One “sad” mug?
Filly held the orange mug half full of coffee and cream cupped in her two hands (no pun intended lol). It was warm from getting zapped in the microwave. Filly knew about such things because she had a microwave and learned that some cups, when microwaved, heat up nicely while others do not. (giving a nod to all the things Jack “knows” about in his books that have to do with tech lol)
It was for sure THIS TIME, her last cup of coffee. Yup, she was giving up that addiction. She was switching to ovaltine in hot milk as her morning go to. Today was her last bit of coffee.
It was only a “bit” of coffee because she was only drinking a half cup, and that was because she had been drinking it the day before and had not finished it. YESTERDAY was supposed to be her last day of coffee and it had not happened. She had experienced a caffeine withdrawal headache in the afternoon and had succumbed and made a cup of coffee and drank half.
She had saved the rest. Her hubby thought that reheating coffee from the day before was gross. Filly thought it was just fine…lol. NOT very trendy or kool or exciting but hey, she was fine with it.
Old habits die slowly she thought. Coffee was just …sort of “cozy”. She could snuggle up to a cup, all orange and warm, and type on a story….. and then have to go to the potty …. and then have a feeling of being wired. (haha). But Filly was ready to be free…free of HAVING to have coffee to function.
If she were honest with herself, not all the things that went with coffee were fun. She had to remind herself of the negative things so that the addiction removal process would be painless. Or at least LESS painful. She decided to make a list.
Pros
Coffee helped her run more in her workouts
Coffee was very few calories and filling
Coffee was warm and cozy
Coffee was easy to get as coffee shops were all over
Coffee smelled good
As she was writing this Filly was realizing that she was giving “power” to something that had no power because it was inanimate. Coffee, like a rock or a stone, had no power in and of itself.
Cons
Coffee caused headaches if a person stopped drinking it
Not drinking coffee sometimes could lead to increased soda or sweet tea consumption. (also have caffeine)
Coffee could cause dehydration and drinking water was healthier.
Coffee needed sweeteners and fake sugars were not good for anyone.
Coffee was not free and made a person feel too wired sometimes
Coffee made a person’s teeth look brown.
Coffee was getting expensive.
Coffee stays in the body a long amount of time, and inhibits iron absorption and low iron can make a person feel tired.
Coffee made a person have to run to the potty. (wait what? Is that a pro or a con lol) Nobody wants to be “stopped up” lol.
Again, If it has positive power, it also has negative power. The secret, Filly realized was in understanding that the only power it had either positive or negative, was a belief that she held. Beliefs could change.
WHAT IS MY Alternative?
Water is free and healthier
Water helps with weight loss and feeling full
Milk with ovaltine supplies protein and tasted good…even better than coffee.
Milk with ovaltine is warm and cozy and the ovaltine had vitamins…still can use the orange cup.
Water and milk are not addictive and are not diuretics so drinking them would ensure good hydration.
Solution
Filly could turn around her beliefs. She could believe that coffee was not necessary for success just like the Astro’s could believe that their team had to reorganize in order to be successful. IT simply was not true. She could be a winner with out coffee…and the astros team could also be a winner in spite of the odds against them. Because of the power of belief in good.
She would choose to now drink Milk with ovaltine or…
Water
Not a solution
Trading one problem for another was not what Filly hoped to do. With the right thoughts in her head, she could eliminate all the negative choices from her experience.
coffee, sweet ice tea, coke, diet coke, alcohol were on the elimination list. (Filly did not drink alcohol anyway but thought she should put this in for people who put that stuff in their soda)
Strategies
Do not buy the addictive products so you do not have to look at them. Have fun container for water. Get enough sleep so you still want to run. Milk is really delicious when ice cold so keep milk cold. Whole milk tastes better than low fat milk. Milk has so many good things in it that have not even been discovered yet. =)
As she was writing, Filly thought of the old saying “why buy the cow if the milk is free”.
The “milk” was something good, something that was wanted. In old fairy tales, the farmer kept a cow so he could have the milk. But in society, the “milk” was being compared to the relationship that a woman had with a man and how women who gave it up without having a farmer, were like wild cows. No one was going to care if they got fed or if their babies were taken care of.
Filly thought about how if marriage was like a contract, just like making a purchase was a contract, it provided a legal framework that supported the good of both parties entering into the contract.
Giving something for free…like the “milk” was certainly a personal choice, that could be made, but if that choice led to a person wanting the rest of society to “take care of” the cow and the cow babies, well hmmm…that does not seem fair to society because they did not “buy that cow” either. And they certainly did not get any milk for free either.
In the analogy, “milk” had a definite value. And for Filly it did too…because it was natural but society was trying to replace the traditional with the “progressive” which was not necessarily a good choice.
Filly thought that the people who wanted to give their “milk” for free, needed to accept the consequence of their own actions. Those who did not have to have any consequences, would keep giving the milk away, and putting an increased burden on society that belonged on the shoulders of the person taking the “milk”. That is what Filly thought.
But in her world, whole cow milk was just a wholesome drink she enjoyed with ovaltine (two scoops), and it was going to help her stop drinking coffee, tea and diet coke. Filly felt sure she would be all the better for it and then she could work on her next goal of increased flexibility…possibly with Pilates…possibly with yoga. Should be interesting.
Her orange mug would not be sad…but her own face (as a mug) might have been sad to have to stop drinking coffee until she realized that it was a plus not a negative.. Imprisoned by an addiction to coffee was gonna cause the coffee to have a mug shot taken (LOL) (being imprisoned by an addiction)
Filly did not have a mug shot. She had a milk mustache. Thanks milk.