The other day I was in my car for several hours and instead of multi tasking on the phone, or my usual, listening to books on tape or music, I turned off all stimulus and checked out the sites. Driving through the more populated areas I repeatedly saw fast food restaurants. This, of course, is of no shock to most of us as we have become conditioned to seeing the Golden Arches, big buckets of fried food advertisements and burger billboards everywhere. These have been around for decades. What I am noticing now which haven’t seen around for decades are dialysis clinics, cancer treatment centers, stores selling wheelchairs and other walking devices and Pharmacies to fill up prescriptions…fast.
I had to wonder “would we need these stores and clinics if decades ago we ate from farmer’s markets, fruit and vegetable stands and other more natural food options”?
Today, we are blessed in so many ways to have something on every corner to grab. We have choices. We can veer to the right and head in to a grab and go stop or drive 2 mi down the road (slightly inconvenient) and get something more wholesome. Is the 2 mile drive worth the extra 5 minutes to ward of potential clinic visits in a decade from now? How inconvenient is it to take medications and leave activities because our blood pressure is too high or we can’t regulate our bodies’ temperature well due to diabetes? One has to wonder…or at least be aware of the chain of events which could (maybe…maybe not) occur if we continually choose Plan A.
My brain becomes curious with these questions. We truly can get numb to the devastating possibilities when we get rushed.
Take a break from your stimulus next time you drive. Could be life changing.