I made bacon on Sunday morning. My bacon making includes making a mess. I’m not sure how you don’t make a mess making bacon - I’ll either set off the fire alarm or splatter grease all over. I’ve tried it in the oven and that creates a special mess of its own. Bottom line, bacon it great but it comes with consequences.
Most good stuff … what I classify as good … comes with a side of consequences. Chips and dip - I think we can all agree that chips and dip are wonderful - cause me to bloat from all the salt and gain weight. Athletic stuff? -- biking (sore bottom), skiing (lifelong shoulder pain), running (knees), beach (sunburn). The trick is to rise above the pain and bloating and have a great time in spite of the consequences.
On the other side … a lot bad stuff can also have a good side. I talked to a friend regarding the pandemic and our new collective “normal”. We also talked about loss (of the plans we have in a normal year) and how we are dealing with this (hopefully) short term time-out. I said I’m missing Ragbrai and other rides this year - she said “then you’ll appreciate them more next year”. I suppose. She also pointed out that I’m still riding and in my extra time I’m also reading more and finding time to do other things. “You’ll end up more well-rounded!**”
Life, a lot of times, is a zero sum game* - the good with the bad and the bad with the good - it all just evens out. Our challenge is to do and suffer and/or do and enjoy - common denominator is “do”. At the end of the day, the bacon is worth the effort.
*I think of the study that shows that lottery winners are not any happier than the rest of the population. In fact, they are less happy.
**chips and dip
