Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDXLII

I do the hardest part first when I work in my yard. It's what I call "weed-eating." When I get done with that part, I usually take a five-minute break to cool off a little before I get on the mower to finish the job. Sometimes, on the night before (when I think about it), I will put two Gatorades in the refrigerator so they'll be nice and cool for me the next morning. I'll drink one during that five-minute break time and another when my job is complete. I'll often think about those cool, refreshing beverages while I'm in the process of my toiling and sweating in the almost unbearable heat and humidity, and just that thought gives me the perseverance to stay with my task until it's done. Such was the case last week, but as I was thinking about how nice and cool that Gatorade was gonna be, another thought hit me: In some respects, we humans are a lot like that Gatorade. Let me explain. I keep several bottles of Gatorade on a shelf in my garage, and it gets hot in there. As a result, they're hot when I put them into the refrigerator. However, after spending just one night in the refrigerator, they're nice and cool for me when it's time to drink them. Why is that? It's because they adapt to the environment they're in, and it doesn't take them long. You see, last week I forgot about them the night before, and I didn't put them into the refrigerator until just before I started working. The first one I drank, during my five-minute break period, was cooler than it had been when I put it in the refrigerator, but it wasn't quite the way I like them. The second one, the one I drank at the end of my job, however, was just what the doctor ordered. We're the same way. When we find ourselves in a new environment, we will almost immediately begin to adapt. I have some relatives who grew up in the south, but when they became adults and started working, they moved to one of the northern states. When I saw them about a year later, they had already started to lose their southern accent and were sounding more like "Yankees." I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that; I'm just using that story as an example. Here's a similar example with a more negative result: I detest profanity, especially in the workplace. It's unprofessional. One day, however, after working a couple weeks with some "potty-mouth" co-workers, I was talking with a client and one of those ugly words slipped out of my own mouth. I felt humiliated and I apologized, but it just goes to show you how I was already beginning to adapt to my environment, even to the point of becoming the type of person I DO NOT want to be. Whether or not I want to admit it, I become like the people by whom I'm surrounded, and often times just who they are is my choice. It can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. A couple weeks ago Angie and I went out to eat with a group of friends from church, and on the way home I said, "Those are the kind of people I like hanging out with." On Saturdays, after our weekly "long run," I will have breakfast with other members of our running group.... health-minded friends who are a positive influence. No matter how strong or tough we think we are, we change to fit our environment. You see, you and I are like those Gatorades....we get cold when we spend the night in a refrigerator. Preston