Brewski, Suds, Liquid Gold, and many more monikers are labels we give beer. It appears that we name our liquid passion as if we are having a romantic affair with it. But beer, just like us, is organic. And because of this organic nature, when beer goes bad, it's really bad. Like us, beer (ale and mead too) has a natural lifespan; it will not last forever. For it to be good, frothy, and tasty beer requires certain care that is wholly incumbent on us to carry out.
Draft beer, straight from keg to mug is the best. But, if it is not cold enough, the lines are in need of cleaning, or some fool used a dirty bar rag to wipe out your mug, that Brewski will not only taste bad but could make you sick.
Then there is the bad batch from the brewery that somehow made its way into bottles and cans. You know about that: your favorite Suds taste flat and seriously skunky. Here you have options. Either throw it out, exchange it, or get a refund. There is the horror of seeing your favorite Liquid Gold passed on to you in a plastic bottle. Seriously? It's one thing to drink beer in a plastic cup at a ball game, but to find it on store shelves encased in plastic? Plastic does not enhance the favor, period. In any case, when beer gets old, care is needed to maintain its' freshness. One basic rule helps: do not leave your Brewski in the hot sun - refrigerate it. Beer is, just like us, organic. We too can go stale. However, if we care for ourselves as well as we care for our beer, we can live a long and productive life.
Take care of your body, you only have one. You cannot exchange it like a bad case of beer or trade it in as if you were buying a new automobile. The body you have is the one you have, that's it. And realistically, drinking too much beer or anything alcoholic makes a man not just drunk but foolish. Ditto on food gorging. Nobody wants anything to do with a glutton; drink moderately. Feed your body top-notch fuel: eat a balanced and healthy diet. And indulge yourself in meaningful exercise and good sleep.
Havamal, verse 12 - For good is not, though good it is thought, mead (ale and beer too) for the sons of men. The deeper (the more) he drinks, the dimmer grows the mind of many a man.* Ancient wisdom tells us - the more alcohol we consume the dumber we become.
Havamal, verse 21 - The herd do know, when home they shall, and gang from the grass to their stalls. But the unwise man will not ever learn how much his maw (stomach) will hold.* No one likes a glutton. There is more.
Going to bed with a head full of worry is not conducive to a good night's sleep. What you worry about when you put you head on the pillow will still be there in the morning when you wake. In many cases, a problem can be solved after a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. Since the problem will still be there in the morning, why take it to bed with you?
Havamal, verse 23 - The unwise man waketh all night, thinking of this and that. Tosses sleepless and is tired at morn: nor lighter for that his load.* Taking your problems to bed with you does not solve them. By doing so, you are robbed of sleep and lack a clear and rested mind in the morrow. But there is still more.
Feed your head with good things just like you feed your body with good food and exercise. Read good books and exercise your mind by doing math and crossword puzzles (just two ideas of many). Do something constructive: build a birdhouse, plant a garden, or write a book (again, three ideas of many possibilities). And here is the big one: change your attitude. When you change your attitude, you will change your life for the better, guaranteed. Having a 'can do ' attitude gets things done. An attitude of 'I can't do that' just will not.
Havamal, verse 8 - Happy is he who hath won him the love and liking of all. For hard it is, one's help to seek, from the mind of another man.*
If, at the close of your life, you are like that case of Brewski in the corner called regret, old, flat, and stale, understand this - you put yourself there. I prefer to leave this life still fresh, tasty, and frosty.
Havamal, verse 95 - One's self only knows what is near one's heart, each reads but himself aright. No sickness seems, to sound mind worse, than to have lost all liking for life. Keep your mind as healthy as your body!
* Havamal quotes - The Poetic Edda, Hollander translation, Copyright @1962 Lee M. Hollander, University of Texas Press.
Copyright @2014 Terry Unger
