Sunday, June 30, 2019

Exercising My Rationalization Skills

How to explain to each individual, health care providers mainly, that I don't have the bandwidth to keep track of all the ways that I should be making myself healthier? I understand that this is my body and it is entirely up to me to make choices that  will keep me alive and well long after the once unthinkable age of fifty-seven. I know that what I put in, on and around my physical being is as important as what I ingest spiritually. All those violent movies and Stephen King books are not elevating me in the way that I might be elevated. I continue to languish on some philosophical borderline. I could be so much better.
And yet, I manage to brush and floss my teeth twice a day. I take a small fistful of vitamins every morning along with my extra dose of vitamin C that comes in the form of a glass of orange juice. I exercise regularly, especially aerobically with two to three mile runs as my base along with a bicycle commute that extends my quiet time in  the morning and in the afternoon. This gives me time to reflect on what I've done and what still needs to be done on that sliding scale of accomplishment. I participate in my wife's experiment of Meatless Monday because it's good for me and for our planet. Sometimes I choose chicken instead of beef, and I have been known to substitute salad for french fries. On occasion.
And still that bag of peanut M&Ms betrays me. With each trip to the kitchen it mocks me with its bright yellow wrapper. I know that if I were to give them up tomorrow I could be another giant step toward meeting my health goals for now, and the future. But each night, after dinner, I hear that siren call. Just a few handfuls to round out the night. You deserve a treat.
I do. We all do.
Which is why I brush my teeth so vigorously and I get out of bed to go for a run the next day. It is a juggling act, and one for which I have grown most fond. It's not time for the intervention. Not yet. I can quit  anytime.
Just not right now, thank you.

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