Waking Up with a Veggie Burger

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Veggie burgers at midnight

At 9 p.m., I realized I needed to shop for mushrooms and spinach for the veggie burgers I’d planned to grill the next evening. I’ve made these little sweethearts before, so I knew they’d take their time in coming together. (See what a reframe I did there? Could have been, “They take forever to make.”) So there I was, the night before, attempting to get an early start on it.

If our lives can flash before our eyes at the point of death, so did I see, with horror, a vision of myself preparing and assembling the mix entirely that night. I heaved a sigh, to be honest. I’d been feeling exhausted already, and this realization sealed the deal. Still, I could not see a way I’d get them on the table the next evening with everything else on my list.

I knew that my exhaustion was almost certainly more resistance than actually body-mind-tiredness. I peeked in the freezer to be sure I had breadcrumbs (I didn’t, so would have to dry out and grind those up from last week’s bakery loaf … that night). I discovered some Beyond Sausage in the deep freeze. I could grill those instead. That would sure be easy.

But no. I saw it clearly then: I wanted veggie burger, and not just any veggie burger. I wanted The Best Veggie Burger. So now it really was on me. I not only had the work of preparing these burgers that night, I had the even heavier lift of improving my attitude. Because I was definitely the one responsible for this choice. I giggled at myself. And that was a good sign.

While I drove to the store and shopped, I looked for things to appreciate: exquisite twilight, not-so-many-shoppers, baby birds calling from their nest above the “porch” of our market. I gave thanks for these as my rigid exterior softened. I began to appreciate the ease and flow of my shopping. I came around a corner and saw the perfect graduation card I’d forgotten to put on the list for my young graduate friend. What are the chances? A sign of flow.

I went home and laid out what I’d gathered — all living things, the fruits of plants and trees. I began to glow ecstatically in their company. I put on some Abraham Hicks while I roasted and chopped. I listened for about 30 minutes before Esther’s words were getting in the way of my blissflow, and I turned them off.

Finally, I felt fully turned on within. I danced through the hours of bringing the burgers together, and oh! They turned out delicious! At 1 a.m. Seda popped her head in the back door, as she’d woken in the middle of the night. “I can do these dishes tomorrow,” she said. I beamed at her. “No, I’m having so much fun, and I’d rather take care of them now before they cementify. But thank you!”

Here’s the greatest thing. I actually rode that wave of bliss all week long. I’m surfing it still. And that, for me, is the beauty of adversity and my practice of joy. Trust me, I’ve had turn arounds like this on much greater challenges than midnight veggie burgers. I do know, by now, what I’m made of. Still, I appreciate every little reminder, every opportunity to view the evidence and level up my attunement.

What daily challenge recently has called you to be your best self, and how long did you bask in the afterglow?