Rewards

I write to help me think, and I’ve been sitting here thinking for the past 30-40 minutes about what to write about tonight, but the only thing worth writing about, I thought, was about what I was thinking. No rhyme or reason to it. Just random thoughts.

I’ve been thinking about my Commonplace Books again, and a few days ago I had a strong desire to start one after reading a paragraph on a website from an author talking about another author’s book, and I copied it down because I thought it was brilliant. The writer compared the Commonplace Book to Sampling, which is common in Hip-Hop music. That analogy blew my mind. That’s exactly what’s going on, and I really wanted to start that because that’s something I understood completely. Alas, I haven’t done anything like that, but I think my thoughts and actions are pointed in that direction. Thirty-five days to go.

I finished reading Inherent Vice yesterday, and I began to read Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, and I only read the first 30 pages or so, but I already love the writing style. It’s beautiful. Sordid. Harsh. Blunt. It’s beautiful. In fact, I’ve been doing a lot more reading recently, enough to compel me to leave my Mac on my desk and far away from my couch, where I’ve been snuggling up with my iPad and the most recent copy of the New Yorker. And during commercial breaks on Hulu, I’ve been reading snippets of saved Instapaper articles, sorta how people do pushups during commercial breaks to get into shape, but for my mind instead. I’m doing Insanity; I don’t need to get into shape. Which reminds me, I’ve lost a pound in the past week, putting me at 176.4 lbs, which is just a pound away from where I think I should be. If I continue to lose weight, a few more pounds at least, I’ll be happy.

Another thing that has made me happy is meditation, and today, I finished the ten day Headspace trial, and I don’t think I’m going to pay the $95 yearly membership fee to continue with it. I’ve been meditating for years, and all I needed was a jolt to get me back into it. I will try meditating like I used to tomorrow, and if after a month or so I feel compelled to return to Headspace, then I’ll consider paying that fee. Until then, I’m focused on saving money, paying down my debt, and enjoying all that I have now.

Which is going to be hard since I want to buy a lot more kitchen supplies. Individually, they’re not that much. $8-12 a piece for most of the tools I want, but I want a bunch of them, so all together, it’s going to be expensive. But I had my regular dinner tonight, one that I’ve always found tasty and wholesome, and I found it boring. I like cooking and trying new things and mastering simple recipes. A little effort is better than no effort because of the rewards, and isn’t that a good metaphor for life?