Burnt Toast
Today, I was on hold with a bank for at least 30 minutes. I struggled to navigate a website to get a missing document I needed. I lamented at the many multiple passwords I’ve needed to access services, and, in general, struggled to balance all of the administrative, legal, financial, and system maintenance for my entrepreneurial life.
Yet, all of these irritations were put back into perspective when I came across this photo.
‘Burnt Toast’ (2019)
James Samana
Polystyrene and oil paint
It is a framed ‘art work’ I created for a friend of mine as a going away gift to him on one of our last days together as leadership development professionals, before he moved onto other work. It is a piece of cream extruded polystyrene insulation, which I hand carved and painted into the shape of a piece of… burnt toast.
You see, my friend had a philosophy which he shared with me (and many others) which, I think, for most things, he used as a guide.
‘You have to ask yourself, when bad stuff happens, will it impact your future?
If so, will it do so significantly? Or is it merely an irritation?
…like burnt toast?’
He was always reminding me that when minor irritations arose, to put these into perspective and not to get any more upset than I would if I merely burnt my morning toast. He encouraged those around him to see these events as an opportunity to practice patience. With life, with others, with our selves.
This isn’t always easy… and often he didn’t follow his own advice, getting caught up in the petty dramas that can occur in work settings. Yet, his insight still stands as valuable, at least in my mind. Even though he is no longer here, I can still hear him tell me to not judge myself when frustrations and other emotions arise. To approach the many, many, hurdles of an entrepreneurial life with at least an attempt at equanimity!
Even when figuring out tax codes, insurances, banking, operational systems, and technology which can leave me feeling constricted at times!
But, if I really look at it. Even these things are not going to ruin my future, as much as just force me to slow down in the moment. With perspective, I can realise that I’m not going to carry my struggles with these petty-tyrants of tasks any further down my insightful path than I would carry… burnt toast.
