Within Reason

I've said that I am never going to drink, have coffee, stay out late, use facebook, walk at night alone, drive without a seatbelt, leave food out too long, eat too many carbs..... but most of these things I've done again. This is familiar territory no? We read the articles about losing weight and vow we'll never indulge in a late night ice cream sandwich again. We hear a study on the radio reporting the dangers of cell phone for your brain and vow to cut down on minutes. Hangovers hit and we say that was the last big party night. Someone points out how much we spend on lattes and we feel guilty, knowing full well we 'should' not drink coffee. There are so many things we chide ourselves for in life. And we think that if we just cut down on these things, we would be happier, healthier, longer living. Would we? Of course it goes without saying that overindulgence in the truly 'over' sense of the word is unhealthy and might shorten our lives or create health problems. But what about the stress we inflict on ourselves by keeping such a short leash? There are those who believe that the key to living a long life is being even keeled. The ability to take things in stride and keep stress levels low and manageable seems to play a role in how long we get to play this game.

Perhaps, what is more important than the toxins and carcinogens in our lives, is the way that we handle them. If the reason you're drinking coffee is that you're not listening to your body when it tells you you need sleep, perhaps that's bad. But if you are drinking coffee becuase it is a treat and you enjoy it, perhaps that change in attitude makes all the difference. And, regardless of how hard it might be to implement, it makes for a pretty picture. There I am, living my life, indulging when i feel like it, but staying positive and upbeat and level headed about it all... until I'm 125.