Microwave Popcorn Culture

We are an advanced society. We know how to plan, we know how to organize, to schedule and to succeed.

The problem is, we don't know how to wait. We want to make our plan, organize our day and schedule our lives to enjoy success. Much like making microwave popcorn at the end of a long day. Doesn't take long -- starts as an idea, we get up, get it out, pop it in the microwave and 3 minutes later, voila! Enjoy.

Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. There is a lot of hard work and patience required to reap the benefits of all of our planning, organizing and scheduling. And sometimes, regardless of how well we plan, organize and schedule, things don't turn out the way we expect!

Life is much more like living on a farm than microwaving popcorn. The farmer plans his crops -- he readies the field, plants, fertilizes, prays for sun and for rain, tends to the weeds and other pests, and then finally, after much work in the harvest, he can enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Unless, of course, a disaster strikes. Then it's back to the beginning. More hard work and patience.

So often we see something someone else has -- success, or realizing a dream, sometimes even possessions or other achievements -- and we say, "I want that too!" But its not as easy as microwaving popcorn. Success, dreams, achievement, all of this is harvested, reaped, after much labor. Hard labor.

So often we want to take the easy way -- avoid the hard work and the long, circuitous route.

Just this past weekend Jimmy Fallon received an honorary degree from St. Rose after dropping out of college just before he was to graduate. I was listening to the news, as St. Rose is local so it was quite an item on the local stations! As I was listening I found myself thinking and feeling almost sad. Sure, Jimmy Fallon is popular, has achieved a good measure of success in our culture.

But, I thought, would I want to receive an honorary degree just because I was popular? Or would I want to know I had earned it with my own effort?

I had kept a basil plant on my balcony for a good part of last summer. The salads and dishes I made with that fresh basil were the best I'd ever had. Even better than buying fresh basil at the grocery store! Not because the cooking was extraordinary, but merely because I had grown the plant. Watched it mature and picked its leaves.

Microwave popcorn? Or enjoying the fruits of my labor? Call me old-fashioned, but when it comes to the important stuff, I hope I always exercise patience and put my blood, sweat and tears into it.

I want to hear, "well done".