June 21, 2012 - Wisdom vs. Folly

WOW - it's Thursday already and we have crossed over into a time of the year where we start to loose one minute of daylight each day until December 20th. Time waits for no one - does it? Sometimes I think back and really shake my head - was I REALLY 20? Where in the world did that all go? Someone said last week, "at my age I don't digest food as I used to and I can't seem to keep my weight off." Well.......some of that statement is a simple process of aging. Sometimes as we progress certain meats are not as easily digestible as others - but that REALLY has more to do with movement. Steak, for example, can be harder to digest than some other meats and tends to stay longer in the lower intestines. That doesn't mean we don't eat it - but it means that we drink more water and take a walk after dinner to bless our neighbors with a warm hello. :) As we age, certain things "want to settle" but again we cannot allow age to be our excuse to give in. We cannot! Aging is part of our future, using it as an excuse is not. Someone responded to my blog from earlier in the week and commented that a "sweet attack" had entered the room and they were wrestling with it. Good news......they chose to subdue the craving for sweets with additional foods on plan and ate more fruit. The next morning - no guilt, no shame, no feeling horrible about failing. SOOO....while time waits for no one and we are all getting older - hopefully, as the Bible teaches, we are gaining wisdom in our aging. And wisdom says, "another fruit." Wisdom says, "Additional water and an extra lap equals a smile as you eat that steak." Wisdom is priceless - folly is extremely costly. Sometimes folly is fun and I love a good deviation from the norm too, but let's make certain that we limit those folly-filled meals and social events where we trump the Scarlett O'Hara card - "tomorrow is another day." Yes indeed, tomorrow is another day but your body doesn't understand that concept and it grabs salt, sugar, and fat and places it in areas of display. Aging is not something we can avoid; so let's choose to LIVE well during the process. FOLLY, on the other hand, is often a matter of choice. OR......sometimes folly can be as simple as "I really didn't know the truth." I had a friend come to my office yesterday who was telling me her mother has battled yet another round of cancer. My friend said, "the doctors want my mom of all sugar. It has a strong link to her cancer." I stopped and said, "what did you say?" She repeated the statement. I told her that I had been reading those reports but had not heard from anyone to the support of them. My friend smiled and reported that her mom had always enjoyed lots of "sugar stuff." The doctors said she could have had these cells for 15 years before they were discovered. YIKES! My friend is determined to correct her eating habits as she sees clearly now the link to illness. We've been talking about that haven't we? Come on fam, let's age well, let's side step folly and excuses as they only make way for illnesses that sometimes don't show up until we're older and then, SOMETIMES, we are not as strong to fight. Let's fight now. Choose live and eat to live, PK