Things go up and things go down, it’s as simple as that.

Unknown author

Yes, but my answer to that is, “When things go up, how long are they going to stay up, and when things are down, what can we do to make them go up?”

Life is way, way too complicated. Nothing simple about it.

But sages say, “Simplicity is the key to living well and successfully.”

I say, to quote and old and reliable truism, “Moderation is the key.”

Living too simply, you miss out on a lot. Living with moderation is a better goal. But this is all just an academic exercise for me, for while I try, for example, to eat in moderation foods that are delicious but bad for me in excess, I can only imagine what it’s like to truly enjoy them in strict moderation, not according to the seemingly reasonable and healthy mind tricks I play on myself after I get home from the grocery store with donuts, cakes, cookies or pie.

I’ll have a little portion of this and a slightly larger portion of that. After all, it says “no trans fats” and also the sugar intake is minimized when you stick to little portions spread out over days, sometimes a week or more, until the remaining donuts are stale, which makes me happy because I can then throw them away. Wasting money? Yes, but it’s “junk food,” however you define it.

However, I have pretty high standards for this “junk” food, and it’s not rocket science. Buy the more expensive stuff such as a big tin of Belgian chocolate cookies at Costco, sadly available only in the fall and Christmas season. Or, order from Amazon, when it’s not available for half the price at Costco, a huge, round tin of David’s Butter Pecan Melt cookies; or even savor small Cake King individually wrapped cinnamon crumble cakes , perfect for coffee. One is more than enough . They’re super sweet.

Continuously eating small portions of processed foods like the aforementioned treats, as well as my all-time favorite snack food, potato chips, makes sense psychologically, and it’s far better than pigging out on a whole bag of Oreos, as incredibly some people actually do. But is moderation, as I view it, a healthier alternative to stopping sugar consumption completely? No, that’s why there’s stevia and monk fruit natural sugar substitutes. Too bad most everything you buy at the store that’s sweet doesn’t have those natural, non-sugar substitute ms, but instead contain sugar or corn sweetener. Corn sweetener is cheap because our farmers grow huge amounts of corn to feed millions of cattle to supply the burger chains and meat counters.

Now to tackle exercise. I’m an inveterate walker, but is that too much “moderation” when I should be doing more strenuous aerobic exercises? Or lifting 5-pound weights to strengthen my arm muscles, after which do a few hand grips on that thing you exercise your hands on? Simple enough. But for all this to really help, I know I have to establish some routine, not just keep the grip on top of some books on the coffee table where I’ll be more likely to see it. Then there’s the whole conundrum about what is safe strenuous exercise of any kind for oldsters? Anything approaching strenuous aerobic exercise makes me very nervous about stress to the heart leading to suddenly dropping dead. Scary.

As always, time will tell. I’ve made it to 71 so far, walking daily and rather briskly everywhere I go to the point where I am a borderline menace with a cart whizzing down the wide aisles at Costco. Somewhat maniacally I swiftly reach the far corners of the store where crafty merchandizing engineers display the huge multi-pack, select-a-size packs of paper towels, which take up the entire trunk in my car, and which sadly, I can’t seem to do without.

Next, more about my daily exercise walks. Too moderate? These would probably reach a certain level of useful aerobic activity but I stop too often to take photos, which I do every day. Okay, 15 minutes of actual walking. Regardless, I feel better if it’s either ten minutes or 50 minutes. But life doesn’t hold simple answers. What is best? What is harmful? What should I avoid doing? What should I try to do more of? Is moderation again the key to everything? But “moderation” itself has a way of getting complicated, and not just because we make it that way. It just is!

Unfortunately, in most aspects of my life, it’s a constant struggle between moderation and excess. Buying more books than I can ever read; looking for bargain trinkets and knick -knacks, and what-nots at the discount stores, and hauling stuff home when there’s no more room to put any of it. Also, staying up all night and withdrawing into myself to an extreme degree, and actually enjoying it, when I know it’s supposedly not that good for my mental health. But would I want it any other way? Not really. It’s all I’ve ever known, for the most part, despite the fact that “experts” are always telling us it’s not good to spend too much time alone. It all depends.

So, I’m envious of people who seem to have achieved a balance among all the competing desires, needs, habits, including exercise and diet, as well as all the routines of daily life. However, when you think about it, do you know anyone who has achieved that and stuck with it over the long haul? I certainly don’t.