TEREZUM

Who would pick a pistachio pizza? Or let it be salmon with capers? Me. I know, why not go for the quattro formaggi, that’s something that every pizzeria would have.

What I am about to tell you is a distilled idea after I was brought the opportunity to study human nature under pressure.

It is easy to walk in a place where they make the pizza on the spot. One would imagine they have everything. Well…not in the place where I went. No pistachio. First try. No salmon. Second try. I began to smile and tell the lady that the third pizza I would hope to finally order should come for free. By the look on the woman’s face , the one who did the pizza, the third option was down the drain. I wonder if the owner was trapped in the icy arctic trying to fish the salmon for me but was captured by the penguin mafia.

Logistics aside, it is quite an embarassing situation to be in as a waiter and pizza maker. Here I am, the client. I want a pizza. But you barely have  ingredients. What shall I do? First time I smile…Second time I burst laughing….The third time I feel like I am performing live in my own comedy movie with Jim Carrey sitting somewhere behind the counter, trying to contain his amusement.

I saw the girl making pizza really trying. I could see her trying to make a concotion which could stand as Popeye pizza, the third option that I tried to order. Then it dawned on me. This moment is not just about a “wanna be a pizza but damn there are no ingredients”. This is a moment about life. About taking whatever hand life gives you with a smile on your face. To work with the lemons. To squeeze them dry and sprinkle the biggest smile that you have.

I strongly believe in the energy of the food and I think that you do not need high end ingredients to make something delicious. I can taste if someone has put some soul on that dough. Time passes and I see the girl taking a photo of the pizza. Oh wow it must be some fabulous concoction if she went such an extra mile.

A flower. She has made a flower with a red cherry tomato in the middle and with some God knows where she has found the last five leaves of spinach. When I saw how she worked her magic with what she’ve got I admired her. She did not have to do that. But she did. You know what I adored about this moment? The privilege of seing someone who does not quit easily. For the love of God, I ain’t got capers or salmon or spinach but I’ll work with what I’ve got and deliver you a concoction pizza that has a bit of my soul in it. It was delicious. Her boss should remain with the penguins and she should open her own pizza shop. I can only imagine what she could have done if only she would have had a proper kitchen with….ingredients.

You might say now that I should have walked away. Who would stay to try to order for three times without success because the kitchen is lacking ingredients? Yes, I could have done that. I was way too hungry though and I liked the vibe of the people. Now as I ponder I wonder how many times people give up too easily just because they miss one ingredient. I wonder how many chances to be a good human being have been missed because someone chose grumpiness instead of humour, a scowl instead of a laughter.

It is never about what happens to us as much as what we make of it. I will always be receptive to the kindness of the human soul and this spinach tomato flower moment made me realize that good life is about making the best with the hand that the Universe has given to you. If I were to ask for it or know that it was a flower that was made on every pizza….it would not have been the same. And the gesture cost her a mere second. Being human is about these moments of humanity, empathy, kindness, which will never have a price or a post on Instagram.