Rule No. 56 - Stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied.

Saint John Cassian, born 360, died 435, has a day named after him, Eastern feast day February 29. He was an ascetic, monk, theologian, and founder and first abbot of the famous abbey of Saint-Victor.

With no disrespect whatsoever, Saint John obviously didn't have a drop of Lebanese blood in him. This is a rule I would dearly love to live by, but I'm afraid that is impossible. We were taught, from the day we started eating, to finish what's on your plate. Our brains only tell us once we have eaten everything off our plates, that it is far too late, you were actually full about 20 mouthfuls ago. I am sure Saint John Cassian never over indulged in his whole life, but he obviously didn't have a family like mine that is only happy when you eating.

When people come over, we just want to feed them. Our Mom's aprons go on and within seconds there is a 7 course meal made up, and that's just for tea time. Okay, slight exaggeration, but we really do love to eat. They say the French have it down to an art, even wrote a book about it. They taste each thing they put in their mouth, appreciate it and then move on, small little baby portions. Bite size. Not us.

I understand that Saint John meant this with a deeper spiritual meaning and it was probably part of learning to fast and giving up so others can have, but I can only speak of my own understanding, which is completely literal and I ask forgiveness for that.

It would be great to stop eating while still hungry, but I don't think this rule is gonna work out for me. I'll give it a bash, but no promises.

Comments

Rule No.33 - Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day

Okay, rules are back and what a classic one! This quote is by Harry S Truman. He was the 33 rd president of America, historians call him “a controversial president”, the band Chicago wrote a song just for him and he has a commemorative holiday in his name on the 8 th May in Missouri. This is brilliant advise, not in the literal sense, well, that too, but if you having a seriously bad day, don’t make things worse by deliberately doing something that will bite you in the bum later. I did this the other day, so I am talking out of experience here. I went into a situation and then on the way out, after realising it was a bad situation, I kicked a fresh turd cause I was so mad. (again, not literally, although, that might have been a better idea in hindsight) My advise in this circumstance is to stay indoors that day until you have calmed yourself down. I’ll leave you with another quote from Truman : A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who ...

Rule No.59 - If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.

"Bull", meaning nonsense, dates from the 17th century, while the term "bull*&$*" has been used as early as 1915 in American slang , and came into popular usage only during World War II . The word "bull" itself may have derived from the Old French boul meaning "fraud, deceit" (Oxford English Dictionary). The term "horse*&$*" is a near synonym. Worthy of note is the South African English equivalent "bull dust". Few corresponding terms exist in other languages, with the significant exception of German Bockmist , literally "billy-goat *&%*". Funny, Suze Original and I were talking about this the other day. She went for an interview and we were laughing cause we both do the same thing. They ask you a simple question that could be answered in a line or two but we both start elaborating so much trying to make a good impression that what started as "My favorite hobby is... right to.. and that's why I...

Rule No.6 - Don't panic

Panic is a sudden sensation of fear which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic f ight-or-flight reaction. It also rhymes with manic and tannic. Perfect example of when to not panic and then when to start panicking. My very first night in my new flat here in Cape Town, I was woken up by my curtain being opened from the outside. Odd, first of all, because I live on the first floor, and second of all, because there was a man, well boy, suddenly staring at me from my window. A little shocked and confused, but not panicked, I squinted through sleepy eyes and said "hello". He looked at me, a little confused as well and greeted back. Then I asked him what he was up to at my window so early in the morning. "Washing your windows", was his reply. Okay, so it's Monday morning, my first night in this complex, maybe Monday morning is washing...

Chasing Noodles

Search This Blog