Pro's and Pro's!

Traditional prayer is not something I engage in even though I attend services a couple of times a week. I do however spend that time usefully, often taking advantage of the quiet space for contemplative thought.Last night for instance, my thoughts turned to the fact that this is Memorial Day weekend.My mind drifted to thinking about past Memorial Day weekends.How many family get-togethers  had I attended dieting? How many barbecues have I gone to where I couldn't or wouldn't eat? How many bar or bat mitvahs did I stuff myself into a suit trying to appear as presentable as possible  and not partake of any of the hors d'ouvres, meals or desserts?
Pick a year,any year and I can recount a story or find an example of my dieting and my weight determining how I showed up to life.
Living a life filled with denying is no way to live.I am not a monk. My existence should not be about all that I can not have. 
Keeping kosher is a choice I made.There are foods that at some point in my life I used to eat that I no longer choose to.Trust me,I remember just how good they taste. I have made the choice to incorporate the laws of kashrut into my life and hence (love the word hence!) no longer indulge in many of the guilty pleasures I enjoyed in the past.
Making a choice is different than denying myself.Choice is proactive. Denying is prohibitive. (oooohh,heavy!)
I have made other proactive choices such as getting married, having kids,becoming an entrepreneur.
From the prohibitive aspect, each of these choices has set limitations on my life. I never look at it that way. I know my single friends and friends without kids and friends who work in the traditional work force see life quite differently.
I make choices.
Today I choose what I want to eat.It is no longer about what I am allowed to have. I am allowed what ever I desire. My desires are different than they were in the past,partially as a result of never denying myself anything. 
It's addition by subtractions.
By choosing a healthier life style, I have added so much to so many areas of my life.
Proactive vs. Prohibitive.....
Hmmmm.....
There's probably more to his than meets the eye!