partnership for a drug-free sainttoad: day 1

well, color me surprised.

yesterday afternoon I was pretty convinced that the drug-free-ness was doomed and I'd be retching up bucketfulls of acid by this morning. as it happens, sipping my coffee and fighting off a slight hangover, I'm happy to be drug-free! ha ha ha.

anyhow, nothing. whatever hints of GERD tormented me yesterday afternoon have vanished. I may actually have won this time.

in my life, I have been heavily influenced, directly or indirectly, by sun-tzu's art of war. the master says:

22. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.

Here, he is speaking of the game of life. if the general sets his initial conditions just right, then the battle will naturally, inexorably, without challenge or further direction, unfold in his favor, as unstoppable and mindlessly as a log rolling down a hill.

and so it is in my own life. i strive to set up initial conditions such that even despite the weaknesses and resistance of my future self, my goals will be accomplished, often despite myself.

today, i can no more not-ride than i could not-breathe. and so, this weekend, my weight will decrease by another pound, and my acid reflux will fade further into dim memory. because of the way i have organized things, there is no other course for me, without significant effort.