Is there a correlation between difficulty to eat and gastro-enjoyment?

I was confronted with question last night when I ordered a sandwich at Mort’s Deli. It was called the Toots. The complexity of the sandwich was apparent from the description.

At its heart it was a roast beef sandwich. It started with two pieces of marble rye. Followed by two latkes (shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasoning), one on top and bottom. And then the roast beef in the middle. You then were given sour cream and apple sauce to smear on the latkes.

At this point it is messy but still manageable. But then you are asked to dip the Toots in the au jus. And that’s where it fell apart, really fell apart. The viscosity of the apple sauce and sour cream allowed the latkes and the roast beef to begin shifting about. Then the au jus began to dissolve the marble rye, causing structural failure. The latkes and roast beef broke containment and plopped into the au jus.

Execution fail. But don’t despair, the latke and the roast beef where rescued from the au jus in all their over-soaked glory. Maximum flavor achieved. Execution be damned.

I like a good challenge. Of course challenges involve difficulties that must be overcome. Because the difficulties provide rewards. Even in failure the attempt to master the difficulty can be rewarding.

And no, all of life’s difficulties are not as rewarding and tasty as a Toots sandwich. But they can all be rewarding in some way. You always have the choice to feel good about overcoming a challenge. You have to learn to let yourself feel good. You have to give yourself permission to feel good for the effort, success or failure.

You can’t hold out for the perfect score. Life would be pretty barren if we didn’t enjoy the little things, the little efforts.

Eat a Toots: succeed and feel joy. Clean the bathroom: succeed and feel joy. Become president of the USA: fail and feel joy.

Some say there is no joy without difficulty. I say there is no joy if you don’t let yourself have joy.