I was at a local restaurant the other day when I walked past the display case with all of their pies and saw a sign that read, “We are sorry, due to the egg shortage we do not have any meringue pies.”
My first thought was, “What egg shortage?” Guess I had missed that piece of news. My next thought was, “No problem, I don’t care for meringue pies anyway.” Then the deeper thought struck me of how the pie display case was a metaphor for life and our choice to feel gratitude or scarcity.
For me, if I want to have a piece of pie, I have to decide between pumpkin, apple, and berry, knowing that nothing compares to my Mother’s rhubarb pie. There are multiple choices, all of which I would enjoy and could feel gratitude for.
My Dad might wish he could get a piece of lemon meringue pie, but would most likely enjoy a piece of chocolate cream pie and he could choose to feel grateful for that treat. It occurred to me that life is like the pie case. There are multiple flavors to choose from and enjoy. From time to time, something we like will not be available but there will be other options.
Do I want to focus on what I can’t/don’t have, or do I want to focus on the delicious piece of pie I can and do have? Do I want to focus on all the types of pie I will not be enjoying, or do I want to fully enjoy the piece of pie in front of me?
We will always have a choice. There is such an abundance of positive possibilities in our lives that we cannot always enjoy all of them. Do we choose to focus on what we will not or cannot have, or will we focus on enjoying what we do have and experiencing the serenity of gratitude.
Let’s choose to feel gratitude and know the joy that comes from such an empowering choice.