Random Thoughts

My wife's 92 year old grandfather gave me some health advice the other day. "Hara hachi bu" means you should stop eating when your stomach is 80% full. It was sensible and sincere advice and I accepted it as such. I never told him, I have no idea when my stomach is 80% full and I never have. The older Okinawans live by this saying and are the longest living people in the world. Hard to argue with that.

Later hara hachi bu came up in a conversation I had with an old Karate and Zen Sensei. Like my wife's grandfather, he is worried about my weight. He told me the health benefit of hara hachi bu was only a side benefit. The real benefit was learning discipline and self control - step by step, day by day. He feels that is why hara hachi bu was traditionally taught.