Um… it went away

Where does the time go?  Almost a month since I last posted and I was determined to do so. At that moment in time.

A lot of our failures revolve around our inability to predict our own future behaviour. Daniel Ariely, the behavioural economist writes about this in an entertainingly erudite way. The film 'Willow' gives a pungent pop culture example when Joanne Whalley asks Val Kilmer, "What happened to 'Without you I dwell in outer darkness'?" and he replies, bemused, "Um… it went away."

At the time I am confronted by my neglected blog, I am 110% determined to post daily even while travelling in another country. This determination is completely divorced from a strategy to accomplish that outcome.  Apparently the good intention will be enough balm to get me to sleep tonight, and I'll deal with the inevitable guilt… later...

Most of the time we're not as conscious of our own patterns of thought as this. So I wasn't lying when I intend to write every day. It's just that a vague intention, on it's own, isn't worth much.  Many years ago, when I was a young bride, Mr O came home from work and told me that he had meant to buy me flowers, but for one reason or another had not done so. I pointed out that while one often gets points-for-trying this was NOT one of those situations. I recall saying:  "Do it or don't do it, but don't tell me what you would have done if only you'd cared enough to make it happen. Which you didn't. Apparently."

Possibly you, dear reader, are not as desirous of my prose as I was of those flowers, but I suspect roughly the same sentiment covers both situations. On which note, I will go away. Until the next time….