"Saving It For Later"

Have you ever found yourself "saving" a luxurious, delicious splurge "for later"?  And then having it go bad?

This week, I scooped out the flesh of three mangos that I splurged on.  They are called "champagne" mangos - because of their delicate flavour and burst of yellow colour.  They are smaller than regular mangos, and sweeter.  They are an unusual find, so I bought 5 (two ripe and three under-ripe).

And then I proceeded to "save" them for 2 and a half weeks.  I skipped adding them to my oatmeal in the morning.  I declined to have one as an after work snack while I was getting dinner ready.  I declined to cut them up and offer them to the guys as a delectable dessert.

Nope - they just sat there, disappointed, as I passed them by, day after day.

If you've ever heard of the marshmallow test that they give 2 year olds, you know that the ability to defer gratification is an important part of growing up, being responsible, and being practical.  It can determine the person who can put off the instant gratification of impulse shopping, because their money is allocated to more important priorities.  It can determine the person willing to stick it out in a long term career plan requiring more education when all of your friends are getting on with their lives and getting real jobs.  It can be the difference between wanting everything NOW and wanting everything all in good time.

I like to think that I am the kind of person who is up for the unexpected, but the reality is that I am probably more practical than I should be.

I will "save" my expensive vanilla bean paste instead of putting it into every dessert I make.  And sometimes it will crystallize from sitting too long.

I will "save" my truffle paste when making a delicious mushroom risotto and use only 1 teaspoon instead of two.  Sometimes I save it so long that it gets moldy and I have to throw it out.

The difficulty in always living as if today was your last day was that you will run out of truffle paste, luxurious vanilla and that extravagant Parisian chocolate.

The difficulty in saving it is that you might not indulge in daily pleasures as often as you should.

I guarantee that, when one looks back at a life lived, that no one ever says that they wished they'd enjoyed their food less!

I think the "saving" impulse is rooted in the fear of scarcity.  If you believe that pleasures are abundant, then the risk is less.

One of the yogis on our cruise illustrated how perspective colours our judgement.

Take three pails of water, one hot, one cold and one at room temperature.

Put one hand in hot water, the other hand in cold.  Wait a while.

Then plunge them both into the room temperature water.  To one hand, the water feels warm.  To the other, it feels cool.  It's all about perspective.

The mangoes were great - I got to them just in time.  That day I bought three hard ones and two ripe ones.  The ripe ones were wasted because I waited too long.

So here's the thought of the day:

Life is too short to waste a perfectly ripe mango.