Elation vs. Foresight Correlation Discovered!

Soloman was a wise guy who did a lot of stupid things and then wrote about them. He was skilled in wrapping his poor choices into proverbs that tied consequences into their root causes. It benefits me to read a chapter of proverbs a day, and sometimes better yet, just a few lines a day--so that I can chew on the thought like a cow does cud.

As spring arrives, I must now suggest that we gander upon this scientific correlation: with a high level of elation there seems to be a restriction to our foresight (in terms of consequences) as well as the inverse: with low elation comes improved distance in foresight. This seems to be true in terms of alcohol indulgence, sexual infatuation, high speed driving, and dessert consumption. In the springtime, the temptation to indulge in the moment often overcomes the guiding, conservative mind that helped us navigate the wintertime.

Solomon said that the ant is so wise that he stores away for the winter. I was a touch afraid as winter came that my finances might be stretched thin through February, but had a sense that if I could make it to March that the flow of money would improve. Consequently, my foresight during the fall season stretched all the way till spring in terms of my stores of savings and the restriction of my monetary indulgences.

Now that the weather is warming, however, you may feel a temptation to relax your disciplines.

Lent will be over soon for many folks who are observing some sort of abstinence from alcohol, television, sex, cussing, street-fighting, and televised alcoholic street-fighting with sexual partners who cuss. (There are many ways to observe this playful religious season.)

The purpose in observing the above charts is so that, if you happen to find yourself elated, you may refer to them in your shortsighted state. Its easy to remember pictures--since you probably won't be peering into the distant future through the clearest glass.

Negative consequences sneak up on those who are not looking out for them. Like a lion on the plains, they can be avoided from a distance with little effort. Likewise, when they are close, they require the greatest of maneuvers to evade.