Because what else would you do with all the candy you have leftover in your stash from camp, besides dump it all in one bowl and finish it with pop rocks sprinkled all over the top?!? As I was about to snap a pic of this monstrous bowl full of the most random candies, all of a sudden, my bowl got photobombed by this hand reaching in for more.
Seriously?
I was kind of hoping it was a piece of modern art, not something he actually had a plan to eat. I know it’s be a VERY long time since I was a kid, but I simply cannot imagine what it would be like to sit down and eat this much candy. I can imagine my mouth feeling sticky and my throat parched for water. Then the sugar high, followed by the sugar coma. No siree. I think I’ll pass, thanks.
But this is how we adults often go through life.
We see the pretty thing, the shiny thing. The house, the vacation, the car, the clothes, the nails, the hair, the parties, the friends, the marriage, the shiny happy family. . . whatever it is we think will make us happy. It looks so good. We’re completely convinced it will make us happy. So we reach for it. Sometimes we let it simmer, a goal in the back of our minds. And sometimes, we do it even without thinking.
We just reach in.
But often, the cost is more than we bargained for. It leaves us parched and thirsty for water. We might feel good for a short time, but after a while, we’re exhausted. Comatose.
And wondering why.
It’s not that any of the things we’re drawn to, in our “adult candy bowl” are bad, in small doses, over time. It’s that we’re moving so fast sometimes, we end up just shoving our hand in the bowl and gobbling it all down with the hope it will fill us up. And it never will.
So I bring you this image today as a reminder to dig a little deeper.
What fills your soul?
Is it your faith? Your family? Your community? Pursuing your passion? Being in nature? Exercising your body? Rest?
Next time you find yourself reaching for the candy bowl, just pause.
Remember the cost.
Make an intentional choice to reach for what that fills your soul, instead of the ever-elusive temporary fix.
Do it again. Little by little. Over and over again.
The candy bowl will begin to lose its lure.
to more love,
Crystal
