Self-discipline - where is it when you need it?

Don't you hate it when you have a good day planned and suddenly you don't feel you can make it? That is what happened to me today. My friend, Estelle, and I planned to get together and submit some of our work, but I had to cancel. I was going to help her with electronic submissions which I learned more about in Robert King's class at the Moss Library recently. 

Estelle and I have many poems and short prose pieces stored away that have never seen the light of day. We talk about our plans on the phone, but life keeps getting in the way of doing what we plan. In my case life, lately, has come in the form of some malady that keeps me feeling blah all the time. At first it came with pain in my back and my front, but now with a wonderful chiropractor, Dr. Rob Peck, my back pain is gone, unless I lift something or sit at the computer too long. 

I have been counseled to try a gluten-free diet. I did some research and even bought a few gluten-free items at the grocery store, but I am not thrilled with what I've found. I made gluten-free biscuits that turned out pretty well, but I used a biscuit mix and the sugar content is high. It seems that rice and oats are Okay but most bread, rye, whole wheat, and white wheat, the ones I like, are made with gluten and therefore off my diet. So, how can I make a sandwich? Right now with fresh tomatoes available, how can I have a BLT? 

I wonder if I bought a bread machine, could I make bread with rice flour or gluten-free ingredients?

Dr. Peck even thinks I should avoid dairy! If I can't have cheese and butter, and bread, what is left that's good? I remember my father saying, when he was about my age, "Eating is about the only enjoyment I have left."

I still find quite a few things that are fun besides eating, but our social lives are built around food, having lunch with friends, going on a picnic, looking forward to a special dinner at a nice restaurant. 

Food was not high on Barry's list. He could go all day and not think about eating. He ate to live and that was it. His favorite meals consisted of hot dogs or pizza. But I made sure his meals included vegetables and fresh foods when I cooked for him. After his heart attack, when he was in his early fifties, he relied on me to cook heart healthy for him. I did my best. He dutifully ate turnip greens, cabbage, green beans and salads. 

I think I could eat gluten free if only I had someone come in and prepare that food for me. But when I go into my kitchen, I seem to only think of what I want, not what I should eat. And lately my GI tract is not food-friendly - not even for those old comfort foods I used to eat. 

I daydream about going to a fancy spa and having someone plan healthy meals and activities that bring back my energy and enthusiasm. Sounds like I have no self-discipline, doesn't it? I am just tired of having to think about food - what I can or cannot eat - what to buy at the store - what to do with what I have in my pantry and refrigerator. 

One of my affirmations I read each day says, "You've got everything you need to succeed. Believe it!" 

I believe I can do what I need to do to get back on the road to good health. I'll begin tomorrow.

Do you have any advice on how to stick with a diet or plan? Have you had success with gluten free living?

Taking Risks, Overcoming Fear

When trying times like serious illness happens, both parties of a relationship begin remembering those long ago days of youth. Nostalgia permeates every conversation.

I want us to plan for the future, but at this stage in our lives, we often look back and wish we had done things differently. We see the past through the eyes of wisdom gained by making mistakes.

We were both afraid to follow our dreams. We dug ourselves a rut in the road of life. We dug ourselves so deep we couldn't see over the sides to what we could have accomplished. Fear is the biggest enemy of most people. I have always admired people who did not let their lives be dictated by fear.

We could have left our comfort zone. We could have reached our potential when we were young, but we were afraid to leave our “security” blanket --the familiar -- the family.

My father must have been scared to death when he finally made the big step and signed his name on a note to buy a hardscrabble farm in 1942. He left behind job security, the only work he knew, and his entire family sacrificed so he could follow his dream. My mother's faith in him enhanced his courage to go for it.

My brother Hal was not afraid to reach for the gold ring. He won some and sometimes he lost, but he never quit.
It took faith in his ability to strike out on his own when he had a family to support. It required guts to stand up and say to his father and his brothers, his business partners, "I'm going it alone. I can do better than this."

He left the farm and became an entrepreneur. I think of him as a visionary. His ambition and ideas for success led him and his brothers from agriculture into manufacturing. In time the small family business became a national enterprise, and the largest of its kind. Those who had feared taking risks became gamblers in their own right, and all became financially successful far beyond their wildest dreams. And it all began when Hal said he wanted more for his family and for his life, and he was ready to take a risk. He led the way, the family farm became the collateral, and all members climbed on board this train heading for the mountain top.

Sometimes when we look back, we see the past in a different light. Sometimes these backward glances give us a new perspective on what happened at the time. Those dreamers, those who take on the challenges, should be rewarded for overcoming fear and doubt and persevering for the good of themselves and for the good of others. But all we can give Hal is a big thank you.