I need smaller plates

34 Comments

I tend to not go to restaurants that offer buffets.  Not because I don’t find the vast selection appealing but because I find I put too much on my plate, too many different things, and I can’t focus my attention on the things I find most appetizing.  I tend to spend more time separating the food into different piles and less time zoning in on what I really wanted to have in the first place.

Lately, I have been finding my life reflecting the same level of stress I feel at a buffet, but only because I’ve loaded too many tasks on my plate and I feel full before I even tackle the meat of what lies before me.  The conglomeration of work and home life has been piled higher on my plate and I’ve reached the point that I am creating those contrasting piles and having to decide which flavor has become more important.

large plate of food

(photo credit: kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com)

If I try to tackle the dish as a whole, I begin to lose myself in the process and spend more time mixing up the components only to create a false sense of accomplishment.  I push the food from one side of the plate to the other, but the illusion of clearing the items from the plate is just that, an illusion.  The same items still exist, they are just located in different places on that same large plate.

I need to learn to take a moment to separate the items on my plate and create a series of smaller plates.  Being able to prioritize the importance of the items on each plate will help me work through them one at a time and the daunting portions will become easier to tackle.  I need to digest each plate one bite at a time.  If I can learn to see it for the fractions of all of its parts instead of just seeing a mountain of food, I can savor each morsel that appeals to me and slowly chew through the rest that keeps getting added to that plate.  I’m already full, but the service never ends!

What do the plates in your life look like?

34 thoughts on “I need smaller plates”

  1. After reading this, I am almost tempted to get a bunch of plates out and divide all those things that need to be done onto different plates and attack it that way–I have tried doing it other ways–maybe this way will work (lol)
    very thought provoking post — I love how you compare one thing to another and illustrate that thing so well — this has a name but it is escaping me right now

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  3. Plates are an excellent metaphor, though I myself like to mix everything together in a big bowl, then dive in.
    On the other hand, if you get good at it, you could be a plte twirler on the Ed Sullivan show! (Is that still a thing?)

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  6. i know what you’re talking about (love the buffet analogy).
    It’s difficult to break it down, sometimes….and focus on one delacacy at a time.
    My dad always combined his food on his plate. I always thought that was so strange, when I was young.
    Think about this for a second, though.
    Flavors meld together. One, excentuating the flavor of the other. Sometimes, combing the food on your plate only makes the overall experience more memorable.

    Reply

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