Chocolate Coated Life





Chocolate Coated Life


"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

True wisdom from Forest Gump. Truly true in many ways. Sometimes a bon bon melts in your mouth, the soft heart spreading and coating the roof. Yet another has a sour liquor in the middle that makes you pucker. Still another has a caramel center that sticks to your palate and lingers there for a long time.

There are times, however, that you just don't feel like comping on chocolate. Or you get a kind that doesn't tickle your fancy and you don't even want to it.

Still other times the box is so shaken that the description doesn’t go with the truffle. You become confused and have no idea which one to choose. Suddenly, the box that you were so sure of makes no sense anymore.

Then there are those bitter ones–those bitter pieces of life that are so hard to swallow. Divorces, operations, someone with a debilitating sickness in the family...it makes you ask why: why was I delt these chocolates? Do I have to eat them?

The answer is yes. Yes, you do. Because each person's life is a not-so-simple mixed box. Life may not turn out as you expected or hoped. It may throw you more acrid pieces than you feel you can eat. So, you reassemble the box trying to make sense of the new order. Maybe the order is not immediately visible, but it's there.

The important thing is not to let the bitterness take over, to switch up the dark for some milk chocolate at times. It's there, even if all the choices appear to be more of the same. Sometimes it's how you taste the truffles that makes all the difference...that with a new pairing (strawberries? sweet brandy?) they suddenly taste better.

It could be that you set aside the box for another one, reaching for a more simple or promising container. That's legit, too. You may have to create your own special assortment–a new box that contains some of the old pieces and a few (or a lot of!) new ones. That's how you know you've grown–when the box has a colorful array of chocolates that you're just bursting to try.



Photo: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/congerdesign-509903/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=491165">congerdesign</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=491165">Pixabay</a>

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Smile

Image
Smile Pop quiz: How many muscles does it take to smile? There are 43 muscles in the face, most of which are controlled by the facial nerve. This nerve begins in the cerebral cortex (that mass of gray   filling the cap of your brain) and wraps around your cheek and chin. So, your smile is quite a brainy item!  Because the nerve is directly connected to the brain, it's no wonder a smile is such a no-brainer. What I mean is, I've heard you can "trick" your brain into thinking you're happy just by grinning, genuine or not. This makes total sense to me: all those muscles and nerves send signals to the brain which help it decide how you are feeling. So our facial expressions truly affect our well being. L iterally, t he more smiles, the merrier–for us and the people around us.  But I wonder...is a half-smile enough? Is your brain happy with half, or does it need the whole to be convinced? I've been at half-mast for so long that I wonder what a full smile will feel l...
Read more

Beach Walk

Image
Beach Walk I never truly noticed that the sand reflects the sky until today. I stopped in my sopping tracks, beholden. Yes, that's the best way to describe it– I was beheld by the sand mixing with the sky in tones of rose and baby blue. I was smitten by how the sand could hold so many hues–its own grainy sable, of course, but also grays and violets.  The wet sand formed a slate for the sky, but it also held many prints of feet or claws. I followed a zig-zagging display of three-toed tracks. At first I thought they must have been left by a seagull, but then I noticed pigeons weaving on the shore. Funny creatures they are:no rhyme or reason dictates their choice of direction. Do they suddenly change their idea or do they have no idea where to go? Besides the birds for company, there were also leisurely walkers like me carrying their shoes in one hand. A barefooted runner passed me by, planting the idea in my head to do the same tomorrow. Other than those in movement, there were ...
Read more

The Bed Keeper

Image
The Bed Keeper The Bed Keeper looked down at me from her pillow throne. Slate gray   and serene, she observed me silently. She was sizing me up, trying to decide if I was friend or foe. In the cat kingdom as with all kingdoms, this is first and foremost.  Seeing as how I bowed below her immediately, I seem to have made a favorable impression. However, she followed me with her eyes as I executed the bed ritual: the changing of the day costume to night, the stripping off of any dayness paramount to approaching her throne yet again. When I had finished with the cleansing bathroom ritual, I returned to ask permission to ascend her throne. She gazed at me with her gold eyes but said nothing. How was I supposed to know if this was an assent or refusal? I moved toward her cautiously, inching toward the prized throne. It was true that I was there to overthrow her, although I wished it to be as pacific as possible.  She made no comment as I nudged her slightly, but she refused to ...
Read more