me feel good when I eat it. This is the kind of food I want. This is what I am accustomed to eating and being served. This is what I like.



And even though I am not much of a sweet-eater, I would gladly welcome this instead........

Just look how pretty these are! I am sure they are delicious, too.







 I am being served slop in a bowl and no one is willing to trade with me or take it back.

I thought insulting the chef would work.  If I made him feel really awful and ashamed of himself,  he would certainly bring me something else. So I hurled insults, profanities and accusations. But those didn't work, either. He kept placing the same dish before me, insisting I eat it.

But he didn't say I couldn't improve, embellish, or change it around a bit..........

Hmmm......

Here's the thing about life. Sometimes, we are served something we don't want. No matter how often we try to reject it, return it or hand it over to someone else, it keeps appearing until we deal with it.

We are handed a great big dish of Karma and we will keep getting it until..........

Until what?

Until we figure out a way to make it better, tastier and perhaps even good enough to serve to others.

God, in His infinite wisdom, has served me this unappetizing dish. For most my life, He has given me nice things to eat and enjoy. It's been wonderful and I am a little spoiled as a result. I've been selfish. I've been greedy. I thought I was privileged and special because up until now, no real tragedy has touched my life. Don't get me wrong. I have had sadness, heart ache, pain and suffering. My life certainly has not been a bed of roses, that's for sure. I have walked through many fires but I've always managed to come out on the other side without really getting burned.  Most of the time, I didn't even like smoke.

Am I being punished?

At first that is exactly what I thought.  So I tried to correct every wrong and make recompense for all my awful deeds. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing to do. I felt better, but it didn't change anything. I am still being served this horrible meal..

So here I sit, at the table of life with this awful dish before me. I can't get rid of it. I can't send it back. I can't dispose of it. I must roll up my sleeves and figure out a way to deal with it.

How? Well, I am a cook, so let's see......

I can drain off most of that liquid. Add some fresh crushed tomatoes for color. Red is nice and appealing.

I think it needs a bit of seasoning: some fresh garlic, minced onion, a sprig or two of rosemary.

Perhaps add some green stuff: lots of fresh steamed spinach leaves. Oh yes.

And cooked beans...... that will add a nice touch.

It's looking better already.......

I'll toss in some cooked pasta-- vegetable pasta to add even more color. This will also help to absorb even more of the liquid.

Let it simmmer a bit. Stir. Taste. Hey, this isn't bad. In fact, it's pretty good.

I've just taken something really awful and made into something gorgeous and delicious.

Moral of the story:

Stop rejecting the bad. It's there for a reason. There's a lesson you need to learn.

That lesson is meant to share with others who have been served a similar dish.

What ever life hands you, try to make it good. No one can do it for you. You have to learn how to do it yourself.

Even the most unappealing, unappetizing dish can be transformed into something wonderful.

And this is my Daily Cyn.......