Life: is it really a box of chocolates?
This line irked me. It is from the movie ‘Forrest Gump’ where the protagonist, played by Tom Hanks, quotes his mother:
Forrest Gump: My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Yet, you do know, don’t you? You are going to get a box of chocolates. Perhaps you won’t know the taste of the chocolate specifically, perhaps one is more minty, the other might have that little coffee-taste of sorts, but chocolates nonetheless.
I thought about it yesterday in the shower and figured, sure, if you compare it like that everyone gets a box of chocolates. Some boxes are bigger, some are smaller. Some chocolate boxes probably only have one piece of chocolate in it if you are lucky, and women probably have 70% of the chocolate inside.
Ultimately though, you know what you are going to get: chocolate. I admit that if you are getting a box of chocolates gifted to you, yes, you will not know what is inside. Life is a gift after all, so it makes sense. Yet life in itself is not mysterious as such, it is portrayed as quite simple. We wander around looking for meaning behind the chocolate. What does the chocolate mean? What if my chocolate is bitter? I don’t like the dark chocolate, I like it a little lighter, or white, or with caramel, or nuts. What if I don’t like the chocolate?
I was bothered by the idea that it could be so simple, yet I figure in the grand scheme of things, yes, life is like a box of chocolates. It is that simple. It appears mysterious, that box, on the outside. Who knows what kinds of chocolates are inside? Then you open it and see the forms and shapes of the various chocolates, but you don’t know how it tastes. Take a bite and find out! The mystery unravels itself in time, as you are living.
That’s life, taking a bite of that unknown piece of chocolate, but more than than simply taking a bite out of the chocolate and seeing how it tastes, but appreciating that taste. Not judging it for not being the taste you expected, or disappointed that it wasn’t as tasty as it looked. Nor, should it be the case, being sad it only has 5 pieces instead of 10, or that the box isn’t as big as you’d hoped. Enjoy the piece of chocolate, every piece, and don’t leave a single piece behind.
Life is like a box of chocolates, so enjoy every bite.
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