HAT 4: BLT… Universal Harmony On BreadEvery now and then, and often at just the right time, the universe will remind you that in spite of whatever jackassery du jour is currently eroding what remains of your sanity that things will be okay. You simply have to be courageous enough to play the long game and surrender your trust to the precept that the universe demands balance. One can find balance in sunrise and sunset or even in the bipolar mood swings of a teenager. But, the most delightful place to find perfect balance is right in your pantry. Does that sound crazy? Well, HERE’S A THING…Rare and treasured are the days when one is able to take delight in finding the simplest of universal truths among the perpetual friction and frenzy of existence. Fear not, for there exists a place free from discordant dissonance. The sheltered harbor in which you seek refuge from the chaos is known as balance. There are forces battling for your soul, ladies and gentlemen. Conventional wisdom will tear you asunder, but universal truth will always be your beacon in the darkness. Conventional wisdom is nothing more than the intellectual clutter of quasi-informed kiddie pool pirates which aimlessly bumps into the walls of the whims of popular narrative. But, universal truth… universal truth is pure function and reason, a perfect state that transcends spacetime and simply IS. Topping the list of the blessed invariable constants that form the ethereal substance of existence is the harmony of balance. And, as I noted previously and will evangelize until my eternal celestial dirt nap, the universe will always demand balance. Where can you find the perfect embodiment of balance in your world? What if I told you the answer was between two slices of white bread?There may be no more perfect balance of flavor and texture in the physical universe than the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Crispy and salty bacon with a hint of fat for flavor and chew, bright and acidic tomato, the earthy and watery crunch of iceberg lettuce, the creamy tang of mayo that insulates the lightly toasted white bread from becoming soggy. Each element of the BLT humbly serves a function as part of a thing greater than itself. Each element of the BLT gives itself to the fusion, creating perfection from simple beauty the way the spectrum of colors creates pure white light without destroying its constituents. This sandwich is an engineering marvel. It is complex in its simplicity. It is esculent joy. It is childhood before multiplicity ruins life. It is the comestible enlightenment. It is perfect.I recently heard someone utter the following collection of syllables. "The BLT is overrated." I had to take a knee and evaluate the foundation of my philosophy to ensure I was still on earth. To borrow from George Carlin, that sentence makes as much sense as, "Hand me that piano." It’s incongruous. The BLT is perfection in its simple elegance. To say it’s overrated as a sandwich is to say water doesn’t have much to offer as a beverage. Water is what it’s supposed to be. It doesn’t need to be anything else to accomplish its mission. The same is true for our dear friend, the unpretentious BLT. Unpretentious means simple and honest and that is precisely what the BLT delivers. Isn’t that the essence of what we’re all looking for here? Authenticity! The bacon, lettuce, & tomato sandwich is verisimilitude on bread. Mankind is inclined to make sad attempts at enhancing that which needs no enhancement, inclined to monkey around with everything from fonts and margins to the human genome when bored for more than three seconds, instead of taking a small step back and enjoying the gift of simple elegance we paint racing stripes on it and stencil our name on the door. Brioche, cheese, avocado, garlic aioli, and micro greens accompanied by bacon can certainly make a delicious sandwich, but do not have the temerity to call it a BLT for it is something else entirely. It is conventional wisdom while the BLT is universal truth. You may not eat BLTs. You may hate BLTs. You may be totally ambivalent regarding all sandwiches and general food discussion. I support all of those positions. However, you may never think that the BLT is overrated. That is irrational and does not equate to a thought. Next you'll tell me that thermodynamics proves perpetual motion.And so I say to you, the sadly misguided soul who sees the BLT as something nascent and unimproved... There are so very few truly special things in this world. Please be more thoughtful when venturing a discussion about them. Find a mentor who will teach Socratically. Spend time thinking and writing. Travel and immerse yourself among the world's cultures. Work with children. Start your own business. Celebrate your 40th birthday. Then consider verbalizing an opinion about the BLT.Too Soon Old, Too Late SmartEmbrace the simple joy of balance without pretense.That’s enough to ponder for now. This episode is dedicated to Socrates who died pursuing critical thought, Alton Brown who taught me everything about the importance of balance in flavor and texture of food, and my wife who taught me how to be. These are my three greatest idols and icons of balance and reason. Also, special thanks to Neal Boortz for the delightful turn of phrase that I pirated. Hope it isn’t copyrighted. Here’s A Thing can be found on the Podbean app, iTunes & Apple Podcasts, [email protected], and everywhere else in the podcast universe. Episodes will also be posted on Twitter and Facebook. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Your active support is critical. Become a patron and donate to the cause by following the show link.Whatever you do, get after it 100% or don’t bother the rest of us. And, if you can’t be anything else today, be authentic. It’ll pay off.