I would feel silly if every time, I ate a banana, I wished it were an apple. Even more so, if I wished each apple were a banana.
When I sit down to enjoy The Mentalist, I don’t start by wishing I were watching As Time Goes By. Many sources counsel me to enjoy what I have while I have it and not to ruin something good by wishing it were something else.
But aging, education, and conscience have been conspiring lately to give me thoughts of the poor each time I sit down to a well-set table. Putting on a warm jacket, I think of those who are jacket-less. The thoughts are momentary shame that I am fed and warm while others aren’t. I have read that survivors of a calamity often have serious bouts of survivor guilt. I suppose winners of the lottery sometimes ask “Why me?”
These diluting thoughts don’t feed others or warm them. I am going to start focusing my attention on the taste and the warmth I have while I have them. It is silly to ruin each good thing, that will end or that others don’t have.
