Cleaning the Fridge

"Only true friends go straight to your refrigerator when they go to your house."  - Anonymous

The last task before hitting the road on my cross-country road trip was cleaning out the refrigerator.  I've been procrastinating this for quite a while, but leaving town for September is not exactly like taking a day trip.  The chicken, the cheese, the vegetables, would all decompose in the weeks I'll be away.  And so I began.  Almost everything had to go.  Cleaning the fridge is like clearing space for something new, maybe a new way of eating and opening up to trying new foods and recipes.  When I return, I can  make considered choices as to what goes in the fridge.

I see this cross-country drive that began today as clearing space for something new as well.  It is a chance to examine my own thoughts and patterns, clearing out those that are not useful, and opening up to trying new foods and recipes in my life.  This includes examining closely held beliefs and values, and being willing to shift priorities.  Over two thousand years ago, Socrates is attributed as saying, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  Socrates didn't have a refrigerator, but I'm guessing he would see the parallels in examining what goes into the fridge and examining what goes into our lives.

Travel Log - September 2, 2014

Departed Fort Walton Beach, Florida approximately 4:00 PM

Arrived in Demopolis, Alabama approximately 7:40 PM

205 miles

 I've been on these roads so many times before,

Only the weather and presence or absence of company changes.

I noticed my thoughts are still flitting back and forth 

To various tasks I want to accomplish while on this trip.

The goal of mindfully noticing just what is present externally

Was usurped today by abstract lists and "must remember this"

Driving my thoughts and attention like racehorses.