When Marie Antoinette made her infamous proclamation to the French peasants, "Let them eat cake," I suspect she must have been referring to that dry, crumbly, tasteless, ubiquitous substance which haunts countless shelves of bakery windows, deli counters, and nearly every wedding and birthday party: white cake. This would explain why she literally lost her head over her snide remark. Recently, my husband and I came to a momentous realization. Some might even call it an epiphany: Life is too short to eat white cake.
Think about it. There are so many other more appealing options, including chocolate cake, carrot cake, crumb cake, Bundt cake, and strudel. Furthermore, who says cake should have the monopoly on the timeless question, "What's for dessert?" What about pies, cobblers, mousse, puddings, cookie variations, and fudge? And then there are the frozen options: ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, sorbet, and even baked Alaska. For the more adventurous gourmets, there is also tiramisu and crème brûlée. I think the point is clear: Why choke down a tasteless slice of dry white cake when you don't have to?
Thinking beyond the dessert tray, we make choices every day without pausing to examine why we're making them. Do the decisions bring value to our lives emotionally, relationally, financially, intellectually, physically, or spiritually? Often, we end up asking ourselves, "Why did I just do that? I didn't even enjoy it!" Why did I choose to spend precious moments of my life with people that do not add value? Why did I purchase items that are meaningless to me?
We can all benefit from "taking inventory" periodically and examining our regrets to avoid continuing our regrettable patterns. What regrets have we experienced recently, and why? What can we do differently — choose differently — to avoid these regrets? Are we pleased with how we spend our time? Are we fulfilled and enriched by the people we choose to spend our time with? If not, it may be time for reconsideration and change.
It's true that every now and then, we simply have to take a bite of that awful white cake to be polite and not hurt someone's feelings. It's part of being civilized. But let's not make it a habit. Life is too short to be miserable simply because we're too apathetic or short-sighted to make a move toward enjoying a more productive and rewarding life. Talk about it with a trusted friend. Reveal habits you feel you should abandon and express what truly makes you feel enriched and fulfilled. After all, life is too short to eat white cake. Wouldn't you rather have the crème brûlée?!
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