Laughing the Night Away!

My God but we can be such a serious species. We find it tremendously hard to laugh at times. I remember a Christmas dinner (or was it Thanksgiving) I had fixed more than 10 years ago. I did battle with the evil phyllo dough.

For those of you who have never dealt with this beast, it comes as thin sheets of uncooked, unleavened flour dough. Left to itself it dries and becomes very brittle. My assignment was to make a vegetarian main dish using phyllo. Well, suffice it to say that instead of enjoying the experience, my language would have scared the saltiest sailor, and made me curse the Greeks who came up with this dough that took control over my body.

Food controlling my body? Could I actually believe in such a thing? No, I can't believe in such a premise.

But wait! That goes against everything that has been written about foods. What about, "you are what you eat"? How many people have used that quote in their talks to the point where it has been emblazoned on our brains?

If you've been a follower of my posts you'll realize that I am not a believer in fate. I don't believe that there are outside forces that determine where we travel in our lives. Sure choices may drop in our laps, but we make the ultimate decision as to what ulitmately happens!

I'll agree that foods will change us. Foods create a chemical reaction in our bodies. But do you really think that the cow jumps down your throat? Will that grape fall from the vine, turn into a liquid all by itself, ferment, and get you drunk? No way!

Maybe there is more truth to the phrase "You are what you eat". Let's look at it again.

Who is the control in the sentence "You are what you eat"? You are!

Who sits down at a table and pours bottles of pop into your stomach? You do!

Who goes into a restaurant and orders a "gin and tonic"? You do!

All foods have an effect on our bodies, but we have the choice of what we eat. We control our lives and what makes the chemical changes that determine whether we are skinny or fat, energetic, or depressed.

I have a friend who told me that given the choice of eating the foods they wanted to eat, or having their gallbladder removed, they'd be more than willing to have the surgery. That's their choice. Me? I'll gladly listen to my body, than make a car payment for some surgeon.

So when you make your plans for the coming week, try changing your view point. Don't follow instructions, but consider your choices. Realize that there is a cause and effect.

If you get up, pour yourself a shot of vodka before you go to work, you might be arrested, wind up in jail, and lose your job.

If you have a cup of coffee, with a tablespoon of sugar, you'll probably race through life for maybe an hour or two, and wind up crashing for the rest of the day.

Instead, why don't you take a while by yourself. Laugh at your past choices, and how you have let them control you and the way you interact with others.

Make a plan to laugh with life and enjoy the foods you eat, with the full knowledge that you are in control of what you use to make it through life.

Raise a glass of water to yourself, and live for once knowing that "you are what you eat".

Oh, phyllo isn't a raw product, so don't worry about that nasty little pastry. I won't tell you what I called it and the rest of the family who offered their help at that time in my life!