Too much of a good thing….is TOO much.

Have you been to the movies lately? Can you please tell me what’s going on with the size of the snacks? They ask me what size popcorn I want and when I say small, they respond by telling me that if I get a large, I can get refills. I’m sure some of you have seen the “large”. How can one person eat a portion of popcorn that is enough for a herd of goats, let alone go back for more? It would make sense if I’m sharing it with a few people, but I have noticed that a fair number of folks are watching a movie while clutching their tub of popcorn.

Of course you must have a drink to wash it down with. So now you get your choice of small, medium, or large. I naively thought that a small would be “small”. Well, I was wrong! A small beverage in movie terminology is analogous to a swimming pool for Gerbils. The large is big enough for a family to use white water rafting. Imagine people navigating the hallway to the movie and trying to open the door and sit down while balancing the tub and the drink? It’s like watching a Cirque du soleil act with bumbling performers.

The size of movie snacks is just one little symbol of something that’s become epidemic in this country. We believe that more is better in everything we do, buy, eat or see. We take everything to extreme. Why does anyone need a “super-sized” portion of french fries? I’ve been in restaurants where my entrée could have fed a family of seven. It seems that the average American snacks every 45 minutes. Isn’t that what cows do? Look how easy it’s become to eat throughout the day? Wherever you look there’s a drive through for some type of food or drink. Who over would have predicted we would be eating in our cars? Perhaps the next invention will a vending machine you can have implanted in your body filled with all kinds of snacks.

Food isn’t the only thing to become extreme. There are types of exercises that are purported to make you as strong as a Navy Seal. I don’t know about you but I’m fine being able to lift groceries, garden, clean the house and take a walk. Going further then that is a choice, but you do have to keep in mind that overusing your body parts can make you a candidate for replacement surgeries.

The social media trend is part of the excess. Not only do we have to do everything to extreme, but then we have to report it as well. How about discovering a little moderation? My Mother often reminded me that “too much of a good thing, was too much”! I think she was right.