At least once a week, I eat black beans out of the can. Just black beans. If I'm feeling spunky, I add a little hot sauce.
People find my black bean lunches barbaric and disgusting.
I see it differently.
Black beans are pragmatic - they're cheap, widely available, and high in protein. In about 60 seconds, I have a filling and reasonably nutritious lunch.
But black beans have a more profound meaning for my life.
They remind me of a valuable lesson from my childhood - you don't need much to survive and thrive in this world.
Growing up, we couldn't afford raspberries. At $3 a box, they were too expensive. This really bummed me out. I loved raspberries, but I could only have them on special occasions.
While I'd have to wait until adulthood to indulge my penchant for berries, I didn't have to wait to eat canned goods. At 50 cents a can, green beans and black beans were typical meals growing up. And I ate them straight out of the can.
As a kid, I was perfectly happy eating canned vegetables.
As an adult, I don't want to lose this appreciation for the simple and affordable.
While I now have the means to buy whatever food I want, including raspberries, I want to remember that I was once happy without the luxury of choice.
In Letters from a Stoic, Seneca talks about the value in practicing poverty,
"Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: 'Is this the condition that I feared?'"
Seneca is spot on.
Especially if you live in financial abundance, practicing poverty is a useful exercise. It provides you with perspective. When you give up your kombucha and $18 salads, even for just a few days, you might realize that:
You don't need to shop at Whole Foods to survive or be happy.
Getting space from luxury will allow you to enjoy and appreciate it more.
Living with less isn't so bad.
You don't have to eat black beans out of a can to get this perspective. But if you're living a life of abundance, you do need to find ways to remember that you need a lot less than you think to thrive in this world.
Spooning black beans out of a can reminds me of this lesson.
And while I'll continue to receive weird looks and disapproval, I'll rest easy knowing that I'm doing my part to stay grounded in a world of excess.