Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., Bantam Books, 2006, new editions available along with new resources. Check out Dr. Wansink’s website at mindlesseating.org. You can even get a free refrigerator magnet!
I can’t believe that I haven’t written about this book before now. There are later editions, but I made sure to use the cover image from the version I have because I love the use of the pitchfork and shovel as eating implements. Once you read this book (read this book!) you will never again think that we eat only because we’re hungry.
We’re always told to plan ahead, look to the future, and keep our eyes on the goal. For me, though, that’s pretty terrible advice. I tend to be like the guy in the picture. There I am, up on the ladder, gazing into the future, and my feet aren’t on the ground of the present. I can imagine myself having lots of speaking engagements, or selling lots of books, or whatever. I have what I would call goals, but I’m not very good at being sure that TODAY, right now, I’m doing what needs to be done that will move me along the way to the desired result. As I say in the chapter on “Motivations, Goals and Desires” in my book (see sidebar for ordering information), “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
You know the type of thing I’m talking about:
In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love by Joseph Luzzi, HarperCollins, 2015.
Burn and wear out for Thee. Don’t let me rust, or my life be a failure, dear Lord, for Thee.” Bessie F. Hatcher, 1957.
At 9:00 last night I told Jim that I was going to take a look at a documentary that was airing on our PBS station but that I thought I probably wouldn’t watch much of it, as it sounded pretty depressing. The title of the film was “
. . . what would you change?
I wrote last week about John Piper’s book 
What on earth is the significance of a mountain of mulch to human relationships? Just this: We drive over 16 miles, all the way to Franktown, to buy mulch and other landscaping supplies, passing two others, one less than four miles away and one about seven and a half. It’s a good half hour’s drive. But we refuse to patronize the other two, all because of the interactions (or lack thereof) we’ve had. As our former next-door neighbor and business consultant extraordinaire Walt Hogan used to say, it all comes down to relationships.