I just went over to a favorite spot in the neighborhood to get a coffee. I’d seen someone with what looked like a good croissant there the other day. I was feeling peckish, so I ordered one as well.
What I got was a large, sad, soggy kind of croissant.
All that is fine so far. Not every croissant is great. In fact, most of them aren’t.
But I made a mistake: I ate the whole thing, even though it was immediately evident that it was no good.
I think this is based on an old pattern that really doesn’t serve me in any way. Why do I need to finish the food I ordered/started?
Is it because I paid for it?
That clearly makes no sense. Whether I eat it or not, the money is gone. If anything, not eating it could give me a chance of a refund, more so than eating it.
But also: it’s a croissant. It costs basically nothing.
Is it because of food waste?
Well, eating food that isn’t good for me and doesn’t even taste good is in a way also a waste of food. I have no obligation to turn food into poop before it gets discarded.
At the core, it probably comes down to: I learned that my parents are disappointed when I don’t finish my plate. And somehow, I’ve held on to this as a value. Finish your food.
The croissant situation today just made something very clear to me. There is a much more important value I can and want to orient towards: my body is sacred. Doing things that are good for my body is an act of self love. NOT doing things that are bad for my body is an act of self love.
Now, a croissant is never going to be very healthy. But if it’s an excellent croissant, having it is still a form of self love.
Having a bad croissant, on the other hand, is pure self abuse. There’s just no upside.
What I aspire to do in the future is recognize such a situation as it unfolds. Recognize the bad croissant as an opportunity to practice self love.
By not eating it.