I received an email last night from a disgruntled and distraught friend, who clearly needed to vent. They had just passed through a month dealing with family crisis and a death, and had stored it all up for me in detail. A whole lotta detail. They called me today, and let loose.
It took about an hour for it all to come out, and as I was listening, the Second Mind was thinking about listening, and how I need to practice this, now. And so I did. I had to quiet the Second Mind, and get myself into the moment, and on point, and just listen.
And I practiced some other things, too. Like not owning. I have another scenario about to ripen in my life with another person where this latter skill is gonna come in handy, as I'm going to be asked to own a lot that isn't mine, and I don't want it, either. The question will be how not to own it, kindly. So, I'm practicing not owning things in the meantime, to prepare myself.
I had a lovely lunch today in a gen-you-eine 50s diner with a companion. The food was authentic diner food, alas, but I did love the ambience. The formica on the tables was so old that the pattern was rubbed away, smooth as glass, showing the underlayer of plain brown.
There were little juke boxes on each diner booth table. Tall coat hook poles at the end of every booth bench. Mosaic tile floor with grungy black grout stained through the decades of moppings. Stainless steel just about everything else, including a massive 2-over-2 4-door fridge where I saw an impressive stash of pies of all flavors behind door #1.
A glass counter behind which was a collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia and shiny colorful metal models of 50s cars. I think that's where the pies and cakes used to be on display, probably before health codes forced them to be refrigerated. What can I say, I'm a fan of nostalgia. Probably because I'm getting up there.
What pleased me most was that last time I visited this same diner, which was years ago, the air was infused with cigarette smoke throughout. Today, it's a smoke free establishment, and I left with my clothing not smelling of smoke, and was able to fully taste the exquisite finer points of my gourmet diner fare - ahem.
Incidentally, this was not the drunk church diner, but a different one. I think I'll look for more, to visit. I hear there are a lot of them in my vicinity. I always thought I could tour the world, based only on visiting food establishments. I have the engine of a foodie inside me. I think the best meal I ever ate was in Belgium, although it was essentially French cuisine.
Did you know that currently 8 of 10 of American adults over 25 are overweight or obese?
Think about that! 8 of 10.
I am of the opinion that the reason for this, among other things, is that our food is so unsatisfying. It is completely tasteless compared to REAL food, such as Europeans traditionally have eaten (before so many of them took up our habits...). I'm also completely convinced that the glycemic index folks are onto something. The food we eat causes cravings for more.
I'm just rambling here, going free-flow. And I know it. The reason being, I have a number of posts ripening in the "vault" right now. They have to stay there, until they are ripe. And, I'm still soaking in my recent epiphany, before I finish writing out that series.
I need more practice listening, than talking (writing). I'm just not all that impressed with myself. My story is not as sordid as some, and I'm not putting details out there anyway. I don't think I need practice writing, or thinking, as my top priorities, right now. I need to do. But maybe I'll still need the exercise of reflecting after having done. Not sure yet. I don't see the point of blathering on things that are not of enduring value. There's plenty of that already out there. Like this entry, for example.
And ever since my epiphany, I've lost interest in a lot of things. They've turned into noise, for me. And I want to get rid of noise in my life, and focus on the epiphany, see where it takes me.
I'm still thinking about it, letting it all ripen. For now, it's Blog Lite again, at least for today. I find that Practice makes Possible, in growth. For me, this blog is practicing the thoughts I generate in my own recovery path. I should think they are heavy, and boring, for most readers. I practice them here to clarify them, before I go off and do.
-The Traveler
It took about an hour for it all to come out, and as I was listening, the Second Mind was thinking about listening, and how I need to practice this, now. And so I did. I had to quiet the Second Mind, and get myself into the moment, and on point, and just listen.
And I practiced some other things, too. Like not owning. I have another scenario about to ripen in my life with another person where this latter skill is gonna come in handy, as I'm going to be asked to own a lot that isn't mine, and I don't want it, either. The question will be how not to own it, kindly. So, I'm practicing not owning things in the meantime, to prepare myself.
I had a lovely lunch today in a gen-you-eine 50s diner with a companion. The food was authentic diner food, alas, but I did love the ambience. The formica on the tables was so old that the pattern was rubbed away, smooth as glass, showing the underlayer of plain brown.
There were little juke boxes on each diner booth table. Tall coat hook poles at the end of every booth bench. Mosaic tile floor with grungy black grout stained through the decades of moppings. Stainless steel just about everything else, including a massive 2-over-2 4-door fridge where I saw an impressive stash of pies of all flavors behind door #1.
A glass counter behind which was a collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia and shiny colorful metal models of 50s cars. I think that's where the pies and cakes used to be on display, probably before health codes forced them to be refrigerated. What can I say, I'm a fan of nostalgia. Probably because I'm getting up there.
What pleased me most was that last time I visited this same diner, which was years ago, the air was infused with cigarette smoke throughout. Today, it's a smoke free establishment, and I left with my clothing not smelling of smoke, and was able to fully taste the exquisite finer points of my gourmet diner fare - ahem.
Incidentally, this was not the drunk church diner, but a different one. I think I'll look for more, to visit. I hear there are a lot of them in my vicinity. I always thought I could tour the world, based only on visiting food establishments. I have the engine of a foodie inside me. I think the best meal I ever ate was in Belgium, although it was essentially French cuisine.
Did you know that currently 8 of 10 of American adults over 25 are overweight or obese?
Think about that! 8 of 10.
I am of the opinion that the reason for this, among other things, is that our food is so unsatisfying. It is completely tasteless compared to REAL food, such as Europeans traditionally have eaten (before so many of them took up our habits...). I'm also completely convinced that the glycemic index folks are onto something. The food we eat causes cravings for more.
I'm just rambling here, going free-flow. And I know it. The reason being, I have a number of posts ripening in the "vault" right now. They have to stay there, until they are ripe. And, I'm still soaking in my recent epiphany, before I finish writing out that series.
I need more practice listening, than talking (writing). I'm just not all that impressed with myself. My story is not as sordid as some, and I'm not putting details out there anyway. I don't think I need practice writing, or thinking, as my top priorities, right now. I need to do. But maybe I'll still need the exercise of reflecting after having done. Not sure yet. I don't see the point of blathering on things that are not of enduring value. There's plenty of that already out there. Like this entry, for example.
And ever since my epiphany, I've lost interest in a lot of things. They've turned into noise, for me. And I want to get rid of noise in my life, and focus on the epiphany, see where it takes me.
I'm still thinking about it, letting it all ripen. For now, it's Blog Lite again, at least for today. I find that Practice makes Possible, in growth. For me, this blog is practicing the thoughts I generate in my own recovery path. I should think they are heavy, and boring, for most readers. I practice them here to clarify them, before I go off and do.
-The Traveler
1 comment:
There's a lot to be said for going with the flow and not worrying about the result.
Lets serendipity into the process, and if we had more serendipity, we'd have less obesity.
People would have longer conversations instead of second helpings, take impromptu walks instead of the car, etc.
Is OA one of your 12-step groups? You said you lost a lot of weight when you got sober...
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