20200106 S(L)AVERS for MONDAY

I'm adding an "L" to my title; the L will come 2nd - and stands for 3 things:  LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, in no particular order.

SILENCE

Tried to silence my brain for 70 seconds; not too successful, but at least I tried to focus on the counting to pass the 70 seconds.

LLL

LOVE, LAUGH, LIVE

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
5. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
6. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
7. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
8. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
9. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
10. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.

Also said aloud for 70 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

175 by 1/31/20

Weighed in at 188.0 this morning.  13 pounds to go; that's 13/26= 0.5 pounds per day.

(Yesterday, I was at 189.2, and today 188.0, so lost 1.2 pounds in 24 hours.)

(YAY!)

EXERCISE

Did my full Base-70 routine for Monday 1/6/20:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. push-ups 70

The push-ups were not all that hard to do.  I'm surprised because I woke up at about 2 am (after only 4 hours of sleep), and then slept on and off until around 7.  I thought I'd struggle more, but I did them without too much struggle!  Perhaps I can attribute this to my consistency over the past 2 weeks or so.

READING, WRITING

Read for 70 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says, and I quote directly here, because this is very helpful to me:

Of course, differences in natural abilities also play a role in the formation of social distinctions.  But such diversities of aptitudes and character are usually mediated through imagined hierarchies. This happens in two important ways.

First and foremost, most abilities have to be nurtured and developed. Even if somebody is born with a particular talent, that talent will usually remain latent if it is not fostered, honed, and exercised.  Not all people get the same chance to cultivate and refine their abilities.  Whether or not they have such an opportunity will usually depend on their place within their society's imagined hierarchy.

Harari then gives an example from fiction:  Harry Potter, who was raised among "regular people," and who took "7 volumes of Harry Potter books" to become his fully developed self.

Second, even if people belonging to different classes develop exactly the same abilities, they are unlikely to enjoy equal success because they will have to play the game by different rules. If, in British-ruled India, an Untouchable, a Brahmin, a Catholic Irishman and a Protestant Englishman had somehow developed the same business acumen, they still would not have had the same chance of becoming rich.  The economic game was rigged by restrictions and unofficial glass ceilings.

I'm glad to have read this section, since I often wonder how it is that people end up in various "metiers" with varying degrees of success.  It's both nature and nuture, I suppose, just like being gay.

Read for 70 seconds in YOU ARE A WRITER by Jeff Goins.  He says that becoming a writer only requires that I simply believe I already AM a writer, and then start acting like one.

He also adds that he can provide me with a unique pathway to it, and for this reason he has written the book.

***************

David's surgery is today; perhaps the real D-DAY is "only a day away."  At least, that's what Michael's last email said.

We'll see.