Forgetting to Shake the Mustard - OR - Why the Most Obvious Things are the Easiest to Forget

Forgetting to shake mustard before pouring it:  why is it that the most obvious things are often the easiest to forget (as I groaned earlier when making lunch)?  Like a teacher I observed in college said to her students, "it's as easy as taking candy from a baby." (This was never a teaching strategy I was particularly fond of.) 

Another example of blindness to the obvious:  when I told myself this morning that I was going to let myself take a break, relax, veg a little, rest to catch up from the busy pace I've had lately; I should have realized that I was going to take myself up on it (obvious).  So later today, as I'm still feeling unmotivated, finally just now pulling out my schoolwork (although not even now, since I'm still blogging rather than studying!), and not yet wearing any makeup, I'm not sure why I feel so guilty.  I approved this slacking off! When giving in to a lack of motivation, it's not going to - poof! - transform into a sudden streak of uber-productiveness: that's obvious.

So I'm going to try to remember a few obvious things that I've obviously forgotten:
- If I decide to take a break, I should take the break and let myself enjoy it, rather than feel guilty throughout it.
- If I decide to take a break, I need to remember - I will not be surprisingly productive!
- Rest is good sometimes, and usually if you're almost going crash, it's good to pre-emptively institute a break before it happens.

More seriously, as I'm getting my perspective back on track, I'm also grateful for the chance I have to rest; and feel that I need to recognize those that don't often (or ever) have the same chance to do so:

Teachers : They work the longest hours outside of the workplace than anyone I know.  They basically live, breathe, and eat planning and thinking about their classrooms, and get paid (and thanked) very little for it.

The Working Poor : Have you noticed on the news lately that there are more and more statistics about the increasing poverty rate, the call for rethinking tax structures, and the number of people who are needing to have more than one job?  The gap between the rich and the poor is the largest it has been since the Great Depression.  The poor work in lower-paying jobs, pay higher percentages of their income in taxes, and yet still give a higher percentage to charity than the wealthy and middle-class(!).  It should be obvious that there's a problem if the poorest in our country are paying higher taxes and sharing more with others who are needy than those who are actually able to afford it with wiggle room to spare.

Share some money with an organization in your area, write a letter to a representative to support a higher tax on the wealthy, or volunteer an hour a week to an organization that works with the poor. 

Let's not let this become one of the obvious (and most important) things that we easily forget.