5.25.2007

Rev Gal Friday Five: Hard Habit to Break

Reverendmother writes this weeks of habits:
As many of you know, I have been experimenting with some severely curtailed Internet usage. I realized that I had gotten into some bad habits, which got me thinking about habits in general. I understand that a habits/random facts meme has already been going around. In the hopes that it hasn't hit too many of us yet, be as lighthearted or as serious as you'd like with the following:

1. Have you ever successfully quit a bad habit, or gotten a good habit established? Tell us about how you did it.

I'm making a fledgling effort to start a habit. I've struggled for a long time to have daily meditation time, and it wasn't until my spiritual director said to me, "You know, sometimes women/extroverts simply aren't able to have that focused quiet time when someone else is in the house." So, I'm trying to take 20 minutes to myself every day after Mr. M leaves in the morning, and before I have to. It's making a huge difference in my perspective.

2. "If only there were a 12-step program for _________________!"
Reading. I read constantly. I'm seriously considering fasting from reading at some point in the future, so that I pay more attention to the things that are actually going on. This may well be next year's sacrifice for Lent.

3. Share one of your healthy "obsessions" with us.
I eat really healthy food. I don't particularly like sweets, I've lost a taste for most processed food, and I buy meat from a local Mennonite farm that treats their animals well. I love to snack on fruits and veg. (Well, and cheese. Should have mentioned the cheese weakness as a possible exception.)

4. Share the habit of a spouse, friend or loved one that drives you C-R-A-Z-Y.
Mr. M does not clean up as he goes in the kitchen. This drives me WILD because it's not uncommon that condiments and other ingredients wind up having to get tossed because he didn't put them back. On the other hand, he usually makes dinner, and I am grateful for that.

5. "I'd love to get into the habit of ___________________."
Some kind of exercise every day. I know I should be doing it, but I'm not.

Bonus: What is one small action you might take immediately to make #5 a reality?
I'm thinking about going for a walk this evening.

Bonus 2: Try it, and let us know how it goes in a future post!

11 comments:

  1. You eat the way I want to eat. Well, except the meat because I'm a vegetarian. But, I glad that you eat animals who were treated humanely.

    I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but I still eat processed food. How did you get off that?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have thought about giving up readiing for Lent. Or for Fridays in Lent. Or for one day in Lent. In any case I would probably die.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow -- that's amazing that you can eat that way. That is definitely one of my goals. I'd love to be able to find a place in the area that treats animals humanely that I can purchase meat from.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:20 AM

    Check out www.localharvest.org to find out about local farms in your area.

    ReplyDelete
  5. well done on the healthy eating- we keep trying but slip up too- I have promised myself once the childern leave home (October) that we will make a real effort to ditch all processed food.... not cheese though!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the quiet time idea...it's so hard to have that. I just met with a Cath. deacon friend of mine and he actually asked us to be silent together before we met. WOW was that powerful

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great play Mrs. M!

    And thanks Mr. M for the cruelty free link--we have been talking about this recently and all we knew to do was get the cage free eggs at the grocery store.

    Mrs. M hang in there and I am praying for your discernment and meeting tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. the best way for me to get some quiet prayer in is to get up earlier than loud noisy husband-type person (side comment: is it necessary to thump around and have the radio on during all morning preparations?)

    I'm excited about the farmer's markets starting up again.. we also take great interest in what we're eating and how it gets to us, although I wish we could more easily access local farms. Closest we get in the Big City is the markets, but I haven't seen meat or eggs there.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have been a meditator for years, although this last year not so much. So. yes. good advice. best when no one else is home. And what a wonderful way to care for yourself. It is a form of prayer, for me the best kind.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:27 PM

    Yep, with the reading. So much so that I know I can do anything and read at the same time EXCEPT: Shower. or ride a bike FOR VERY LONG.

    I am working on eating without distraction which means no TV and NO READING. It is a huge adjustment. It may be more mindfulness than I can bear.

    thanks for that link! I get the awesomest eggs from my chiropractor and would like to do more...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Mrs. M - As to your comment on my blog, yes - I am a recovering (sort of) Nestie. You and I actually exchanged emails awhile ago, which is how I found your blog originally. :)

    ReplyDelete

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins