Mental Blocks and Filters

Just a warning, if my writing seems sporadic or less engaged, it is only because I'm on vacation with my family. I'll be back to consistency soon!

Day 205: A Twenty-Four-Hour Experiment

"[...] if I were to ask you to go for twenty-four hours without drinking any alcohol, and you said that you couldn't, that would mean you were an alcoholic. And if you couldn't go for twenty-four hours without smoking a cigarette, that would mean that you were addicted to nicotine. And if you couldn't go for twenty-four hours without speaking unkindly about or to another, that means you've lost control over your mouth, and regaining such control will require vigilance." (294)

I took this challenge upon myself and from 1 am on Friday morning to 1 am on Saturday morning, I did my best to speak ill of/to absolutely no one. I did fairly well: my goal was always in mind and I did end up filtering myself a couple times. I think I did lose it once though, when I got on the highway and was behind a car going only 40 miles per hour; I shouted (in the privacy of my own car) "you're not even going the speed limit!" but I think that was my only slip up.

Part of the challenge is not only to speak no ill but also to imply no ill whether through gestures, body language, or other actions. I discovered the part about implications on my own when I was talking to one person who is not a fan of another person even though I get along with both of them individually. 

In the end, I found this challenge very rewarding and would like to incorporate it more often into my life. Having control over my mouth is something very important to me and I believe I can always improve.

"It is not within everyone's power to be beautiful, but all of us can make sure that the words that come out of our mouths are." (295)

Day 206: Don't Bear a Grudge

I cannot think of a more apt way to phrase today's section than a quote taken from a recovering alcoholic treated by Rabbi Abraham Twerski: "Carrying resentments is like letting someone whom you don't like live inside your head rent-free."

Day 207: Picking Up Stumbling Blocks

Stumbling blocks come in all shapes and sizes: they aren't necessarily only things that might cause a person to stumble. In this case, stumbling blocks are anything that could cause damage to another person or is, simply put, litter.

Just like the Boy Scouts, we should "leave no trace": throw away litter, stamp out lit cigarettes, stop ourselves from littering in the first place.