Gobble These Giblets

I recently had a conversation with my partner about no longer seeking approval or validation from others, and instead, living life in a way you choose to that makes you happy. After all, if it is causing no harm to anyone at all, why give a pilgrim’s buckle what anyone else thinks. Living your life in the best way that you see fit may make some miserable people around you upset, but at the end of the day, they are not the ones walking a mile in your shoes day in and day out. I’ve talked many times in these blogs before how finite life is, so why not spend the limited time we have on this earth doing what brings you joy? So what if Aunt Linda disproves of my career choice or if cousin Martin dislikes my husband? They can dangle away from my life the same way a Turkey’s wattle dangles from its throat. I am not going to waste my breath on negative energy by allowing people’s opinions to alter the course of my life or dictate my emotions. Sure, easier said than done, but it’s the time of year to reflect on the things I am thankful for and that includes not lingering over whatever no longer serves me.

The turkey giblets often get discarded from the those without a culinary flair or creative hands in the kitchen to cultivate meals from scratch. They are seen as excess waste, or otherwise too intimidating to make something wonderful from such gross and slimy looking parts. Every year I am able to make the most flavorful scratch made gravy from the edible organs of the fowl in question. There’s a metaphor in here somewhere for no matter how minuscule an item is or how useless it may feel, there is a purpose it can be used for to make something great. Trust me, I’ve made that exact same recipe without the giblets, and it just doesn’t hit the same way. So anyone who finds you to be pointless, or disgusting, or extra, or intimidating, just isn’t quite skilled enough to handle you and they aren’t adept to see the beauty in what can be mastered from your existence. Sure, those innards aren’t the most appealing, but when handled correctly, they taste wonderful. Them neck and gizzards sure do smack.

I saw on a recent post on social media, people getting into a bit of a tiff over someone’s decision to sell content on Only Fans. It seems to be a very divisive topic, with some people taking the road that one must have no self worth to do such a thing and put their body on display and they will never find a solid relationship because they have “cheapened” themselves. On the other side of that coin, you have those that claim themselves to be financially independent, making more than enough to pay the bills, full of confidence, and quite business savvy while those denigrating their career choice are jealous hypocrites anyway as one look into their computer’s search history would tell you. My view is simple, who the eff cares? Let people do what they want and what makes them happy as long as it doesn’t hurt others. People’s opinions are so frivolous anyway and honestly shouldn’t hold any weight on the choices you make. Why does everyone think they’re entitled to voice every detail of their opinion and the crazy thing is, everyone always thinks their viewpoint is the best viewpoint and that they’re opinion is the only one that matters. It’s the all or nothing mentality where you either agree with every single thing they say, or you are against all of it. I am all for people doing what they can to make a living as long as it doesn’t hurt others, and if someone disagrees with their choice, don’t waste energy caring what they have to say and cut them from your lives.

I once read about the average amount of people per year that choke to death, and as a child, that statistic utterly traumatized me. People so distracted or rushing through things so quickly, that they don’t take the time to thoroughly chew their meals and end up dead. Imagine if the very last thing you ever did in life was try to swallow an unchewed piece of turkey that then became lodged in your gullet as your eyes rolled into the back of your skull while gasping for oxygen. I bet all that time and energy you wasted caring so much about the lives and opinions of others would have served you much better if you used that time to masticate your food more thoroughly. Life can really put into perspective the things that really matter, and how someone comments on the ways in which you choose to live your life shouldn’t bear so much weight. Watching someone choke is utterly catastrophic, but I wouldn’t oppose if the ‘Negative Nancies’ who refuse to bring any joy to my life swallowed some cranberry sauce down the wrong windpipe and maybe hacked so hard that one of their painful coughs caused a piece of stuffing to become lodged in their nasal cavity until it violently flew from their nostril. Karmic retribution with no lasting damage.

Remember, as the stress levels rise from the ensuing ensembles of close and distant relatives and families gathering together over the gravy boat, try to practice kindness and patience with those trying and making a conscious effort to understand. It’s never fun when old bitty Susan in the corner makes disparaging comments in regard to you and your wife choosing to remain childless, but you can always remind her that while she thinks no one will be there to take care of you two as you age, you know damn well her children will throw her in an elderly home for all the emotional abuse she inflicted upon them growing up. Sometimes people express concerns from a well-meaning place, but are ignorant on everything that entails and do not understand. Once you know better, do better, and education is often the best tool for understanding regardless. I may not always agree with all the things everyone does or says, but if they are a good person at heart and mean well and never hurt others, then it is none of my business anyway. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, now bring on the pumpkin pie.