A Change in Habits

I was going to quote William James on the importance of habits, but I cannot find the quote I had been told was his. Interesting, how we go on doing things on assumptions without questioning them. I can't tell you how many years I have used the incorrect quote to motivate me to change. In short, our habits have a profound influence on what we do with our lives. If you can get into a good habit of exercise, eating right and getting enough sleep, you will have a much easier time with old age, when these things become requirements for health. If you come home and sit in front of the TV every night, it is very easy to let work pile up and lose energy for life. Taking for granted the opinions of the media and not researching what is going on in government from a wide variety of sources would lead one to become passive and accept that things have to be a certain way. The only certainty in life is that things are changing at this moment and if you are not changing, you will have a rude awakening at some point. I was smug when I discovered the joy of a budget and not overspending my teacher's income. I thought my credit would be safe because, after all, I had not missed payments or defaulted on anything. Then the economic crash shocked the world, and I realized that there was no way I could pay off my house if I had to, no way I could pay for my mother's nursing home if I had to, no way I could remain a homeowner if the banks crashed. As it is, the government keeps overlooking the fact that inflation is not at zero. If prices remain the same and salaries fall, that is a clear picture of inflation for all those of us with less income than we need. Yet I take heart in the perseverance of my students. Although they struggle to learn and relearn basic skills, I know God will not desert them, so God will probably take care of me as well. It would be sad to see democracy become a thing of the past, though. Have you read something about the health care bill this week? Do you know what it is they are voting for? How it will be paid for? Whether the monopoly laws will be changed to include insurance companies? Don't just vote, write, call, study, discuss. This is your country.