No Fly Zone
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again.
I am ambivalent about camping. I love the outdoors and the activities yet also don't do well in extreme heat and humidity. Camping in the summer is typically sweaty and sultry. My body develops a serious itch over the summer which makes me want to avoid the heat and humidity like Dracula does with the sun. I have tried to figure out if it is a lack of hydration, body oils, or something I am consuming. Or a combination. It happens every summer and sets in late June and doesn't depart to mid-September.
I have to avoid full body showers and instead sponge-bath the crucial bodily areas all summer long. The shower definitely triggers a level of itch that is insane. I have taken to avoiding the heat of the day and not going for five mile runs in it (pretty obvious), I am drinking a lot of cold water, and ingesting a couple of ounces daily of olive oil. So far, it is better this summer. I am just a cooler weather person and really am much more at home in the three other seasons. Particularly, the Fall. One of the ideas why I love Montana. Cooler summers.
Another thing that I hate about camping is the bugs. I spent a terror-filled night when 12 years old on a sailboat docked overnight in a swamp down on the Chesapeake Bay where a mosquito kept getting into my ear and buzzing, and no amount of swatting could get it to shoo. Even pulling the winter sleeping bag to try and cover my head, despite it being like a 100 degrees in the sailboat's cabin, kept the skeeter out. It was the longest night of my life. If someone wanted to do an Inquisition on me, get the insects in the ears. I will break.
Thus, I have a lifelong phobia about having bugs in my ears. When at the campground last week, I took a long bike ride up the fire road/trail. I eventually had to bail before getting to the top of the mountain because I was in a gnat cloud. As the incline got steeper, I slowed in my ascent. And the gnats were able to gather. I had not brought my bandanna which I usually typically wrap over my ears. The gnats and other insects can buzz all they want as long as my ears are cordoned off. On the way down, I almost decapitated a rattle snake. I came within a foot or so of its head. Since I was going fast, the rattler didn't have the time to lunge.
I catch up with a lot of friends and family over the summer at my Haus and despite my requests to be mindful about closing my screen doors quickly to keep the flies out (I live near a lot of farms so I think my neighborhood is Fly Central) inevitably a fly or two usually get in my place because of the inattention of my guests. I usually spend the next day or two hunting them down. Time and energy much better spent elsewhere. No one cares as much about it as I do about it.
Thus, the moral of this blog today: Better to keep the flies out rather than try and kill them later.
This principle of prevention as preparation has been something that I have by mindful of the last few years. On an Art of Manliness podcast recently, the guest got into a talk about the difference between RESTRAINT and CONSTRAINT. What I got from it was this: We typically try to fight our temptations through restraint, i.e. willpower in the moment. His point was that constraint, developing deep patterns of habit, is where the battle needs to be fought. What are your SCREENS of HABIT to let in and out what is best/better for you?
Constraint in the Bible verse at the top means in Greek to Preoccupy. What you put into your mind and your physical space you WILL practice. Period.
What does this mean in specifics for me?:
- Doing a daily Bible devotional in the morning for ten minutes. This is non-negotiable. I have decided something is better than nothing so this ten minutes of reading and reflection is the foundation for everything. Most of us crash and burn on making positive changes because we aim too high rather than too low. Set the goals low but above the current level. Step up to success one stair at a time. Practice a positive reward as reinforcement. I am reading Moby Dick daily, sometimes only one page. I have already gotten further than any other attempt. I have it on my Kindle iPhone app which helps.
- Exercising in the morning first thing after breakfast and coffee. I leave my weight bench in my bedroom, the exercise bike in my spare bedroom, and my bikes and kayak in the kitchen as physical reminders to be active. I fear putting them out of sight would encourage avoidance. It helps being a bachelor and not giving a damn what a female thinks, who tend to get more irritated by such things. I only succeeded in my exercise plan by making it in the morning. I have decided to combine my lifting and aerobic on the same day to give my body a full day to recover. Rest is key for rebuilding. That is a change for me. I used to lift one day and then run or ride the next day.
- Not purchasing junk food. If it is not in the house, I don't miss it. Think simple carbohydrates/sugar. I eat a lot of protein. I am fairly convinced that most people don't eat enough good proteins, thus their bodies are craving for it and it comes across as hunger. Hunger for what? More carbs? Nope. Protein. Protein is necessary for biological survival. Carbs are not. I eat carbs but usually in measure amounts and of the complex variety. I eat a lot of nuts which are heavy in calories but also in good fats (remember when all fats were bad for us?...beware of the experts and conventional wisdom).
- Always having cold water in the fridge so I don't reach for a beer to quench my thirst instead. I like drinking cold water out of glass bottles or a beer pint glass. Glass, for whatever reason, appeals to me as a drinking medium. I like carbonation too, so I always have Pellegrino chilling also. Keep the Beer Fridge closed. Less tempting and I find it better not to have beer in my regular fridge. I gave up on soda years ago. That is one change that everyone should make. Soda is bad news period.
- Drink a daily glass of E-8 which is my version of V-8. I have never liked vegetables so I bought a Vitamix and drink 8 ounces of a healthy drink daily (tomato sauce, hot sauce, broccoli or another green, turmeric, green tea, vinegar (keeps it from spoiling), and dechlorinated water). OK, so it is only 7 ingredients. I slam it down and shudder and then move on. I recycle the 8 ounce mason jars and lids after a thorough washing. Be willing to invest in the tools for success. Don't cheap out but sometimes use what you have first to make sure that you are committed to the change.
- Avoiding commercial television by having a very basic Cable package. Most men get sucked into sports and use terms such as "We" for their sport teams. It ain't "We" man. It is them the players and coaches and you the fan. Such personalization of professional sports is a dumb way to spend one days on this earth. Sports are entertainment. Not the reason for existence. Entertainment is killing the soul of America. I watch a ton of CSPAN2 and find learning entertaining rather than stupid and profane commercial television that is saturated in violence and smut or just plain old stupidity with few exceptions.
- Always have several books going so I don't get sucked into the social media vortex (still working on this one). I have noticed that Facebook has recently had a huge proliferation of ads as well as highly inappropriate suggested videos to watch including people getting the crap kicked out of them and women stripping or doing something else sexual. Who is the policing this content on the FB side. Anyone? No wonder the Jihadis are getting all rabid (echo-chamber). Social Media is becoming a backwater swamp. I have toyed around with the idea of getting off of both Facebook and Twitter. Facebook, in its efforts to make money, seems to have let a lot of garbage onto its platform. Twitter put Trump into office, where his crudeness and rudeness is celebrated by the hoi polloi.
- Avoiding the drinking of beer until after 7 or so at night. I am drinking a lot less beer this summer than the past. I have a two to three beer sea wall that if I break, can lead me to rapid beer consumption. Since I am 6'8" and over 260 pounds, I can drink a lot of beer. Not to inebriation but definitely over-consumption. Nothing else works for me but delay.
- Working on my writing avocation. I am having some success with writing freelance. I make sure the write all of the time. This blog, Yelp. my Beer Blog, FB posts, etc. I am always working my craft. I have found that being a conservative who is educated and informed, I can engage people who have different views than me in a constructive manner.
So that is it. Screen rather then Swat.
Concluding Question: What change can you make to keep the flies out? Write it down, work out the steps, and put it into a place that you will see it daily.
Comments