The Gefilte Fish

Last night I watched my Rat Terrier/Chihuahua, Radar, gleefully rip all the stuffing out of his favorite dog toy, a gefilte fish that bubbled and exclaimed “Oy, vey!” when he bit it. He’s had that toy for years, but this morning I had to throw the tattered, soggy remains in the trash.

Gefilte fish, for you goyim, is pre-formed wedge of ground whitefish that comes in a jar of jelly. At holidays, people just open the jar, plop it on a plate, and then throw the whole thing in the compost after dinner since no one ever wants to touch it.

As I watched him tear that stuffed toy apart, I wondered if he would miss it after it was gone. If he knew he would never see it again, would he have refrained from destroying it?

I don’t think it could possibly have occurred to him…and I don’t think it should have, either.

Dogs, obviously, aren’t like humans. We hold on to the things we love. We don’t like to let go. We want to keep what we cherish forever.

But maybe Radar is onto something. He carried the blue-and-white fish around for years, growling to invite us to try to take it away from him. He played fetch with it in the dining room and on the front lawn. And last night he gleefully savored every last shred.

He relished every moment with his beloved gefilte fish. He used it up, fulfilling the complete purpose of the toy as well as his own enrichment.

I will be sad not to hear “Oy, vey!” coming from the hallway or the 3rd floor. I will reminisce through photos and probably hear it in my dreams. But Radar won’t be sad about it. He’ll immediately pick up the next toy and repeat his experience in utter dog heaven.

What about you?

How about you? Do you keep your toys mint-in-box on display atop a shelf? Do you have a cardboard box taking up space in the attic full of your favorite memories? Is your house cluttered with knickknacks to remind you of vacations long ago, and people from your past?

Does this attachment enhance your life, or are you filling your future with remnants of the past?

Now, what about your emotional toys? Are you holding on to past experiences? Do you revere fond memories on a pedestal, and have you shoved bad memories deep in your emotional closet? What do you get out of holding on to these interpretations of reality instead of letting them go?

I think that we should all be like Radar – live fully in the moment. Don’t hold back to save some for later. Don’t add layers of your own meaning. Be here now. Experience everything life has to offer without holding back.

That way you get to live 100% at all times, entirely fulfilled.

That’s a life worth living…and a gefilte fish actually worth eating.

What does this have to do with Royalwise/QuickBooks/Accounting/Bookkeeping?

Here at royalwise.com, we believe that learning is like gefilte fish.

But instead of the prepackaged stuff that nobody likes, at Royalwise, we make our own homemade gefilte fish combined with onions and seasoning, boiled in broth. It’s surprisingly delicious!

In other words, taking classes from Jamie and Alicia at Royalwise is not like taking a course from just anyone who has a good idea. Alicia has a Masters in Education. Jamie’s priority is addressing the whole person, not just the information.

Be like Radar – eat your gefilte fish by taking classes from Royalwise! You’ll learn a lot, solve your problems, and get complete enjoyment and satisfaction with every bite.

Join us at learn.royalwise.com and use coupon code GEFILTE for 10% off any course, or even your first month’s website membership.