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Dalton
Roberts |
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It is amazing how we unconsciously complicate our lives and sling ourselves into a strain. Jack Blanchard, one of my favorite musicians and writers, reminded me of this when I read his short piece “I Like The Easy Way.” Here it is: Laziness has been my inspiration. I became a musician to keep from getting a job. I do some of my best work while sitting still and looking out a window. I don’t sit on park benches any more because strangers come up and wave mirrors under my nose to see if I am breathing. I do a minimum of exercise to stay alive but I don’t like it very much. I admit I am proud of myself after I do it. I like hard-working folks (somebody has to get the paper and fix the car) but most of them look at me funny because I sleep through half of their day. I think energetic people are prejudiced against those of us who sleep late. I think I’m fairly healthy and look young for my age. I attribute my well being to things like these: I stay out of the sun and I don’t use an alarm clock. I never get indigestion from junk foods but I always get sick on health foods. I think if I stay away from doctors I’ll probably live longer. I smoked and drank my share in early life and I’ve retired from all that fun. It was too much work anyway. Guys who were looking for the easy way invented most work-saving devices. As long as I have a car I won’t jog. My car is not new but its’ paid for so I don’t have to work to make payments. I take little walks late at night so I don’t need a treadmill. I don’t wear out my body bouncing around a tennis court. That’s not my racket. I don’t recommend these practices to anybody else. They just seem to work for me. A wise man once said, “One way to gain respect without doing anything is to be an early riser.” There were two other wise men but they were busy. I like the easy way.” One thing that caught my attention in Jack’s words was what he said about quitting smoking and drinking because they are too much work. If you’re real good and lazy, that might help you drop those two time-consuming, money-gobbling habits. It made me look back over my life at how hard I worked at smoking and drinking. It was a strain. Always running out of cigarettes and driving out late at night to buy a pack. Reaching for them first thing in the morning and hunting all over the house for the last place I left them. Rushing out of a no-smoking restaurant to smoke when I really wanted to sit and talk. Drinking was the same way. I wrote a poem one time about being unhappy having to wait for happy hour so I could watch loneliness drink. Habits can grind the enjoyment of life out of us. Two acquaintances can’t wait every day to rush out to the poker machines. One is a good writer and has written almost nothing since he took up that habit. The other is a repairman who lost his business, not because of the money he spent but the time he devoted to this life-straining habit. I distinctly remember thinking when I quit smoking and drinking, “I cannot believe how much time and energy I wasted on such pointless activities.” Are we so desperate for little lifts and infinitesimal thrills that we create these habits with no thought for better, more interesting ways to invest our time? Our time is our life, you know. The easy way of living is to not choose self-strain. Jack’s little fun piece has got me sitting still, staring out the window thinking of other ways to make my life easy. You may write Dalton at DaltonRoberts@comcast.net or go to his website at www.daltonroberts.com. All his writings are available at www.IPSFeatures.com.
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