Life Is Like A Burnt Pot Of Beans — I Learned That The Hard Way
I have always wanted to write about this experience but every time I decide to do it, I imagine the stern look from my mum and just quit. Guys, she must not read this, else I’m screwed!
One of the favorite things I really enjoy doing is cooking. I love to cook and share. I rarely prepare food for myself alone — as stressful and expensive as that can be — and I really have no explanation for this, neither can I trace it to any source. I just believe food tastes better when you have someone to share it with.
On one fateful day, I decided I needed to eat a meal that was proteinous for lunch the next day and I opted for beans (not my favorite, but protein…).
If you are like me who would prefer to make their own meals (especially beans), you would know beans are very stressful to make and requires a whole lot of patience. If the journey would only start from pouring the beans into the pot for it to cook, that would be fair, innit? But no, you have to pick the dirt from the beans, rinse it, pour it into the pot, wait for a million years before you get to eat. No wonder I b……. (wait for it).
Anyway, I decided to save myself the stress of picking and cooking for long hours the next morning before work and decided to do it that day (…after a hectic day at work +lagos traffic.. Some wonder woman moves I say to encourage myself).
I stood up, poured a cup of beans on the tray, took my time to pick the beans, (8:00 pm), poured the content into a pot of boiling water, and blended all other ingredients needed for the sauce.
Guys, I decided to just lay my tired self down in bed (since beans would take a long time to cook) while I scan through social media to know the trends, and… I dozed off. (insert crying emoji). I slept off. This was like 9:30 pm.
While sleeping, the weirdest thing happened. I had a “dream” that there was smoke everywhere in the room I was in and right there (still sleeping), I woke up and tried to trace the source of the smoke. Alas, it was my pot of beans roasting on the fire with my gas burning on high heat.
Time: 12:00am
(Guys, my mum would soon call in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…)
I hurriedly turned off my gas, opened the door and windows before opening the pot of already burnt roasted black beans. Gosh! I had to run outside with the pot in my hands while choking on the smoke.
(This would have killed me if I didn’t wake up. I really am thankful).
I had to get myself together, get back into my slightly-smoke-filled-room and straight to bed I went to lay my head. I did this because I didn’t want to stay blaming myself for too long.
Now, this is where the story gets interesting… (or dumb, whichever you like.)
I woke up again at 4:30 am, walked to the kitchen, poured out another cup of beans on a tray, picked the dirt out and started cooking AFRESH!!!
I hear you screaming, whaaaaat? I know, I don’t have sense but I can be stupidly determined at times. This is one of them.
This event here turned out to be a life-changing experience for me as I remember asking myself why I haven’t applied this same principle to other areas of my life. One lesson that stood out for me;
LETTING GO AND STARTING AFRESH
It is INSANE and RIDICULOUS to start sieving and cooking beans (without a pressure cooker) as early as 4:30 in the morning, knowing the night before you almost razed down your room. It is INSANE, but I did it (not sure if I was thinking straight).
Letting go can be hard. Letting go of past hurts, bad choices and decisions, failed businesses, toxic friends, missing funds, abusive partners, sad jobs, ugly clothes, crushed crushes e.t.c. can be difficult. Especially the mistakes we already made which we still beat ourselves over.
I know it hurts to let go of the mistakes and wrong decisions we have made in the past. But this is the point where you have to tell yourself the truth. The deed has been done, time to let go and start afresh!
Starting afresh is HARD but it would be all worth it in the end if you just start as soon as you can. What’s the worse that can happen? You win. ( or lose again and start afresh till you win).
Today, be like Precious. Be daring, headstrong. Determined and maybe even a tad stupid. Wake up, pour another cup of beans and start cooking again. It will be worth it.
…and oh, I didn’t add that I also fried some pieces of brown-skinned plantain on it. The beans turned out to be the tastiest beans I ever cooked…lol.
Thanks for reading.
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