Building Bridges, Not Walls

That’s not chicken you’re eating.

Looking at a restaurant menu and coming across “Frogs Legs,” most people would choose something else. After all, the mere notion of eating a frog conjures up thoughts of Kermit or those days in Middle School science class dissecting frogs.

A family gathering to celebrate our parents’ twenty-fifth wedding Anniversary was a wonderful experience for our family and closest friends; we were all gathered at a beautiful location known for its stunning architecture, and this day was no different, or so I thought.

Confession: I loved chicken drumsticks from my teen years until my mid to late twenties. And the food at the celebratory buffet was no different! I made three trips to the buffet, filling half of my plate each time with those tasty drumsticks, and then, it all changed.

A staff member heard me say, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever eaten,” he cautioned me, “Oh, that’s not chicken you’re eating!”

So what was it? It was forty years before we could experience plant-made meat, so what was I stuffing myself with?”

“Oh, sir! You’re eating frogs legs!”

When I discovered that I was eating something other than what my pre-preconceived mind believed I was eating, my taste buds were already tingling with delight that I went up for a third helping.”

Could we, as humans, learn something from this story? Do our senses sometimes lie to us? Or do our preconceived beliefs determine our outcomes?

There is a better way to build bridges, not walls.