Gratitude Monday-- Embrace Your Mess Edition

Embrace your mess.
This is my philosophy and has been for many, many years. I gave voice to it around 2006 or so, but I believed it and used it for several years before then.

It calls for a change in attitude and being able to change one's attitude is something for which to be grateful. It speaks of a fluidity of mind, and if one's mind cannot flow, then one gets stuck.
Stuck does not serve anyone especially the stuckee.

The mess can refer to anything, but in my case it refers to the things society expects of a person that I am simply unwilling and/or unable to do. In most cases I plain don't want to.
It also has a literal interpretation for me.
I am a messy eater. It's not too bad in the great scope of the world, but it's noticeable. I have tried every way to not spill, to ensure it all gets to my mouth, and to ensure it stays on the plate until then.

It ain't a-gonna happen.

I remember my mother commenting from time to time, "You're wearing your dinner."

Yup. I am.

It used to embarrass me. Not to the point where I wouldn't eat in public, but I was acutely aware that I was making a mess.  Further, I like eating messy foods so my choices often enhanced the experience.

Why fight it?
This came to me one day and for the life of me I couldn't come up with a good reason to continue battling and repeatedly losing.
Instead, I chose to embrace it.
I am a messy eater.
I can't say as I am proud of it, but I am in no way embarrassed about it.
It's me. I do my best and that's as good as it is going to get.

A few years back as I ate a bakery confection a new acquaintance pointed out I had icing around my mouth.
I looked him straight in the eye while brandishing the remainder of the confection and said, "Yeah, and it's just going to get worse."

That's what I mean when I say embrace it. I am grateful I have gotten to this point.