Musings of Rodos

I am not one for finishing things. It drives my wife a little spare but I think she knows I always have good intentions. I am okay at work, its just around home that it mainly occurs.

Knowing this my mind was drawn to that well worn phrase about habits taking 21 days to form. But I wondered if this was just a myth or something real.

A quick search on the Internet revealed many statements very close to the following.

Research shows that in order for any behavior or action to become automatic or routine, it must be done daily over a period of twenty-one consecutive days.

However for all of the articles, stories and anicodotes which made this claim not a single one gave reference to that Research. I think they are just all making it up! Maybe making this claim is just a habit which people can't break.

Yes, it seems that the book of the moment is Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code'.

I have not read it yet, I have way to many other books sitting on my stack of books to start reading. However I want to get to it soon as so many people I meet seem to have read it.

The strange thing is the impact this book has on many people. For some its quite a revelation. However this may be a book that has gone the way of Internet information; so check your facts before you believe everything you read. After all the book is found in the fiction section.

It surprises people that when they look up some of the simple elements of the story which you can verify, that there is some poetic license in use, such as the painting of the last supper. In this light, a lot of the other theories that the book puts forward look even more like mere theories rather than fact.

An interesting response to some of the claims about scripture in the book can be found in this article by Chadd Hafer.

Maybe I will get to the book soon and I can have something I can comment on from first hand experience. Until then I will have to leave it up to others.

Well after a year in the wilderness there is another post! Will it be another year before the next one? Will there be a barren landscape for another 12 months. Watch this space.

Pondering for the day ... What encourages you?

Listening to the radio today I heard a reading from the memoirs of Danny Furlong entitled Flipside. Danny suffered a major stroke and lost the use of most of his body, he is unable to speak but has all of his mental faculties.

He described how when he returned home from hospital his wife had to perform every basic function for him. Despite being so thankfull for this, the emtion of it would turn him to tears. Not being able to deal with the emotions Danny simply blocked them out, and in doing so, offered no thanks or gratitude to his wife. Within a year their mariage had broken apart.

This caused me to pause and consider what dealings we have with people in our lives, where we fail to express our thanks or gratitude.

In 1 Timothy 6:18 the ageing apostle Paul is writing to his younger charge Timothy giving him advise as he lead the Church at Ephesus. He says about the rich, that they are "to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share". Here Paul is talking about material wealth and how it should not be hoarded but used to do good.

Reading this verse and hearing Danny's story made me think; How often are we geneorous with our tounge (as opposed to our posessions)? I certainly know that I am often not thankful for those around me. Listening to Danny's experience is a reminder of just how important this can be.

I wonder what the world record is for starting things is? Will this be the start of yet another thing? Will interest wain within hours or days? Will terrible spelling prevail? Only time will tell.