This blog used to be called "My life in wine labels". It was a good run. But I want to talk about more. Thus a name change. The blog's title is my favorite quote from the series "Blue Bloods" starring Tom Selleck and many other fabulous people.
I just saw a post on Facebook where someone said they were most proud of their ability to "think outside the box." I'm paraphrasing, but that is the gist of the post. Well, that got me thinking about something that has been percolating for years. I hate that adage!
In my mind, thinking either inside or outside a box sounds entirely too static in today's world. Most organizations and people are not sitting in a box. They are barreling down the interstate (or autobahn) of life and commerce at dizzying speeds. Therefore, stopping to think either inside or outside a box is simply not going to happen, much less do any good.
I therefore want to propose a new adage:
Take a detour or scenic byway every now and again.
to symbolize this nugget of wisdom. True innovation doesn't often happen in a "business as usual" atmosphere.
Perhaps a better way to put it would be to
True to form*, I haven't blogged in almost 2 months. It occurred to me today because I'm in the 3rd day of my first Lenten fast*. This would come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but since nobody ever reads here, eh, I'm not worried.
See, I'm not Catholic. But, last year, a Catholic friend was fasting for Lent and explained her fast to me. It wasn't a draconian fast, but it was challenging. I don't recall the details. She explained to me why it was meaningful to her. And, lo and behold*, it made sense! You can read more about some of the things she has shared with me at some of these sites:
My Lenten fast is relatively simple. It is also not draconian, but it challenges my habits in some extreme ways. First, it requires me to be mindful in the present. Second, unlike secular fasts, it replaces the negative habit you're giving up with a positive one. In the case of a traditional Catholic Lent, one is to turn to God in sorrow for one's sin when one is foregoing the subject of the fast. For the Catholic (and indeed for Christians in general), it is a healthy thing to recognize sin for what it is and confess and accept God's forgiveness based on His Son's gift of salvation. It's all about the grace (sung to the tune of "It's all about that bass.")
So, why write about this here - when I usually stay away from personal things like politics and religion? First, it occurred to me that the discipline of giving up a habit by replacing it with a good habit is pretty universally good advice. Second, it gave me something to write about. And, that brings me to the conclusion and the title for this post:
I'm a math addict. I love numbers. When I logged on to blogger.com today, I noticed that I last posted almost 2 months ago. That made me wonder what my average lapse between posts is. And, so, of course I had to find out. It turns out I've been posting in this blog for about 5 years and I have 31 posts. That means, on average, I post about 6 times per year (or, every couple of months). So, by the law of averages*, it was time!
More about the "True to form" bit:
See the last paragraph above about the math and numbers. That explains my "form" pretty well. I'm not a prolific blogger. But I like to think that most of my stuff is better than average (hehe, get it? better than average?)
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More about my "Lenten fast":
My Lenten fast is very straightforward. I'm eating a vegan (and largely raw) diet on Mon/Wed/Fri and "sensible" meals and snacks the rest of the time. In addition, I've decided to do this mostly in private - like Jesus advised in a sermon - to do one's "good deeds" in private and without fanfare. And, finally, I've chosen to observe the sundown-to-sundown definition of day (so, Monday's vegan fast starts at sundown on Sunday and ends at sundown on Monday). My reasoning for this last rule is admittedly selfish. I attend a "trivia night" on Wednesdays where there is much less healthy fare. I enjoy it and quite honestly didn't want to give it up. I might have done so if I had other social opportunities, but since I've just moved to town, I don't. My conscience is clean in this particular concession. - Back to the top -
