21 Months
I have now completed 21 total months without indulging in my beloved briar pipes. It has been a journey.
I have not indulged in a pipe's inviting bowl holding a gentle, smoky ember of combusting burley leaves. I have not been able to expose the neurons of my mind to the gentle, relaxing massage provided by the leaf's nicotinic properties. Nor have I had the pleasure to taste the earthy, hearty aromatics of the leaf upon my tongue. My hands miss the warm feelings from holding the warm, wooden bowl on cold mornings. My rituals, my patterns in life have all had to be revised to some degree. My sport coats, and my suit jackets, and ties all have lost their pipe tobacco essences. My old truck, my steed on most of my solo travels.... instead of smelling "homey" and "pipey" now only has an aseptic air.
I do miss my pipes. I do miss all that I mention in the above.
What have I gained? On that score, it is more nebulous:
1. Potential gains in health. I hope my lack of indulging will have a positive effect on my health, wellness, and longevity. But whether that comes to fruition is only determinable in hindsight, and now, at best is not a known outcome, but instead only a hoped for outcome that may be true.
2. Being able to "better fit" in the world of 2019. The antagonism of our society grows on so many fronts, be they political, spiritual, psychological, or socioeconomic. This even impacts daily life in the "choices" people make day-to-day in personal behaviors. Some militant vegans despise omivores. Tea-totalers sometimes despise a person who drinks a few beers. In the modern world, people who indulge in tobacco are currently seen as pariahs and rejected by many. It is just an unfortunate fact of this current age. To tilt against these societal windmills in a Don Quixote fashion is something I did in various ways for a lot of years. In some ways, my Don Quiote resolve in regards to pipes has grown too weak compared to the increasing society pressure. Therefore, now I "fit in" I guess. At least for today. Who knows about my choice tomorrow? My father’s 96th birthday approaches soon. I am still unsure of my plans for that day.
PipeTobacco
6 Comments:
Why would anybody want to "fit in" with today's dreadful incivilities? As you noted, you would fit in better with today's society if you were to vape cannabis rather than smoke pipe tobacco. On the other hand, two hundred years from today, scientists will likely look back at your work and say, "How can we take his work seriously? He ate animal flesh, which makes him a monster worse than a slave-owner, as slave-owners didn't eat their slaves!"
You, by contrast, need to live for today. Surely you remember that the original 1964 Surgeon General's report admitted that pipe smokers actually lived longer than non-smokers, and much longer than cigarette smokers. Now, how much of that was due to the correlation between pipe-smoking and other beneficial behaviors and circumstances? We may never know. We do know that philosopher Bertrand Russell was a pipe-smoker who lived to age 97, and that politician Tony Benn was a pipe-smoker who lived to age 88. JRR Tolkien was a pipe-smoker who lived to age 81. Others of course die much earlier. Meanwhile, jogging enthusiast James Fixx, whose The Complete Book of Running in 1977 did so much to popularize the hobby, died at age 52. It's practically impossible to correlate life-span and life-habits until after the fact.
Kind sir, I hope you never quite "fit in" with the coarse multitudes, no matter what decision you make about your pipe-smoking and your father's birthday.
Pat:
When I stated I perhaps "fit in" better as a non-pipe smoker, it was not exactly in the way you suggest. I am not aiming to become one of the group of uncivil folks, nor adopt their strategies. Instead, what I meant is I would "fit in" by not being subject to their disapproval, their scorn, or whatever term would best describe it. It is that aspect of "fitting in" that is "easier" at some level. It takes less work.... takes less energy. It does not require "tilting at windmills".
Perhaps that can seem some sort of "cop-out" way to live? I am not sure. Sometimes I think it may be, but other times I think about the fact that my time here is finite, and how may I best distribute my limited time? Is it worth it to tilt at windmills in this case? Would I be better spending my time in some other pursuit?
It is a conundrum. All I can say with certainty is a) that I would relish and enjoy smoking my pipes, b) I currently do not smoke my pipes nor pipe tobacco, c) I feel guided (perhaps pushed?) into my current actions by a variety of societal forces both positive and negative.
Oops. Again, I replied to you (below) but I mistakenly did not hit the reply button. My apologies.
What have I gain?...I like that I need to do one sometime on my blog.
It can be helpful to try to see if a challenging situation may have positives. You do not always find them, however.
I hope you get to see this comment since it's a few days later than the rest.
As a non-smoker, may I just applaud you for quitting smoking? As a person with asthma, it's even more important to me that folks respect non-smoking areas, because I can't hold my breath for very long :)
When my husband smoked in his previous vehicle, I could not ride in it even when he was not actively smoking, such is my sensitivity to smoke, even when it's not fresh. Luckily I convinced him not to smoke in his current vehicle. I wish he could kick the habit completely as you have done. He is doing better than before but still tied to the nicotine by an invisible - but strong - thread.
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