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On the Mark, Episode 21: All Good Things . . .
September 4, 2009
Hi Everybody,
This will be the final episode of “On the Mark.” Well, I should say the last one for this season of my life. Maybe someday it will be picked up again for another run, but I’m guessing the earliest would be sometime in 2010. But it could be never again.
Twenty two episodes is usually enough to make a season for network television shows, and it seems like a good number to stop on for me. Like with all episodic endeavors, there were a few brilliant ones, and also a dud or two. But hopefully the body of work was something that most of you enjoyed. If you ever want to read an old episode, or wish to share it with someone else, go to http://www.brainofmark.com.
Why have I decided to end it? Well, let’s just say that this week I decided to go on a fast -- to cleanse my body, and as well as my mind. Everybody should try it sometime. I wanted to go three whole days with nothing but water, but I could only make it to two. The pain and discomfort were unbearable at times. I kept asking God to please take it away from me, but I wasn’t strong enough to see it through for three days.
So instead now I’m just eating a small amount of fruit each day; so in essence it’s now turned into a fruit fast. I want to do the fruit fast for a total of three days. So if I make this new goal, I would have gone two days without food, and three days with just enough fruit to keep the edge off my stomach. And today, I feel really good. It’s like a fog has kind of lifted from a brain full of pizza and ice cream. I’m curious to see if I can make it through to the end.
What have I learned while going through this process?
Well, first off, be thankful to God that you have food everyday to eat. It’s something we take way too much for granted.
However, our bodies are designed to handle living with no or a little amount of food. After a few days, your body adjusts and can keep itself going for a long time. And there have been studies that show that a low caloric diet slows down your metabolism and can lead to a longer and healthier life. They’ve gotten rats and worms to live sometimes twice as long as normal by not feeding them so much.
Incidentally, when I started giving my fish in the fish tank less food every morning, I stopped losing fish. And some of my fish have lived longer than they are supposed to. Go figure.
So part of this goal of mine was to start eating healthier, as when I turned 40 I started noticing a feeling of being run down. Probably too many Big Macs and Cheese-Its being a single guy with nobody around to chide me into eating better.
Also through this fasting process, I decided that I need to refocus on some of the things that are most important to me. I won’t get into a long list of those things, but one thing in particular is my business. I’ve kind of been running it with a bit of contempt. I’ve grown complacent and tired with it, and lately frustrated with it because this wrecked economy has been impacting me financially.
So I need to focus on restoring it to better health, just like my body. Because my business feeds my family. Although it hasn’t made me rich, I have a nice quality of life from it. I can get my kids to and from school, and each day I choose what I want to do. That is obviously a blessing that most people do not have.
So in essence, my heart right now isn’t into the diversion of creative writing. I’ve decided to pull back from some other things, too. With always the option, of course, of picking them up again.
So I wish to thank everybody for reading for these 22 weeks; and especially, I appreciated the positive feedback I received from many of you. You have no idea how sometimes it kept me going.
If anything, that is one thing I wish to leave you with today: You have no idea how one comment of encouragement or positive feedback that you give can mean so much to someone else. It might be just that one second in time all week that makes them feel special and important. And it’s amazing how that one second can make the rest of the person’s week seem so much more peaceful, and their life worth living.
We all want to be loved and appreciated. And the best way to feel that way is to love and appreciate others.
So please keep encouraging each other, and just give positive energy to those you care about. And especially, give more positive energy to the ones you don’t.
I know on a busy day, some of you don’t have time to watch the video clips that I send. Well, please do me the honor, and try to take four minutes to watch this last video with me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNS4pV9Pls0
It’s all about LIFE! Now Go, and LIVE IT!
And with that, my friends, take care, and God Bless.
Your friend,
Mark
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