“The Sausage Philosophy”: I want to eat now
What is happening? Why are we all struggling out here?
We are now back. Back into the world of sweater weather, double-checking the mirror to see if our outfits meet the criteria of “the twenty-year-old,” all while still trying to hold onto some individual style.
Back to seminars and back to standing face-to-face with, essentially, real life. The summer, so close yet already feeling so very far away, felt real.
We were independent, free — some of us experiencing our first nine-to-five lifestyle and honestly it wasn't that bad.
I could get used to getting home from work, having a glass of wine and winding down with my new favourite Ben and Jerry's “Half Baked” ice cream (because they horribly decided to get rid of my actual favourite “Netflix and Chilled”)
It was a great splice of a different reality, one I wasn't used to.
Now between syllabuses and dropping classes, I’ve had this constant residual anxiety humming throughout my body. Sitting in class, then immediately feeling the doom flood every fibre of my being.
You would think the sense of doom would have come from hearing the amount of work the class required, but that theory came to nil. That class is now my easiest one.
The feeling would come and go throughout my days, I would go home, feel better, yet it would return. It seemed I was in a constant state of fear.
I couldn't help but wonder, am I going crazy?
I visited a friend who was feeling overwhelmed with school starting back up again. While we were chitchatting, catching up and finding solace in knowing we weren't alone in our feelings.
She mentioned “the sausage philosophy”.
The sausage philosophy is essentially grieving the fact of not having an option. Facing the truth and instead of going around it, going through.
Seems pretty basic, but when you’re in the dumps of emotions, leaving home, leaving your sweet animals, leaving the smell of waking up without a care in the world, making an iced latte and sitting outside soaking up the sun — the sausage philosophy becomes the gospel.
But to give you context on why such a thing became so revolutionary, this friend of mine went to a wedding over the summer.
The typical New Brunswick wedding, in a barn.
The wedding allowed her to stay in an overnight hotel that offered complimentary breakfast. Hungover from a night of festivities and catching the bridal bouquet, all she wanted when she woke up was a lovely warm plate of hotel sausages.
Yet when she arrived at the square-tiled designated breakfast space with wooden tables and metal chairs, an older stout woman was already piling her own warmed plate with sausages, leaving my friend, none.
As she waited and watched the other woman meticulously cut and devour those delicious, savoury, juicy sausages, she had to watch and move on to the mini box of fruit loops.
She knew that more sausages would come, but with a long, dreaded wait came “the sausage philosophy.”
She was wiped of the option of sausages; she had no other choice but to wait and eat something else.
But as my friend lifted her last sad spoon of washed-out, food-dyed cereal, a hotel employee came right on out with a silver tray with more sausages, yet she didn't even want any.
But to prove her dirty look towards the woman earlier, she mustered her way toward the tray. And ate one delicious warm sausage.
So, in this transition period of life, from a once freedom-like state to now being chained to a desk, to learn all the ways of the world, to go forth and try and make the world a better place.
We must remember the sausage philosophy and know that in this waiting period of laying the foundation of our lives, warm and delicious sausages are just on the horizon.
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