How a person in their 60s realized how to make the most of their lunch break: The lesson of 'Life is short, eat dessert first'

It was lunch break.

I had finished my rice ball and was about to spend the remaining fifteen minutes or so on my smartphone.

At that moment, the phrase 'Life is short, eat dessert first' suddenly came to mind.

'Life is short, eat dessert first.'

-- Jacques Torres

Jacques Torres is a famous chocolatier in America known by the nickname 'Mr. Chocolate'.

When I first saw this phrase, I thought it was a very fitting idea for a chocolate maker.

But recently, I have come to think of this phrase in a different light.

What is dessert to me?

When I thought about that, the first thing that came to mind was my lunch break.

When I was young, I thought that life's rewards were something that came much later.

After I retired.

After work settled down.

After I saved up enough money.

When I finally had some free time.

That would be the time to do what I love.

That is how I used to think.

But now that I am in my sixties, I have started to think a little differently.

Perhaps life's dessert is not something you eat all at once at the end.

Lunch break comes every day.

Fifteen or twenty minutes is fine.

Over two hundred times a year.

Over two thousand times in ten years.

When you think about it that way, it is actually a significant amount of time.

However, for a long time, I simply consumed that time as a mere break.

Eat lunch.

Look at my smartphone.

Before I knew it, it was over.

That was all.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with that.

But I feel like it was a bit of a waste.

So, I decided to try thinking of jokes or funny stories during my lunch break.

It is not that I want to become a comedian.

I am not aiming to be a rakugo performer either.

In the first place, I am not the kind of person who can tell witty jokes.

Since I was young, I have had countless experiences of trying to say something funny only to create an awkward atmosphere.

A person like that is trying to think of jokes.

It was a reckless challenge, even by my own standards.

First, I tried looking up funny stories.

I tried reading rakugo.

I also took a look at some jokes from overseas.

Then, something strange happened.

My perspective on things changed just a little bit.

Laughter is a funny thing.

Change the angle slightly.

Exaggerate a little.

Look at things from a slightly cynical point of view.

Just by doing that, you start to see a different landscape than usual.

For example, I am currently on a diet.

But I've been thinking lately.

When you're in your sixties, your knees start complaining about a diet before your weight does.

The scale is quiet, but the stairs are honest.

Thinking about things like that makes me chuckle to myself.

Unfortunately, this hasn't made me popular.

I haven't exactly brought the house down at work either.

And no miracle has occurred where I've gained a brilliant sense of humor as a result of thinking up jokes during my lunch break.

But one thing has changed.

My mood in the afternoon has become a little lighter.

My mind shifts gears.

My feelings soften just a little.

The lunch break was not just a time for rest, but a time to ventilate the soul.

That was when I finally realized it.

Dessert is not a reward to be eaten at the very end of life.

It is something to be scattered little by little throughout every day.

Perhaps the lunch break is a time set aside for exactly that.

Read a book.

Take a walk.

Listen to music.

Think of a joke.

Anything will do.

What matters is using that time for yourself.

This is not a story about changing your life dramatically.

However, I have recently come to think that it might actually be these small moments that change one's life.

Fifteen minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Just that much time.

But it comes around more than two hundred times a year.

Over ten years, that becomes more than two thousand times.

How you use that time.

Perhaps that alone is enough to change the scenery of your life a little.

Lately, I have been thinking of jokes during my lunch break.

But I don't know what I'll be doing next month.

Perhaps I might be doing a hundred Hindu squats during my lunch break.

The dessert of life is, surprisingly, a daily special.

In my case, as a result of starting to think of jokes during my lunch break, I didn't become a funny person.

But at the very least, I feel like I have become a person in a slightly better mood.

#LifeReignited
#LunchBreak
#JacquesTorres
#Humor
#Jokes
#60s
#WorkStyle
#PurposeInLife
#SmallHabits
#note