Without compromising or saying yes to anything other than the very best (for your life, health, relationships or finances).
Several years ago, I gave up Gluten. And my obsession with the New York Bagel…
…Boiled then baked, with those crispy outside edges peppered with the perfect combination of salt, sesame & poppy seeds and a punch of dried garlic. Oh and the squishy, yet substantive insides, drizzled with melted butter, or whipped cream cheese and raspberry preserves to sweeten the whole thing up…
Imagine my surprise when one morning while at the local co-op, I come across something equally delicious (and Gluten Free)! New York Style bagels from a dedicated GF Bakery right here in Portland, OR!
I couldn’t believe my luck.
So, the other day, I was craving one of those amazing bagels. And had the thought to drive over and get one. Just as I jumped in the car and was buckling up, I remembered there is a dedicated GF bakery right down the road from where I live (as opposed to clear across down).
In fact, the place close to me, Kyra’s Bakery, is pretty famous, because the owner has won Cupcake Wars with her over the top OH-EM-GEE-you-can’t-even-tell–these-are-GF-cupcakes cupcakes.
Then the cascade of voices poured in.
Did I really need to drive across town?
I mean isn’t driving round trip for 40+ minutes to get a bagel a little much?
The bagels at Kyra’s are probably just as good.
Guess where I ended up?
You got it. I quickly talked myself out of the drive across town – and the bagel experience I really wanted – because, well, going to Kyra’s seem to make more sense.
It was more convenient.
Closer to home, thus using less valuable resources (both gas and my time…)
Blah Blah Blah…
I’m sure you can guess what happened next…
Well, Kyra didn’t win bagel wars, she won cupcake wars, and my bagel experience was incredibly disappointing.
The bagel was dry and dense and reminded me a bit of a hockey puck.
Not only that, the cream cheese was a cold packet of Philadelphia cream cheese thrown on the side as an after thought, not whipped and soft in a tiny side dish like in my bagel dreams!
Definitely not the bagel experience I was after.
And yet, it is the one I choose..
When the one I really wanted, while a few more miles away, was totally accessible and available to me.
And so, it made me think about other places in my life where I am being offered the really good stuff – and keep choosing to play small, or compromise what I really want, for the sake of ease, or some other rational justification that makes perfectly good sense at the time.
Where Divine winks are guiding me to have what I really long for…even the simple pleasure of a perfectly made gluten free bagel.
(I did finally go get one by the way, and it was delicious!)
And yet, getting clear on what we want and following our soul’s guidance to get it can be tricky. We hold back, we compromise, we settle.
What would it take to powerfully claim and chose on that which lights us up and fulfills our deepest desires?
