A week has passed since I committed to writing what my mind wasn't trying to think about - and that is taking on Ocsober.
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Making commitments can be a confusing process, as our PM knows well with things like the Glasgow climate summit and French submarine contracts.
But sixteen days in and I'm doing fine.
Or not doing, as the case may be with Ocsober, but I try not to dwell on that.
Because dwelling is a funny thing.
You need to do it to get things done, but you don't need to overdo it otherwise you mightn't get those things done that need doing.
Or in the case of Ocsober, those things that don't need doing.
Like succumbing to temptation.
Dwell on this too long and you could easily undermine the entire mission, which is to deny yourself - literally and possibly spiritually.
It's actually better to deny you're denying yourself, because the less you acknowledge what you're doing, the more likely you are to do it.
That's what's kept my Ocsober ship on an even keel thus far, and as morally ambiguous as it sounds, it goes to the heart of why it's important that you shouldn't dwell on things too much in order to get things done, and/or not done.
It's called mindset. Or maybe, remindset.
As in remind yourself that bad habits are a thing of the past now that you're eating salads every day, over-compensating on multiple fronts and thinking about getting your bloods done at the end of the month.
If ever there was a chance to get some positive pathology back it would surely be after alcohol Ramadan.
Yes, I might be deluding myself.
At the same time, I've come to understand that deluding myself may well be the key to navigating not only Ocsober but also life.
Abstinence brings such thoughts into exquisite focus as you reach for another glass of water.
I haven't been this hydrated since I learned to swim, and only then because I nearly drowned.
But as you strive to bring more pulses into your diet, the concern is that it's come at the cost of a social heartbeat.
It certainly felt that way peering out from behind the venetians this week at NSW hitting the collective pub to celebrate freedom day.
To be fair, with the healthy lifestyle and all, my heartbeat's probably never been stronger, even if it's only my arteries hearing it.
But why rush out and catch Covid just yet?
Ocsober freedom day will come at the end of Ocsober. Or will it? Or rather should it?
Ocsober could well extend into Ocvember and Ocember if I dwell hard enough on the puritan I'm becoming.
Tantric sobriety could well be the new normal they keep talking about.
I'll try not to dwell on that too much just yet either, because experience suggests that when it comes to Ocsober, it's all things in moderation, including moderation, eventually.
