One small step after the other

This lunch time was kind of odd.  After going a week of making my own sandwiches I lunched at a Chinese.  It felt like I should of been eating sandwiches again.  Then I began wondering whether making your own is cheaper than purchasing.  For some supermarkets have special deals where a sarney, crisps and a drink can be purchased at the same time for a set price.  My mental calculator began adding up the sums.  If I make my own I get more sandwiches, rather than a packet of crisps I usually have a yogurt then because I have a loaf of bread the same loaf can be used to make toast in the morning for breakfast.  Further if I have cheese sometimes this has a dual use and is eaten in the evening.  So the sandwich filling doesn't just work for lunch, it spreads itself about.  In addition when I make my own sandwiches I've been trying not to hit the pub.  The cost of a pint also has to be offset as another expense not added but rather taken away.  Finally I wondered how come I am watching these small expenses, and it's simple, these little expenses taken over a week mount up. It's a recession and belts have to be pulled tighter than allowed to expand.  Even being employed in a stable job for a long time may come to an end.  It's a matter of time.  On the plus side, my belt may actually get tighter and then my trousers will not feel so uncomfortable.  I  hope so.

This morning I got up early and had a walk before heading off to the Fish Factory.  The idea in my mind was to get the exercise and so burn off calories and get healthier.  The both go hand in hand.  The sun was out and it was hot.  It didn't take long before I was building up a sweat.  However, it was enjoyable.  I was thinking to myself as I walked round the artificial lake in the middle of a urban mulitcomplex 1960s estate how if I could keep calm knowing there was a need to get off to work but not stress about it, I would be in better control of myself.  Because stress is to a degree self expectations.  What I wanted was not so much being controlled by events but rather controlling them.  Perhaps this is the ultimate self realisation, which is being able to wilfully choose how to react and not react.  It's happening a lot, or rather I'm being more and more conscious of it.  People and events can control how we react, refusing to be just a reactive mechanism, staying calm, thinking first is tough, very tough, but it also emotionally and psychologically maturing.  I'm not a saint, I just can't do it at times, but I am working on it.  Just like I'm continually working on my waist line.  A little bit at a time.

Which reminds me of a saying I once heard from a colleague while taking evening classes.  How do you eat an elephant?  A little bit at a time.