The Lincoln Diner Principle
Yesterday, Emily and I traveled to Gettysburg, PA and watched the reenactment of the first day of the Gettysburg battle. We didn't know we'd be seeing the reenactment when we left our place yesterday morning. In fact, we thought we were going to be helping out a friend for most of the day (near Frederick, MD) and then we were just going to cruise up to Gettysburg and take in the sites.
As it turned out, we awoke at 6:30 in the morning only to find out that the plans had changed. Our friend no longer needed us to help her, but we were up and ready. So, we decided to head to Gettysburg earlier than later.
On the way, we decided to grab some breakfast. Emily was in the mood for some "pink-box" donuts - the kind you get from the Cambodian donut shops in Long Beach, CA (where we lived for 6 years). They're pink-box donuts b/c they come in a pink box :) - for those of you who were trying to make the connection. The problem is that Maryland doesn't have pink-box donuts! We drove all over the place trying to locate those tasty treats, without success.
As much as Em was in the mood for pink-box donuts, I was ready for some wholesome McDonald's breakfast :) ! The problem is that McDonald's shuts down their breakfast menu at 10:30. After spending a good bit of time driving through the streets of Frederick to find pink-box donuts, we decided to head to Gettysburg - of course Pennsylvanians would have pink box donuts (what were we thinking? :) )
Since we wanted to eat our pink-box donuts and clog-your-artery McD's together, I had yet to get my clog-your-arteries treat, and 10:30 was fast approaching. We approached Gettysburg on Highway 15 and took the Taneytown exit, which indicated that the nearest McD's was only 3 miles away. In other words, "keep hope alive!"
Well, the McDonald's could have been 30 miles away, because it took us about an hour to get to it. And, of course, we didn't find any pink-box donuts while driving down the streets of Gettysburg. By the time we got to McDonald's we were both starving, and Emily had decided that she would join me and give up the donut quest.
As we pulled up, our clocks ticked closer and closer to 10:30 (we pulled up around 10:29!). But we had made it! Or so we thought!
We waited in the drive-thru line for awhile and picked out our favorites (if you can have a favorite McD's food item). When we got to the window to order, it was about 10:32, and the lady at the window informed us that breakfast is no longer being served. We pleaded with her, telling her we had been in line at 10:30, but she wouldn't budge.
Now what?
This was one of those moments that can make or break a day, depending on how you react/respond to it. Would we get frustrated and let it get to us? Or, would we adjust and make the best out of the situation? From the perspective of task-oriented, efficient, time-conscious folks, this day was not going well. We got up way to early on a day off, drove all over Maryland in a fruitless attempt to rescue pink-box donuts, and missed breakfast by a nanosecond!
But all of that was only to lead us to discover/define the Lincoln Diner Principle.
Instead of getting miffed and dismissing the first 4 hours of our day as worthless, we decided we didn't want to eat a McD's lunch at 10:30, and we moved out of line and headed down the road, back into the heart of Gettysburg to find another option.
We ended up at an amazing breakfast joint called The Lincoln Diner. And we made it there about 5 minutes before they stopped serving breakfast! The hostess was a motherly sweetheart to us and treated us like we were her children (not quite McD's service). And the homemade, unbelievably tasty food cost just about the same as we would have spent at McD's. Moreover, Em and I had just a great time laughing, talking, and making some sense of our morning.
We talked about how grateful we were that we didn't get to eat at McD's. Look what we would have missed? Instead of eating greasy food in the car on the go, we were sitting at a comfy, local diner eating the best breakfast in town. Things didn't turn out the way we had planned. They turned out better/different than we had planned! Our part was to trust the process and make the best of our present place and time. We had to be willing to let go of our expectations and live fully in the moment. We decided to call this the Lincoln Diner Principle: letting go of expectations and living fully in our present place and time. That means letting go of resentment, anger, regret, disappointment, etc.
While our time yesterday wasn't monumental in terms of what we did, it was monumental in terms of learning/beginning to learn a principle that can have a profound impact on the way we live our lives.
Imagine what our lives would be like if we lived fully in our present place and time. How often do we miss out on life now because we are focused on how life then didn't work out the way we wanted?
Our time in Gettysburg ended with us watching a reenactment of one of the bloodiest days in Civil War - a sobering, incredible experience, especially for a couple of people who grew up on the West Coast and only dreamed of actually seeing Gettysburg.
Driving home, we listened to great music and took in the sunset-illuminated scenery with awe.
God, you sure are amazing!
As it turned out, we awoke at 6:30 in the morning only to find out that the plans had changed. Our friend no longer needed us to help her, but we were up and ready. So, we decided to head to Gettysburg earlier than later.
On the way, we decided to grab some breakfast. Emily was in the mood for some "pink-box" donuts - the kind you get from the Cambodian donut shops in Long Beach, CA (where we lived for 6 years). They're pink-box donuts b/c they come in a pink box :) - for those of you who were trying to make the connection. The problem is that Maryland doesn't have pink-box donuts! We drove all over the place trying to locate those tasty treats, without success.
As much as Em was in the mood for pink-box donuts, I was ready for some wholesome McDonald's breakfast :) ! The problem is that McDonald's shuts down their breakfast menu at 10:30. After spending a good bit of time driving through the streets of Frederick to find pink-box donuts, we decided to head to Gettysburg - of course Pennsylvanians would have pink box donuts (what were we thinking? :) )
Since we wanted to eat our pink-box donuts and clog-your-artery McD's together, I had yet to get my clog-your-arteries treat, and 10:30 was fast approaching. We approached Gettysburg on Highway 15 and took the Taneytown exit, which indicated that the nearest McD's was only 3 miles away. In other words, "keep hope alive!"
Well, the McDonald's could have been 30 miles away, because it took us about an hour to get to it. And, of course, we didn't find any pink-box donuts while driving down the streets of Gettysburg. By the time we got to McDonald's we were both starving, and Emily had decided that she would join me and give up the donut quest.
As we pulled up, our clocks ticked closer and closer to 10:30 (we pulled up around 10:29!). But we had made it! Or so we thought!
We waited in the drive-thru line for awhile and picked out our favorites (if you can have a favorite McD's food item). When we got to the window to order, it was about 10:32, and the lady at the window informed us that breakfast is no longer being served. We pleaded with her, telling her we had been in line at 10:30, but she wouldn't budge.
Now what?
This was one of those moments that can make or break a day, depending on how you react/respond to it. Would we get frustrated and let it get to us? Or, would we adjust and make the best out of the situation? From the perspective of task-oriented, efficient, time-conscious folks, this day was not going well. We got up way to early on a day off, drove all over Maryland in a fruitless attempt to rescue pink-box donuts, and missed breakfast by a nanosecond!
But all of that was only to lead us to discover/define the Lincoln Diner Principle.
Instead of getting miffed and dismissing the first 4 hours of our day as worthless, we decided we didn't want to eat a McD's lunch at 10:30, and we moved out of line and headed down the road, back into the heart of Gettysburg to find another option.
We ended up at an amazing breakfast joint called The Lincoln Diner. And we made it there about 5 minutes before they stopped serving breakfast! The hostess was a motherly sweetheart to us and treated us like we were her children (not quite McD's service). And the homemade, unbelievably tasty food cost just about the same as we would have spent at McD's. Moreover, Em and I had just a great time laughing, talking, and making some sense of our morning.
We talked about how grateful we were that we didn't get to eat at McD's. Look what we would have missed? Instead of eating greasy food in the car on the go, we were sitting at a comfy, local diner eating the best breakfast in town. Things didn't turn out the way we had planned. They turned out better/different than we had planned! Our part was to trust the process and make the best of our present place and time. We had to be willing to let go of our expectations and live fully in the moment. We decided to call this the Lincoln Diner Principle: letting go of expectations and living fully in our present place and time. That means letting go of resentment, anger, regret, disappointment, etc.
While our time yesterday wasn't monumental in terms of what we did, it was monumental in terms of learning/beginning to learn a principle that can have a profound impact on the way we live our lives.
Imagine what our lives would be like if we lived fully in our present place and time. How often do we miss out on life now because we are focused on how life then didn't work out the way we wanted?
Our time in Gettysburg ended with us watching a reenactment of one of the bloodiest days in Civil War - a sobering, incredible experience, especially for a couple of people who grew up on the West Coast and only dreamed of actually seeing Gettysburg.
Driving home, we listened to great music and took in the sunset-illuminated scenery with awe.
God, you sure are amazing!
posted by Dave Jones at 9:44 AM
1 Comments:
Nice story. I live in Gettysburg and have my morning coffee at the Diner almost every day. They really are kind of like family in there!
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