by Chris Cade
This last week I’ve been sick, and after being down for a day I finally had my hunger back. Armed with a bowl of freshly made vegetable broth pasta (thanks Mom!), I joyously scooped my first spoonful. Then felt that “oops” sensation of the top of my mouth and tastebuds burned.
Despite my ravenous hunger, I cautiously waited a minute before scooping again. Apparently though, I wasn’t cautious enough. “Oops” again. It took me a few times before I finally figured out to wait a little bit longer. But by then it was too late.
In reflecting on my experience, I am reminded of this *famous quote:
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Yes, my hunger blinded me. I became insane with the insatiable hunger of being energy deprived from my illness. When I started to feel somewhat human again, I realized something interesting. Our impatience is one of the most frequent reasons we get burned in life.
Whether it’s a burn from a relationship gone bad, an unwanted habit that prevents us from living as full as we’re capable of, an employee who delivers poor performance, an employer who can’t recognize a great employee, an investment gone bad, a student who seems to never learn the lesson, or a hot broth…
We most often get burned because we have some sort of insatiable hunger coupled with the lack of patience to wait for the optimal timing.
We want something so bad we don’t notice the warning signs or we don’t test reality adequately enough. In other words…
We become temporarily “insane” and lose touch with the inherent wisdom in the present moment.
If all I did was pause long enough to be more present, then I would have safely tested my broth to see how hot it was. I would have waited until it was cooled before eating it. And I wouldn’t have burned my mouth.
It only required a brief pause. Not a long one. Yet my hunger blinded me while my impatience burned me.
Something tells me I’m not the only one though…
Public Service Announcement:
It happened to me. It could happen to you. 🙂
Your Partner In Transformation,
Chris Cade
Liberate Your Life
P.S. Although the above quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein, others including Benjamin Franklin, Rita May Brown, and Mark Twain have also been attributed
