Do the right thing
Make it convenient to do the right thing.
This was the e-letter message from one of my favorite writers today. He never seems to post those articles online, so no link love. But much, much love.
His building makes recycling hard (so does mine). Finding a place to have a cigarette makes smoking a pain in the ass. Not signing up for a class at the gym makes it easier to stay in bed, but now you have to explain your absence to others if they don’t see you. Might as well go to the gym.
I got to thinking about regulation, since Cheeto Benito is so hellbent on it. He’s already got the House rolling back regs that keep our drinking water and our air clean. (Shit. For. Brains.) President Bannon finally admitted that he picked Cabinet members who hate their industries so they can destroy them from within. And the Enabler in Chief is going along with it.
(Politics will kill me, I tell you.)
In any event, regulations make it easier to do the right thing. Or at least illegal to do the wrong thing. In the purest sense, of course, and I’m not here to argue against the regs that I think are stupid. (And there are many.)
I got to thinking about my lack of wanting to write. Well, it’s not necessarily that I don’t want to. I just have an array of not- to half-working computers all around me. And finally breaking down and buying a new computer last weekend was like hearing the angels sing.
I’ve left this laptop in its cute hot-pink bag for the past week. And the whole idea of buying the damn thing was to make it easier to get to my music and my bookmarked sites and, gee, the thousands of pages of typed-out notes for the stories in my head.
I almost wonder too, if I should go back to Weight Watchers. I did so well when I went to meetings. This whole tracking food online and then hitting the lentil chips after I put the phone away is killing my scale game. But when I have to face the judgy eyes of a leader who’s been skinny for the last 50 years, well. Makes me want to put the Big Gulp down, Tubby.
I also don’t say things out loud, so as not to commit to them. There’s not a public speaking opportunity that I don’t dodge. Heck, I can’t even commit to lunch just in case I want to worm out of it. (And trust me, I will always want to worm out of it. Generally leaving my schedule open means peace of mind and harmony at home.)
I want to commit to making it easier to do the right thing, or at least harder to do the wrong thing. Am hoping Lent can provide that opportunity.
My plan was to swear off the lentil chips. But mom said i am pretty angry when I am not crunching on things. And I gave up the chips the past week and she’s right. What else will curb the rage? (I’ve been trying sugar. Because we always have it in the house and I can usually resist it IF I have things to crunch on. Not so much now. Bad Goddess.)
My next plan is to quit going over my daily/weekly points allotment. Not giving up meat or sugar or booze or, God forbid, lentil chips. And that means stuffing my face with King Cake on Tuesday, yes. But that’s so I don’t have the temptation to snarf in the leftovers Wednesday.
If i can stay in my daily points again, I can do anything. Truly. And I hope someone, anyone can help encourage me and not either try to excuse it or just shame me in their own special ways.