Don’t forget! We are organisms

In March I went to Hawaii to visit one of my closest friends. He manages a fine dining restaurant and used to manage a few different restaurants at the Four Seasons on the Big Island. He’s served people like Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl, and Former President Bill Clinton (the secret service guys were wearing aloha shirts). My friend doesn’t just get us in to these restaurants—he gets all the off-menu specials and appetizers sent our way without even asking. All this to say, we ate pretty well when I was there. 

So well, in fact, that I started to get a little tired of it. 

All this food is so rich and so delicious, and we ate so much of it that I got a stomach ache. After the fifth exclusive nigiri, I started to lose track of which one tasted best. The complimentary cocktails and champagne gave me a headache the next day. 

I don’t say this to flex. I say this to remind myself (and maybe you) that we are organisms. We need different things at different times to live a balanced existence. A plant with too much sunlight will burn. The same plant with too much water will drown. 

Through all this life optimization and achievement we’re chasing, we need to remember this. Businesses and cars and machines benefit from the very best at all times. But as humans, we’re a little different. Sometimes we just need a turkey sandwich. Sometimes we need a boring day. The jog makes the couch extra comfy. The oatmeal makes the sushi extra tasty. The quiet novel makes the action movie extra thrilling. 

Even if you got everything you ever wanted all at once, could you really enjoy it?