I’ve had a great day today. Actually, it’s been a great weekend so far. Last night, we went to see the Portland Sea Dogs play against the Trenton Thunder. That’s the Boston Red Sox minor league team vs. the NY Yankees minor league team so they’re always fun to go see. Unfortunately, the Dogs lost but it was still a lot of fun to go and be a part of the crowd and cheer and enjoy a beautiful evening outdoors. Today we went to the beach and spent a lot of time in the water. We were able to get the kids boogie boards and I taught them how to catch a wave and ride it in to the shore. Since this is Maine, the water was cold and the wind was strong but it was still a lot of fun to be outside in the water and having a great time. After that, we went and saw the Nanny McPhee movie. It was horrible but the kids really liked it. Most of the time now, they put something in kids movies for parents to enjoy. Not really with this one. It was an ordeal that I endured and then was happy when it was over.
Because we were out and having a lot of fun last night and today, my eating hasn’t been as mindful as I usually like to keep it. We were at a baseball game last night so I had to have a hot dog. It wasn’t optional. When a hot dog is served at a baseball park, it automatically becomes one of the best tasting hot dogs on the planet. It was my duty as an American to purchase and consume a hot dog last night. It was the first pork I’ve had in 2 months and I loved every bite. The ketchup, mustard and relish and bun probably weren’t the best things for me to cover it with either but that’s just what you have to do to make a hot dog a real treat. Today, breakfast and lunch both consisted of eggs combined with veggies and cheese. It wasn’t my intent to eat that much of those foods but I didn’t have as many options available to me since I was out of the house at meal times (see my Hard to Eat Healthy post for my rant about that). The movie theater we went to was a place that the kids love. It’s a restaurant/movie theater and it’s fun to go to. They were having a special all weekend long with $5 tickets for all shows so we went there to save a bit of money. Since I’d already eaten poorly twice in the day, I went ahead and got a cheese pizza with onions and peppers on it.
Overall, not my best day of eating but I’m not going to let it side track me. That’s the great thing about knowing that the only time we have is the present. We no longer have the past and we have no ability to grasp the future. All we have is the moment we are in while we are in it. Therefore, since those meals are behind me now, I will let them go and return my focus to mindfulness and eating foods that nourish my body instead of causing suffering in the long run. Everything I ate last night and today has brought me a lot of pleasure. I’ve enjoyed every meal and I have sympathy for my old self because I can see how easy it would be for me to slip back in to my old habits and lifestyle. It really is a trap and I was stuck in it for a long time. However, now I know that things don’t have to be that way and I can seize the present moment and do what is right all over again. That’s the great thing about the present. It’s an almost infinite landscape and you can choose to take any path you want. If you find yourself off course, it’s easy to point yourself in the correct direction again and head off once more. We may not take the shortest or easiest path, but it’s always possible to correct our course and get moving in the right direction again. Now is the time that I’m doing that.
