Sometimes, the anxiety that drives us to act out overindulgently, which then leads to RESOLUTIONS (NEVER AGAIN, I PROMISE!), may be triggered by a FEELING of deprivation.  Even if there is no data to suggest that one is deprived, the feeling of deprivation can still highjack the database, and away one goes with overeating, overdrinking, overexercising, oversexing, overgambling--whatever one's preferred mode of overindulgence is.  And whatever that preferred mode is, it's always OVER THE TOP when we act it out!

     One old-fashioned method of refocusing for me--so shifting from the feeling of being deprived to the reality that I really do have all that I need--is to be aware of those folks who really do have something to complain about.  And then allow them to inspire me to move through my feelings of deprivation and to remain disciplined.  Ouch!  Discipline--that's one of those words many of us old hippy types dread!

     Stacy Nevia and Carol Daniels are two such people who can inspire all of us to get off our deprivation pots and appropriately suck it up!

     Prior to April 8th, 2006, Stacy and Carol were avid runners.  But on April 8th, they were literally cut down by a drunk driver and are now both paraplegics.

     When I first heard about this AWFUL incident, it was unnerving because I had been walking on the exact same stretch of road the Thursday before.  I had that flashing thought that it could have been my wife and I.

     Like Stacy and Carol, I too used to be an avid runner.  Almost every morning, I ran a ten K.  The HIGH was wonder-filled!  My running "career" was not ended by a drunk driver, but by a form of glaucoma.  The jarring from running stirs up the pigment in my eyes which then clogs all those little holes which line the perimeter of the eyeball.  I've tried to transition to bicycling, but found it boring.  So I tried switching to walking.  But I can't get quite as enthusiastic about walking as running.  Poor Me!  Consequently, I can no longer eat whatever I want to eat without looking pregnant which is an odd look for a sixty year old man!

     When I heard Stacy and Carol interviewed on the radio on Friday, I realized that there is just absolutely NO WAY that I am deprived of ANYTHING!  I have use of my two legs and if I want, I can become very enthusiastic about walking.

     The truth is I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to be stressed about!  Of course, I will continue to get stressed, feel deprived and anxious, and overindulge myself, and then make a bunch of resolutions, BUT.  I am NOT deprived.  Perhaps, it's time for more GRATITUDE and fewer resolutions.

     Just a few bites of some old-fashioned food for thought that sometimes gets tossed out with the just plain OLD!