Growing up, I had certain dislikes. Now, I have certain dislikes. A few of them have withheld throughout the years, though most of them disappeared. Several of them seemed to be a matter of finding the right way to eat something. For example, tomatoes, I find to be delicious, but only when sliced at a medium-narrow thickness. Any thicker or any thinner I not only dislike them, but I gag on them for the texture and consistency. Avocados, I love, but only as avocados. Smash them into guacamole or avocado toast, and we’re back to gagging.
All that to say, I wonder what causes us to have the dislikes as children in the first place. How and why do we dislike certain foods and drinks? Are the kids just being picky, or is there truly something that makes it difficult for them to eat specific foods? Is the palate just not ready for certain foods at a young age? Or do we just need to force it down and grow accustomed to the foods that are good for us?
I do not claim not to be picky. Indeed, on the important things, I will not settle – I accept only exactly what is perfect, and what is perfect happens also to be exactly what I want.
For example, when I want an apple, there is an image in my mind, on my taste buds, on my teeth of exactly what I want. If it is a deep pink, small apple, with hints of yellow and near-red, then I simply will deny any other apple available to me. It is not snobbery. It is merely being aware of what it is I want – and why I want it, specifically – and being conscious enough to acknowledge that anything else is superfluous. For whatever reason, my body wants that apple. Not a green one; not a red one; not an underripe pink one… that one. Consider the idea of needing a bunch of protein, and someone offers a handful of grass to eat. It just doesn’t make sense to consider the grass as an answer to the need for protein. Whatever is in that apple is only in that apple and in the right amounts.
Now, that might be a somewhat terrible comparison, but it was meant well. ;P
Today, I spent some… time… on Bumble, the dating application. Recall my pickiness with apples and just about anything else in life – I’ve gone years in search of the right shirt and skirt combination, never settling (though, I did recently find the skirt!). Men are no different. What I am seeing in a partner, in a mate in life follows the same guidelines and criteria of either being exactly what I seek or superfluous.
And I think I broke Bumble.
It just kind of… ran out. Of options, I mean. When I had swiped “no” after the who-knows-how-many-hundreth person, the application seemed just to give up, saying, ‘Nope. We don’t have anyone for you right now. Check back again soon.’
Note the following screen:
Yeah. So, that happened. And, even when I closed the application and relaunched it, the screen happened again… and again and again and again.
And so, i accepted Bumble’s quiet yet oh-so-loud message, and closed it up, not even the least bit of concern in my mind. When it is time, it is time. And right now is the time not to bother with the online dating application. Perhaps it never will be again. And perhaps it will be one day. For now, however, my message was clear: Be here, in person, and life will meet me where I follow my heart.
I guess I am signing up for that volunteering next week after all. 🙂
Post-a-day 2021
^Had to think about it again… and I was doing so well! Haha
hannah ananas 