This morning I found zen while peeling my hard-boiled egg. Not the peaceful, calm, helpful kind of zen. It was more like an involuntary release of pent up frustration where the curse word came out when I realized I just took half of my breakfast off with the shell.
But then I realized I was just fucking peeling an egg. Relax. There are more eggs. My calm little zen voice reassures me.
Peeling a hard boiled egg is like life. Sometimes it can be difficult and sometimes it can be refreshingly easy, leaving you will a full feeling of accomplishment and happiness.
My egg was difficult this morning, and pretty much mirrored the life I am experiencing. I tried to be careful, but in my rush, I pulled chucks of my egg off and threw them down the drain with the F word. Come on egg! Be easy! What do you have against me?
I laughed in the middle of it and turned and looked at my second egg, sitting in the little pot of cooling water. I will have you, egg. And you will be perfect. Zen. Breathe. It’s just an egg. It can be difficult or it can be easy. It’s all in the way you go about the peeling. (Rachel Ray would say it is all in the way you cook the egg – but more on perfect boiled eggs later).
So I took a deep breath, and cracked up that second egg with a little more intention. I envisioned the shell sliding off in one, easy, big piece, that slippery little inside film going with it so that I could feel the smooth, white on my finger tips. The peeling went better the second time. I had my breakfast. I had zen with my eggs.
And then I thought about it. The connection to life. And I smiled.
Anything we do in our lives can be approached with haste and hurriedness, a wish to move on to the next thing. Or, we can stop in the moment and breathe, and just peel the egg. I am less motivated to tell you what a great multi-tasker I am these days. I stopped being proud of that skill when the stress made me feel sick. I am still good at it when I want to be. But nowadays I want to be good at peeling my egg.
When I stop in the moment and give it my full, loving, mindful attention, my peel comes off in one easy piece. I am happy. It is easy. It flows. And then I CAN get on to the next thing faster. It works that way. Although I have to remind myself not to wolf down the eggs too. Why do a perfect peel if you don’t then actually enjoy tasting the egg?
Zen in my egg. Love it.
Slow down and just peel. Enjoy the tasting afterward. Taste every bite.
Where is your zen today?
