It was intoxicating to see OJ Simpson run to glory. His football legend was drained, however, by criminal and civil cases that squeezed him dry. Drunk with money and status, if not power, he fumbled a golden opportunity for happiness.
Americans are good at addition but have a problem with subtraction. We think having alittle income allows us to ignore alot of debt. Currently, U.S. consumer debt is around a trillion dollars, but that's not stopping increased borrowing since the holiday surge in spending. Plenty of rainy days haven't encouraged rainy-day funds. It's easy to bite the hand that feeds you when you're living hand-to-mouth.
Life, though not easy, could be more manageable if we did some basic arithmetic. A visible reminder (on the refrigerator door?) of monthly expenses compared to income would challenge consumerism's version of the drunken binge. Deductions are only beneficial when planned and documented in a sober fashion. Do the math so you don't get juiced by toxic optimism. Look to designated drivers of the economy for safe passage in these stumbling, bumbling times.
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Or, see that the Kingdom belongs to the child-like.
In particular, I'm thinking of the pre-schooler who decided to count the number of pieces of fruit at snack-time. When her teacher realized that an opportunity to introduce a lesson in subtraction was possible, the fruit was eaten one piece at a time. Each bite was then subtracted from the remaining pieces.
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The child enthusiastically put piece after piece in her mouth to find out what the new total would be. When it came to the final piece of fruit being chewed, the teacher wanted to know what was left. After a big gulp, the child proudly announced, "Juice!".
Sometimes it's good to play with food for thought. Learn the discipline of subtraction to manage your consumption. Do the math before getting juiced on snacks that don't really fill you. If nothing else, stop and take a breather when you get to zero.
I bet it'll beat the big gulp, should you get a call from the collection agency.
