This morning, I hit snooze for a long time and then decided to skip the 8:30 service, which bought me an extra hour. I was even late to Sunday School! Watch out. This afternoon, I made a new chart for my Alton Brown eating plan, which I hadn't done in such an official manner since, oh, September. I got a star for today, which means I ate everything I'm supposed to. But I also ate a whole lot of cookies this afternoon, which means I can't have any more dessert all week. (In my modified-for-sanity plan, a small piece of dark chocolate is acceptable on a daily basis in addition to "dessert" once a week, which can mean a series of small items or one large thing. It's surprising how far just a little chocolate can go in curbing cravings.)
I was going to exercise this afternoon, but it was cold and damp out, and I have an aversion to exercising between two public appearances because I hate getting made up and hair did twice in one day. Blech. So, first thing tomorrow, no matter how cold, even if it's raining a little bit, I'm going out. I walked a fair amount on my trip but didn't run and certainly didn't eat healthily, so I'm reestablishing my good habits, and today was the beginning.
It occurred to me just today that Austin might be the happy medium between Richmond and New York. It's supposed to be pretty liberal but still has a Presbyterian foundation. In reputation for fun and, I'm guessing, in size, it's in between the other two cities. It has a two-week summer course where you hike and camp and learn about nature and spirituality (at least I think that's what you learn about; I stopped listening once he said "hike and camp for two weeks"). I still haven't heard whether I'm in. I'm mailing two of my "no"s tomorrow, to Princeton and to Iliff. It feels weird to put an end to a possibility, to a relationship really. I'm so used to broadening searches, keeping options open, waiting to see, needing to hear from someone else as opposed to being the one to say the word, that it feels highly unnatural to take this very tangible and final step of closing these doors. And for no reason that I can articulate, nothing but the blossoming feeling I get in my gut while visiting or thinking about other schools.
While I was working on my thesis, Philip told me at one point that it was time to close some doors, narrow my focus for the book. It hurt, but he was right, it was necessary. This is the same feeling. The good part is that I got into so many places and have so many options, and that I absolutely can't go wrong. I'm not going to be unhappy at any of these places, which is probably the most comforting thought of all. What a great privilege to go through this process, and to share it with you.
Showing posts with label Alton Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alton Brown. Show all posts
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Devotion and Temptation
We learned in church today about temptation and how it is universal. Everyone, absolutely everyone, deals with temptation in some form.
This afternoon, I was reading about spiritual practices and considering the importance of regularity and repetition, carving out part of one's day and life to do whatever works: prayer, meditation, yoga, reading, the things that get us in tune and calmed down.
I've been intermittently following a plan on which Alton Brown lost fifty pounds. There are six things you have to eat every day, five at least three times a week, four to limit to once a week, and four to cut out entirely. The plan has worked well for me, especially when I follow it closely (imagine!).
So: Temptation is everywhere. Discipline, which I think of in this context as self-denial, is a good way to combat it in the short term, in essence saying, "I'm just not gonna." But devotion, which in this context to me means replacing the bad thing with one or more good things and focusing on that instead, is going to get you a lot further and be a lot more fun. The Alton Brown concept is that if you fill your menu, stomach, and mind with fruit, whole grains, nuts, leafy greens, carrots, and green tea, you won't have as much time and space to get distracted by the darling cupcakes, the crispy fries, the caramel, and all of their backstabbing friends. I believe this carries over to faith. If you focus on doing the right thing instead of assiduously avoiding the wrong thing, you will probably wake up one morning and realize you haven't been craving the vice quite so badly. And in the meantime, you have done something great for yourself, God, and the world.
This is the principle behind devotions, which I take to mean anything you do intentionally on a daily basis. You do it because you're devoted, not because you jump out of bed dying to do it each and every single day. I don't have any strong feelings either way about carrots. Sometimes, I get completely sick of them and even of the peanut butter I eat them with. But, for days or weeks at a time, I will eat a carrot a day, because I know it makes me that much less likely to binge on junk. Likewise, if you read a text that feeds your faith, or pray, or stretch, or do something else that's healthy and draws you toward God, those practices will occupy you for so many minutes, and during those minutes at the very least, you can't yield to the myriad temptations that face you.
This afternoon, I was reading about spiritual practices and considering the importance of regularity and repetition, carving out part of one's day and life to do whatever works: prayer, meditation, yoga, reading, the things that get us in tune and calmed down.
I've been intermittently following a plan on which Alton Brown lost fifty pounds. There are six things you have to eat every day, five at least three times a week, four to limit to once a week, and four to cut out entirely. The plan has worked well for me, especially when I follow it closely (imagine!).
So: Temptation is everywhere. Discipline, which I think of in this context as self-denial, is a good way to combat it in the short term, in essence saying, "I'm just not gonna." But devotion, which in this context to me means replacing the bad thing with one or more good things and focusing on that instead, is going to get you a lot further and be a lot more fun. The Alton Brown concept is that if you fill your menu, stomach, and mind with fruit, whole grains, nuts, leafy greens, carrots, and green tea, you won't have as much time and space to get distracted by the darling cupcakes, the crispy fries, the caramel, and all of their backstabbing friends. I believe this carries over to faith. If you focus on doing the right thing instead of assiduously avoiding the wrong thing, you will probably wake up one morning and realize you haven't been craving the vice quite so badly. And in the meantime, you have done something great for yourself, God, and the world.
This is the principle behind devotions, which I take to mean anything you do intentionally on a daily basis. You do it because you're devoted, not because you jump out of bed dying to do it each and every single day. I don't have any strong feelings either way about carrots. Sometimes, I get completely sick of them and even of the peanut butter I eat them with. But, for days or weeks at a time, I will eat a carrot a day, because I know it makes me that much less likely to binge on junk. Likewise, if you read a text that feeds your faith, or pray, or stretch, or do something else that's healthy and draws you toward God, those practices will occupy you for so many minutes, and during those minutes at the very least, you can't yield to the myriad temptations that face you.
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