Patience is a Virtue

Hope springs eternal as I know that sooner than later a “professional” and thus, the media, will see “the light” and support, endorse and encourage a seemingly corrupt, fattening or distorted habit.  If I have the patience and perseverance to hold tightly to my “tendencies”, my perceived wrongs will be righted and joyful satisfaction will reign supreme.

Just this past week the French have come to the realization that a little snooze during the day may be what can see you through.  Paris, France (CNSNews.com) - The French enjoy a 35-hour work week and a minimum five weeks of annual vacation, but the health minister is promoting a study into the wisdom of taking naps at work as part of an effort to treat sleep disorders, and some companies are already carrying out experiments, reporting positive results.

This is from people who enjoy a good glass of wine at lunch and dinner – merely for digestive purposes – I believe that we should embrace their findings.  They seem to have it on the ball and know their bodies’ needs pretty well.  I am a believer and will be jumping on this one immediately.  Please don’t call me from 1 to 3PM, starting today.

Then there was the huge whiplash that occurred when (duh) they found that chocolate was actually good for you.  I have sworn for years that chocolate is one of the basic food groups and if not consumed daily could result in high levels of PMS and other unforgiving traits in women.  This would not be a pretty sight.

When cosseting in your indulgence and knowing that chocolate is the “food of the gods” feel good that you are helping yourself and keep in mind “Chocolate has exceptional nutritional qualities, being a high energy food in a small volume. It not only contains carbohydrates, fats, and vegetable proteins, but also has large quantities of potassium and magnesium, some calcium and sodium, and vitamins A1, B1, B2, D, and E.” I am good with this, except for the “small volume” part…

Back to the French.  They seem to have taken their lumps lately, but let us give credit where credit is due.  Discerning that it can’t be because of mass consumption of fresh baguettes (although if we hold out, we may get the go ahead that there is actual medicinal validation for indulging in those delicious odes to life), wine (in moderate amounts) has been the focus of the study that showed fermented grapes contain the vitamins A, B and C, as well as 13 minerals essential to human life. It has also been hypothesized that “wine” could protect the cardiovascular system.  This very well researched investigation concluded: “France has one of the lowest death rates from heart disease in the industrialized western world, despite the French habits of smoking, eating fatty foods and shunning exercise”.

This shouldn’t have been such a revelation.  Ancient cultures recognized wine's virtues as a medicine and an antiseptic.  A medical prescription based on wine has been found on an Egyptian papyrus.  From Homer's time until recently, wine was used to disinfect wounds.  Hippocrates prescribed it as a diuretic and to calm a fever.  I have always liked history, seems to be something about it that dares repeating now and again.  And knowing full well that “only the Japanese, with their low-fat diet of fish and rice, had a lower rate of heart disease”, I am going with the wine route for now.

After your midday glass of wine, your first daily requirement of chocolate and grabbing a few winks of beauty rest, ponder the moral of the story, “be patient, good things come to those who wait”.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-