#985 Being really proud of yourself for using a bit less toilet paper than usual

"Thank you, tomato." ⠀
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That's what I said while carefully circle-cutting all the wet pink flesh and smooth red skin away from the hard core at the top of my little tomato nub at breakfast the other day. ⠀
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"Thank you for giving me every single edible molecule in your body."⠀
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Then I threw the core in the compost, awkwardly balanced the juicy trapezoidal prisms on top of my melted cheddar and fried egg, and then bit into my sandwich feeling a bit smug.⠀
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I admit I normally slice up just the tomato torso before tossing everything else away. "That would take five seconds of work," I must have thought the first few times, before I stopped thinking about it altogether, before I stopped noticing it at all. ⠀
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But now a giant magnifying glass far beyond the Milky Way is panning across the universe for a closeup on our species. And now I'm suddenly asking, and I'm sure you're asking too: What things do we do that no longer make sense to you? ⠀
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Did you really need to flush?⠀
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Do we really need to rush?⠀
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Can we let our thoughts unhush?⠀
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And live with a little less stuff? ⠀
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AWESOME!

#992 Someone sending you a good idea on how to distract your kids for a solid hour

"We got a good one," Alec said.⠀
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It was almost 11pm and I was wearing a mask standing on the sidewalk about fifteen feet down from him as he sat on a lawn chair on his front porch. Spring blooms lined the path which led about ten feet up to where he sat facing me and the street behind me. I felt a bit like I was suddenly alone in the throne room of a castle about to hear a piece of wisdom from the wise old king. ⠀
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Sidewalks up and down the street were empty. TV screens kaleidoscoped like the northern lights through living room curtains. Flickering streetlights cast a dim yellow shadow over our faces. It felt like the throne room was surrounded by giant stained-glass windows while a lightning storm raged down outside. ⠀
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"Danielle and I both had morning meetings at work so we asked our boys to organize the basement like a zoo. They made tickets, got dressed up, and had to classify and set up all their toys and stuffed animals by habitat. You know, reptile house, boreal forest, Asia pavilion, 'mythical creatures', whatever."⠀
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I loved the idea and looked up at him for the big payoff. ⠀
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He knew I wanted it.⠀
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He waited a moment. ⠀
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And then he smiled. ⠀
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And it finally came. ⠀
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"It took them the whole morning!" ⠀
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AWESOME!