Friday, February 21, 2014

Aisle or Perimenter?



Do you know what kind of shopper you are; in the grocery store that is?  There are apparently two kinds of shoppers; perimeter shoppers and aisle shoppers.  Perimeter shoppers generally buy fresh food, aisle shoppers buy prepared goodies.  When thinking of the above photo I was struck by this thought.  I am definitely a perimeter shopper.  Very little of what I buy at the grocery store comes in a can or a box.  However, when I am behind someone in the check out aisle who has a cart full of boxes I wonder. 
This whole idea was brought home to me the other day when my daughter happened to remark that both Dawn and myself look much younger then our actual ages.  And she said it’s because we pay attention to our diets, as well as doing regular meditation and practicing Tai Chi. To me that is so natural that I never think about it so my daughter mentioning it was kind of a surprise.  Then I realized that paying attention in life to what is healthy is really an important exercise in self-discipline.    
The idea of self-discipline tends to bring forth images of self-denial and painful choices but it does not have to be that way at all.  It can actually be self-education, learning what is healthy and deciding to do that instead of what one had been doing.  And it does not have to all be done at once either.  Approaching healthy living in small increments works fine. 
Pick one thing that you know is inappropriate to your being and change that.  Some years ago I read an article in some magazine about weight loss.  The person writing said they used to sit and eat a quart of ice cream at a sitting, constantly, every night before bed.  When they decided to change that habit they didn’t stop ice cream but what they did do was buy really good gourmet ice cream and have a small scoop, savoring each spoonful.  They did this only very occasionally, not every night and not as a reward but just as something they enjoyed.  I like that approach very much. 
Ultimately any of these changes you decide on are based on another much more important decision.   That is, “I am tired of this and don’t want to do it any more.”
When that place is reached you are ready to effectively change your life.

Sincerely, Phillip Gowins