a reflection on "The Dude On the Cereal Box"

As any of you who regularly follow this blog now know, I'm a regular follower and avid reader of Australian blogger/writer, Sam de Brito's All Men Are Liars blog. In the past his blog entries have provided inspiration or a jumping off point for some of my mental meanderings.

He had such an entry today.

And while my "wilder days" were considerably tamer than Mr. de Brito's, I found I could still relate on some level to that switch being flipped. You go through a certain chunk of your life where you're "in the now." You either don't consider the consequences of the things you choose to put in your body, or you don't care. You live your life on fast food, booze, and usually some form of "tobacco" (whether it be actual tobacco, or "wacky tobacky"). Most people go through that phase in some extreme or another.

At some point you notice others your age are drinking less, eating healthier, and/or exercising more. Deep down inside you feel a desire to "be like them." Their healthier lifestyles are more attractive to you than your gluttony, sloth, and whichever other of the 7 deadlies are present in your lifestyle repertoire. Initially you don't know how to get "there"-- to the happy healthy glow they give off. You make excuses for not doing it and realize you're still a hamster on a wheel-- going through the motions but not getting anywhere.

Many never get off the wheel, some need a little trigger (isn't that an Elvis Costello song?) to be pulled or a little switch to be flipped in their lives. My switch came in the form of a baby girl-- a daughter I want to see grow up, whose life I want to be there to witness. I want to be around long enough to be a strong compass for her-- to give her life direction... and when she's old enough, impart the wisdom of the aforementioned Sam's book No Tattoos Before You're 30:What I'll Tell My Children.