Holly berries at the Treehouse. 12/27/09
It was wet and cold when I came back from the club today. I saw the holly tree/bush as I walked from the car to the door of the apartment building where I live. The colors were brilliant and sparkling with raindrops. I thought it would make a great picture. I considered staging a re-creation of how it looked. Spray some water, or glycerin solution on it to approximate the look of raindrops. Do it on a warm sunny day when it would be convenient for me.
I was thinking these things as I stood there. I even had my camera in a bag over my shoulder, and I was seriously considering taking the picture another time. How had I developed that wacky logic? I knew it was time to drop that way of thinking and to stop wasting special opportune moments. Take the picture now.
This bizarre mental process got me to thinking about the methods we use to change behavior, like drinking, smoking, over-eating, etc.
Do you know anyone who successfully quit anything because they made a "new years resolution"? I don't.
I have watched a lot of people try to quit smoking, or over-eating by taking pills or wearing a patch. I have never seen that work for long, either.
People who try shortcuts, get liposuction, have their stomach stapled, or go on diets wind up just where they started, eventually.
I think it's complicated, but one thing I know for certain. You can't succeed by substitution or a magic pill.
My life was shambles. I had to shed those things that were dragging me down. I got help. I am fortunate that I found what works for me.
I found my life getting better with every additional day of not drinking. Clarity of my senses became more acute as the alcohol induced fog left my system. I enjoyed getting my mind and soul back. It felt good to travel toward being fully in touch with this amazing experience called life. This is a priceless reward.
I think it's the knowing what's next that makes the "quitting" easy.
One of my old songs, (1984), about quitting smoking goes; "I'm a little up tight since I stopped, but I woke up this morning and I didn't cough...". I was so drugged by cigarettes that I thought it was okay to always be coughing. I hear my smoker friends cough and I am reminded that that was me and how I thought nothing of it. My breathing is improving each and every day since I left smoking behind me. This is a priceless reward.
I have the support and encouragement of friends and family. I can't do this without them.
I am fortunate that I can indulge myself in meditation, contemplation, healthy food, and can follow my path of enlightenment with very few obstacles or distractions.
I hope I am making the most of this opportunity that I know is rare and not available to all. I am honored and humbled to have received these gifts.
Here's one from my sister Sue...
Donkeys kill more people annually
than plane crashes or shark attacks. (So, watch your Ass )
EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 50 (or soon to be)
Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)
After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Solid Potato Salad - The Ross Sisters (1944)
Life Is Good
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