Zen and the art of egg peeling.

Long ago, I discovered that having a diet plan was good for me and my potentially bulging mid-section.  Nothing written in stone, mind you, but at least a fairly competent idea of what breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks should consist of.  Not only does it help offset the massive quantities of beer and wine that I love to consume, but it makes me a generally healthier person as well.

Back in the Ultimate Electronics days, I used to take a mid morning break for a Hot Pocket every day at precisely 11 AM.  Since moving to Best Buy, my day starts much earlier, and I decided that there is nothing even remotely healthy about Hot Pockets, so I’ve switched to an apple and banana every day at 9:30 AM.  This has been a perfect mid-morning snack for about the last year and a half, but lately I’ve desired a little change in life.

Enter the hard boiled egg.  These are a great addition/substitute for fruit in the morning for a few good reasons.  They’re small and easy to carry.  They keep well and are delicious.  They have lots and lots of protein (which is needed now that I’m back in the gym in the mornings).  They’re damn near free.  And there is one unexpected benefit that I just completely noticed this morning.

Peeling eggs forces you to achieve an almost Zen-like calm.

It’s true.  You can’t peel a hard boiled egg when you’re in a hurry, or if you’re pissed off at something.  It won’t work.  You’ll wreck it.  (No need to discuss how many times it took me to figure this out completely).  You must stop… think… breathe…  and maintain a single-minded focus as if you were trying to pilot an x-wing fighter using the force alone.

This ‘forced-focus’ is the same thing that I love about golf (sometimes).  That’s another activity that you’ll completely suck at if you don’t manage to achieve zen-like inner peace and tranquility.  I can play golf when I’m frustrated and unfocused, but I’ll suck at it, and swear a lot.  Only when I’m in my happy place, partial meditation and complete calm, can I hit that damn ball correctly.  Or peel an egg without wrecking it.

Anything that puts me into that zone, even for a brief minute, is a good thing in my book.