Wednesday Wisdom

For the record, I not only managed to achieve my simple New Day resolution for Tuesday, but I doubled it! Two twenty minute sessions on the stationary cycle with a couple of sets on the weight machine, my walk to the mailbox and a little reading.

I'm writing this at midnight and will likely be a bit more time challenged for Wednesday's New Day resolution, but in keeping with my Wednesday Wisdom choice I will plan on cycling for 30 minutes and getting some more non-fiction reading in.
I also have some business that I need to take care of at the DMV. Fun times, eh?

Health may not come from medicine, but in addition to being mindful, taking better care of this body will help.

John
 

Thinking Ahead

It's truly not often that I plan ahead. I'm more of a fly by the seat of your pants, go with the flow kind of guy. That said, I've been considering the whole New Year's Resolution thing.

New Year's resolutions have never been a very big thing for me, even less of a thing as I've grown older. I do see the value in re-evaluating life and making course corrections now and then, but maybe it just seems too forced or too routine to make it on January first to be of much value. I don't need a calendar to tell me that I need to be eating less and exercising more. 
Turning the calendar page from one year to the next certainly makes the case for making new beginnings or new habits, but is it really that big of a deal?

I'm thinking of something much smaller for the coming year; something less intimidating and more manageable.
I think I'll work with a New Day's resolution -- making a plan for each day as it comes. It will kind of combine my go with the flow personality with the big thing of a New Year's resolution and work it into something more manageable. 
And I don't have to wait for a certain date on the calendar! I can make a simple resolution with each day's rising sun.   
I'm going to make today's New Day resolution simple -- 20 minutes on the exercise cycle and a walk to get the mail (1/4 mile).
I also need to spend some time reading my library book -- Pastrix, by Nadia Bolz-Weber. Sometimes I get caught up in a fiction book and set aside the non-fiction stuff.

That's it!
A little exercise
A little reading
I might even do them at the same time!

How do you handle the resolution thing?
A plan for the year?
Day by day?
Don't do resolutions?

John

Christmas Reflections

It is 9 PM of Christmas Day and I am sipping a rye whiskey and contemplating the day.
We were up and opening gifts exchanged between me and Chris this morning and then had a video call with the kids.

My pre-seasoned cast iron Dutch oven is currently in the oven seasoning because that's what is supposed to happen with new cast iron. 
And the new battery tender is charging the battery on my motorcycle which has been sitting idle for way too long.

The dishes are done, Chris is chilling in the TV room and I thought maybe I should work my way out of this writing funk and post some thoughts on Christmas.

Christmas isn't really anything like it used to be for me. There aren't many decorations up and we didn't ride around looking at the lights that other people and businesses put on display. I did listen to some Christmas music until I got tired of it and switched back to my usual Classic Rock.
Most of the few gifts I bought this year I purchased online, so I didn't even partake in the annual ritual of Christmas shopping. 
With a few exceptions, today was pretty much a day like any other day.

The more I think about it, maybe that's the way it is supposed to be.
Well, sort of.
Really it should be that every other day should be like Christmas -- not in the gift giving, commercial, or political sense, but in the kindness and love that we show to one another. 
Let's face it -- there are many people that participate in the joyous festivities of Christmas that are not really followers of Christ. For that matter, there are many people that participate in the practice of Christianity that are also not followers of Christ. But somehow we manage to set differences aside and at least tolerate one another for a dinner or brief family gathering. We exchange gifts or greetings with people we've not spoken to in some time and we celebrate a common event that is often nothing more than a date on the calendar.

I guess tomorrow we can all go back to being jerks to one another, unless...
What if we decide we'll wait a week?
What if we decide that we will maintain this festive kindness or spirit or whatever the heck it is for one more week?
What if we decide to finish out these last few days or 2023 by -- well, by not being a jerk to anybody?
Maybe we could try that loving your neighbor thing for the next few days and see how it works out.

Hmmm...
Maybe

John

A Reason to Celebrate

Today is the Winter Solstice!*
I'm not sure if you can really say that this is the first day of winter since the sun will both rise and set before the earth reaches the point in its journey around the sun that marks the point where the tilt begins to shift the other way.
In any case, tomorrow's sunrise will be on the other side and we begin the move towards spring.

It is forecast to be rainy and overcast tomorrow morning, so I'll need to use my SkEye app if I want to mark the winter sunrise on my compass rose flower garden. Sunrise will be at 7:22 AM. I may or may not be up to mark it. I kind of feel like doing that commits me to marking the sunset tomorrow and then the sunrises and sunsets on each of the equinoxes and the summer solstice. That would be cool, but nobody else will really know or care so it's not a big deal.

This morning I am drinking my coffee by the fire and thinking of longer days, beautiful flowers, and warm days on the deck.
Happy Solstice!

John

*in the Northern hemisphere

Wednesday Wisdom

 A little something to consider...

John

A Simple Prayer

 Something simple for today's meditation...

John

Monday Meditation: Making a List

I've been thinking...
I'm not much of a list maker and I generally do not need to plan things out in the detailed way of those that are list makers. Maybe I would benefit from being a bit more like the kind of person that begins each day with a list that says -- 1) Make a list.
To Do lists create a lot of pressure and stress. Most of us have enough stress without the self-imposed kind from making lists.

But what about a To Don't list?
Would (or could) a To Don't list help relieve some of the stresses and stressors we deal with each day?
What would go on your To Don't list?

Maybe something like -- Don't read the comments.
I know that the comments to some posts can be truly entertaining, but they can often stir up some angry reactions. Mostly I don't care what people that I don't know think about any given subject and arguing over social media is just a waste of time and energy.

I need something more like -- Don't spend more than x amount of time on Facebook or other social media.
Or -- Don't get caught in a time drain of watching reels and short videos.
Don't be impatient would be good.

Can Make a To Don't list be an item on your To Do list?

What don't you want to do today?
Hmmm...
Now that's something to think about.

John

Beer calendar

I was invited to join a group of guys that meet late on Tuesday nights around a fire pit in one of their backyards. Beer, bourbon, cigars or pipes, and conversation. My invite came as a part of joining a Beer Advent Calendar. 
There are six of us participating, so last week we each brought four different six packs of beer. 
24 different beers for the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas.
 

We have a schedule so we are each drinking and rating the same beer each day.
Front row to back and left to right is the order. It should be interesting.

This was the selection for Dec 1.

It was a good beer -- a little light both in color and flavor for an amber but it was good. In fact, it was the best one so far!

I don't think I've ever done an Advent calendar of any kind before -- not even tearing off a construction paper ring from those red and green craft projects schoolkids did.
Is anyone else doing a Countdown to Christmas calendar?

John

Ugh

I've managed to pick up a nasty cough/cold. Since I never go anywhere, I'm guessing that I picked it up working at the shelter on one of the nights I was there. Slightly warmer nights this week is giving me some time off, so hopefully I'll kick it before it's time to go back. I think I may go back to masking in the tight quarters of the shelter.

I'm mostly a pretty healthy guy and rarely get colds or sickness. I seem to have a strong immune system. Right now I'm hoping that this head congestion and post-nasal drip doesn't turn into a sinus infection. The worst part is the coughing makes sleep difficult and my abs are sore. My throat is also getting sore.
Sacrebleu!

I did get my seasonal flu shot. My volunteer work at the hospital requires it. My preferred method of avoiding illness is just to stay away from people. That isn't always an option.
Again ... 
Sacrebleu! 

The cool, rainy days aren't helping. I always feel better with some sun exposure -- even if it isn't really warm out. By Sunday it should be mid 50s and sunny. If I haven't kicked this by then, maybe the sun will help.

So...
How do you handle colds, cough due to cold, nasal or sinus congestion, etc.?
Do you have a favorite home remedy?
A go-to OTC product?
Vitamin C, zinc, garlic?
Or do you just ride it out?

Help me out here.
Please.

John