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As much as I love all things chocolate, my favorite part of
a whoopie pie is the creamy filling. I would gladly
surrender the cake to receive a single spoonful of my
mother-in-law's whoopie pie filling. And while it's nice to
dream of eating a bowl full of it, that would be too much
sweetness even for me. In fact, sometimes there is so much
filling, I have to squeeze some out between the layers of
cake, scrape it off, and throw it away.
It was during a sleep and whoopie pie-deprived day that I
made a connection between whoopie pies and
self-development. I think I just wanted to make a
connection with a whoopie pie. But, alas, that didn't
happen. Anyway...
I was thinking about the rich, moist chocolate cake, and
the delectable filling. I realized that the chocolate cake
part of the whoopie pie could represent all the good things
I know and appreciate about myself. They are sweet and
wonderful. I would sustain my existence on them if I could.
The filling could represent the areas that I want to
improve in myself- my shortcomings, my faults. It's a layer
of improvement just thick enough to fill that special
craving to do something better with myself and my life,
cushioned between the knowledge of what I already do well.
The chocolate layers can be as thick or thin as
circumstances make them. Personally, I like nice thick
layers of cake in my whoopie pies, but thin layers are fine
too. If the layers of cake are thin, the layer of filling
needs to be thinner, too. They need to be in proportion to
each other. Isn't this a wonderful way to approach
self-change?
If the chocolate cake part of the treat is too thin, and
the filling is too thick, it not only looks less appealing,
but the chance of making a mess while trying to eat it
increases as well. We need a bit of stability to hold the
filling in place.
There have actually been times when I've turned down a
whoopie pie treat because it looked too messy to deal with.
I didn't have the tools or a place to scrape the excess
filling onto, or I didn't want to offend the baker by
suggesting the pie was less than perfect the way it was. So
I passed the opportunity by. Likewise, there have been
times when I or someone else has suggested areas I could
improve myself. But the number and scope of improvements
was so overwhelming, that rather than scrape some of the
comments off, and toss them in the trash, I decided to pass
up the opportunity all together. Too much criticism in our
lives like too much sugary, confection cushioned between
layers of cake, can make us just as sick to our stomachs.
But when someone offers me a whoopie pie with just the
right amount of creamy filling peeking out between two
wonderful layers of chocolate cake, it becomes an
irresistible treat.
Oreo cookies, peanut butter crackers, and whoopie pies are
tasty reminders of the proportions we should use when
layering our lives-one layer of fixable flaws cushioned
between two layers of self-respect and appreciation.
They are all delicious snacks when served as they are, but
the right amount of creamy filling can transform them into
something magical: a gentle, tasty reminder of the way we
should treat ourselves.
~~~
Copyright 2003 by Donna Doyon. All rights reserved. You are free to
use material from the A Swan's Song eZine in whole or in part,
as long as you include complete attribution, including live web
site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear.
The attribution should read:
"By Donna Doyon. Please visit Donna's
web site at http://www.donnadoyon.com for additional stories and articles on improving relationships with yourself, your family and the other people in your world."
"Carefree Woman" artwork by Ann Boyajian
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