Opposable Cheese

Summer 2008 I read a book entitled "The Opposable Mind"
http://www.amazon.com/Opposable-Mind-Successful-Integrative-Thinking/dp/1422118924

It introduced me to a few really interesting concepts, one of which came up today. When I was making Kraft Dinner, no less. If my third tier blog is any indication of the level of glam that currently exists in my life, then KD should be no surprise. I actually just like it a lot, I make sure I eat well. My situation is really not that dire.

I digress, when I was a kid, my parents literally provided the bread, with bountiful spreads of cheese whiz and jam. They'd also cook up mac and cheese often enough. They followed the instructions on the box, using just a little less milk than recommended, lest it be noodle soup - normal enough.

When we went to my grandparents house. It was a different story all together. Grandma cooked up the noodles as per usual, but the crucial step became evident when we were served a plate of cheese-less noodles. Needless to say, my sister and I were shocked and appalled. Grandma, not outdone quite that easily, came over and gave us each a half a package of cheese sprinkled on top. Much to our surprise it was delicious.

A conundrum presented itself the next time the lively orange dish was about to be prepared for us again. We had inevitably returned home (for the record: Kraft Dinner with the G-rents was an unusual occurrence, twice in one trip would have been sacrilegious) and when presented with the box-method of preparation we felt as though something were missing.

We complained. The next time, my dad saved about a quarter of the cheese and then gave us a best of both worlds surprise by sprinkling it on AFTER the normal, box-method, cheese application process. Sneaky.

The opposable mind encourages creative solutions and moving beyond trade-offs. We all operate in the models of reality that we construct for ourselves to understand the world. Sometimes we mistake those models for reality.

There is always a solution you haven't thought of yet.