Hotel Critic

I'm going on my third week in a row of being on the road. Drinking, eating, and no exercise has driven me to this point. Now, I'm laying in sheets that don't compare to the Westin's white fluffy heavenly bedding, yet I'm here with a refreshed outlook. I'm committing to new minimum standards, 1. eating vegetarian, and 2. at least 20 minutes of exercise a day.

On my flight to Atlanta tonight I sat next to a self proclaimed Schizophrenic. According to http://counsellingresource.com, symptoms include:

- a Major Depressive Episode,
- a Manic Episode, or
- a Mixed Episode
- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
- grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
- negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition

Only one symptom is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person's behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other."

She told me many things about her life including deaths in her family, how she found her birth mother since she was adopted, her marriage, her divorce, her illness, her age, her and her boyfriend's income, her smoking addiction and recovery habits, her religious views, and her plans to move west. At the end of the conversation (which I had to preemptively cut off since I think she would have enjoyed talking with me all night) she reached over and put her hand on my arm and said in an asking way, "at some point in your life, accept God... and make it soon. I like you, I want to see you in Heaven."

Her plea for me to follow God didn't go far but I did relate to her in the sense that she believes in something strongly, and I believe in other things strongly. These values, different for everyone, form the foundation of our lives, our balance, and serenity. For me, I believe in all parts equal. The parts that I believe must be strong for a person to feel whole, in not such an exact way, are love, eating, health, exercise, work, inspiration and stimulation. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I believe in spirituality in an undefined way.

I'm not upset that she asked me to follow God. I could easily ask someone to eat Vegetarian. I ask people to join me to compete in triathlon events all the time. The point being, people spread news about the things they care about most.

Meanwhile, I'm going to further my following of Vegetarianism tonight by reading China Study, and suggest that you read it too ;-)