Tough love from a sandwich

I have a jar of peanut butter. I also have a jar of jelly. For the last week I've been eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for virtually every meal. \nBoth jars are 18 ounces, and I've been using the same amount of peanut butter and jelly for each sandwich. But somehow the jelly is almost gone and the peanut butter is nearly full.\nIt doesn't make any sense. \nThat's when I realized that life is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This sandwich not only plays the role of mother, brother and secret lover but of teacher \nas well. \nYou might be thinking, "What can I possibly learn from condiments of slightly different viscosities between two pieces \nof bread?"\nSo much, my friend. \nEveryone needs balance in their lives. Peanut butter and jelly complement each other so well. Peanut butter is thick and creamy like the yin and jelly is goopy like the yang. Somewhere out there is a peanut butter to match your jelly. In the end, everything fits nicely between the bread slices of life. \nThis is when you look directly at your sandwich and say, "Don't be trite, PBJ. If I wanted bologna, I would've grabbed the Oscar Mayer from the fridge instead." \nAnd now peanut butter and jelly is ready to be real and dish out life's hard lessons. \nIt's a cold, cruel world, and you can only depend on yourself. Mommy's not here to cut the crust off for you anymore. \nI already mentioned that I'm almost out of jelly. What will become of the peanut butter when the end arrives? God only knows when I'll go to the store to buy more jelly. It might never happen. \nPeanut butter and jelly will always be together. They're soul mates, right? \nWrong. \nSandwich Lesson No. 1: No one will ever love you. \nIf I run out of jelly, the peanut butter is on its own, unless it wants to go crawling to that questionable bear-shaped honey that has been sitting in the cupboard for a while. Peanut butter will go on to live a solitary and meaningless existence, just like me and you. \nHave you ever eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that someone besides a parent made for you? It doesn't taste right, does it? The jelly-to-peanut-butter ratio is all off. \nSandwich Lesson No. 2: You will never be happy. \nIt's human nature to be insatiable . You can search and search forever for that perfect combination of jelly and peanut butter, but no matter what you find, it will never be enough. \nWhat if you lose your balance when you're making the sandwich and your bread falls peanut butter-side down on the kitchen tiles? The peanut butter clings to anything and everything in its path like the greedy son of a gun that it is. \nSandwich Lesson No. 3: Everyone is out for himself or \nherself. \nDon't deny it. Everyone you know is like peanut butter: full of peanuts, protein and greed. \nFinally, what is the fate of a sandwich? It gets eaten. Peanut butter and jelly just want you to be aware of your own mortality. \nSandwich Lesson No. 4: You are going to die. \nPBJ might be the old lunchbox standby, but think twice before you label it a comfort food.