Days of Beans & Weenies

For the Skinny Pig* who hopes for the Days of Wine & Roses while finding yourself in the Days of Beans & Weenies, this post’s for you. Let’s gather ’round the campfire and set a spell –

I’m gonna burn a marshmallow right out of the gate:

I dislike beans. (I so wanted to use the ‘h’ word since that’s how strongly I feel about beans – and tomatoes – but a proper Christian life coach doesn’t use that kind of language 🙂 )

Hot dogs I can do on occasion and sometimes at Costco. When you’re a starvin’ marvin, even a hot dog drizzled with ketchup (I dislike raw and stewed  tomatoes) tastes right fine. Don’t get me started on beans (my mother already tried). If I had my druthers though, I’d like a nice juicy steak.

When I visit Costco, I’d much rather stop and smell the roses. In our Costco, the wine display is just a few steps away from the floral kiosk. There you can have it without effort: the Days of Wine & Roses – conveniently located in the superstore’s romance corner. (The chocolates lurk nearby too, swoon).

It is a rare occurrence, though, that this triple crown of spoildom makes it into my cart and out my wallet. I can swoon and sniff the roses all I want. But when the budget tells me nuh-uh, I turn my attention to my goofy-wheeled cart of necessities and return to smelling the weenies sans beanees.

Here we have a perfect illustration of a Skinny Pig perspective: I’d prefer having what I don’t have (semi-luxury versus canned staples), so what can I do with this budget version that’s in my hand?

Let’s throw another log on the fire, stack some marshmallows on our sticks, and twirl some thoughts:

Marshmallow #1: What you have is a plain marshmallow right out of the bag. (Not unlike Beanee Weenees straight from the can). Some people like simplicity. No need to heat it up, spice it up, or serve it up in a chafing dish by candlelight.

What are your options? If you like simplicity too, then keep it simple. Whatever it is that you have been called to do, choose not to stress over how it appears to the masses – experts and critics alike. It’s your marshmallow. Your touch of simplicity will draw others who also like their marshmallows plain and fresh right out of the bag.

On the other stick, if you can do plain but really prefer a perfectly toasted, golden gem of gooeyness, then park it at the fire, rotate your stick and keep an eye on your marshmallow. Which leads us to #2…

Marshmallow #2: What you have is a perfectly toasted marshmallow. You learned things like patience (sitting at the fire), productive activity (keeping your stick twirling), and focus (keeping an eye on your marshmallow) in an effort to prevent your endeavor from going up in flames.

Now that it’s perfectly toasted, you’ve proven you can do it at least once. If you’ve found your groove, take another crack at it and practice producing another example of a well-executed toasty offering. You will attract others who also appreciate goldenness on the outside with melted fluffy on the inside, because they too know the patience, perserverance, and focus it took to achieve that golden outcome.

There is a caveat, though. Just like a near-golden marshmallow over a campfire, if you allow your attention to get distracted at that point, your marshmallow can be ablaze in a nano-second. If that happens, I hope you like black. If not, it’s back to the marshmallow bag for a do-over. Distraction at the critical point can be fatal to one’s result that would otherwise have been successful.

Marshmallow #3: What you have is a marshmallow on fire. For those of you who like to go straight for the burn and love that charred and crispy coating, you as well will draw others. You can have great fun burning one marshmallow after another, but at the end of the day when the fire goes out, there’s not been much substance and a whole lot of ashes. This isn’t meant to deprive you of enjoying your charred marshmallows.

However, if your ultimate aim is enjoying some Days of Wine & Roses in your future, you’ll likely need to spend some time developing Marshmallows #1 and #2. Approached initially with simplicity, then adding patience, productive activity and focus couched in lots of practice, there is a good chance you will end up with a steady flame of fire that energizes and offers light rather than burning up your hopeful effort.

The thing to remember about the Days of Beans & Weenies is their ability to find out how hungry you are. There is something to be said about appreciating the lean porker you have in your hands now.

Given the right amount of fuel on the fire, a stick here, a marshmallow there, and the smell of smoke in your hair makes one very appreciative when the Days of Wine & Roses show up to grace you for awhile.

If you’re interested in s’more interaction, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at this campfire.

~ Nancy

*For my definition of a Skinny Pig, I invite you to read the opening post by the same name.

photo credit: Marshmallows via photopin (license)