the more you read, the more you know

Burlington Harbor

Just a head's up: I'll be going off the grid for the next two weeks to enjoy some bucket-list worthy travel with two of my favorite people on the planet--my daughters. We're off to Lake Como in northern Italy, and from there, up into the Swiss Alps to a little village called Wengen. I've been working out and walking a lot for the past few weeks to get in shape for some hiking. I picked up a few necessary items: a good backpack, hiking shoes, and a jacket (it snowed there last week!). My bags are packed. Our itinerary is tentatively in place. There's just one problem: what will I read on the way??

"Reading can take you places 

you've never been before."

~Dr. Seuss~

Case in point...

In addition to laying in supplies and challenging my legs in preparation for our trip, I picked out a couple of books that sounded interesting. Nothing too thick or heavy. I have a hard time focusing on reading in an airplane unless I'm seriously engaged in the topic, so I came up with a few books that were referenced in something else I was reading or books I found in the bibliography or on-line. The problem is now I can't decide which ones will come with me. 

I have "Wherever You Go, There You Are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It sounded apropos, but I actually ordered it a while back in preparation for a meditation retreat with him next year, some twenty years after my first retreat with him.

But...I'll probably finish it before we leave.

Which leaves me with three other choices:

1. 
   
   

It also sounded apropos considering what is happening in our world...but that's not what it's about. 

"When We Cease to Understand the World shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled minds we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers, they descend into isolated states of madness. Some of their discoveries revolutionize our world for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear.
With breakneck pace and wondrous detail, Benjamín Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to break open the stories of scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible."

...like quantum theory, singularity, and nuclear fission. Enough to drive anyone mad.

    2.

The author of this book is an experimental psychologist and clinical hypnotherapist who starts off with the three concepts that drove my interest in alternative healing methods early on, in the 1970s, when all of it was (and for many of the orthodox medical elite, still is) considered snake oil...hogwash...naive stupidity. These include clinical hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming, and neuroplasticity, among others. 

This one is definitely going with me!

    3.

In this book, the author revisits the wisdom that suggests our emotions are inseparable from our physiology and health. He explores the idea that repressed emotions create stress that can lead to disease, in particular auto-immune diseases...which is big issue in my family of origin. So, of course, I'm interested. He argues that taking time to listen to our patients' stories is a lost art.

This one will be going with me, too. 

So, I guess that's settled.

Not a mystery or romance among them. No fantasy or horror. Nothing to do with politics. Nevertheless...if that's what you prefer to read, we can still be friends, right? Right??

"The more you read, the more things you know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go."

~Dr. Seuss, again~

Bis Widerhuege! Which is Swiss German for goodbye...see you again!

jan

how to feel better about things

 

Tanzania 2012

Last week we were reminded once again...as if we needed a reminder...that the world we live in is a conglomeration of both beauty and ruin, of cruelty and kindness, of contentment and despair. Of joy and grief. Of pain. Of mystery. It's a lot to think about.

We saw school children embracing one another in tears at the senseless gun violence that took down two of them and two of their teachers in Georgia. We watched children wander aimlessly through the rubble of what used to be home for them in Gaza. We were subjected to more political nonsense that included insults, lies, and denial from people we should be able to trust to defend the freedom, justice, and equality our nation was built upon.

"Suffering by nature or by chance

never seems so painful as

suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another."

~Arthur Schopenhauer~

Suffering is not only painful to witness, but it can leave us feeling helpless. Frustrated. Heartbroken. Thank goodness for goodness. For kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness. For people who step up to feed the hungry. For people who do what they can to provide relief. Comfort. Solace. Thank goodness for people who speak the truth and act on it...

"Although the world is full of suffering, 

it is also full of the overcoming of it."

~Helen Keller~

...because suffering has a tendency to overwhelm us. We need to remind ourselves that goodness abounds. It can help to seek out and appreciate beauty. To embrace friendship. To contemplate the mysteries that surround us. As Neil DeGrasse Tyson tells us, 

"Everyone should have their mind blown

once a day."

~Neil DeGrasse Tyson~

If you feel overwhelmed, or angry, or broken by the suffering you are experiencing yourself, or witnessing around you, or learning about from afar, contemplate the problem and explore the ways you might be able to help. Volunteer. Donate. Speak up. Set an intention or send up a prayer if that seems to work for you. 

If you feel thwarted or helpless, give yourself permission to think about something else for a little while. Let yourself rest. If all else fails, make an effort to put things into perspective. Contemplate the stars in the night sky. Read something by Neil DeGrasse Tyson:

"The universe is under no obligation

to make sense to you."

~Neil DeGrasse Tyson~

Listen to something by Bach or the Beach Boys. Step outdoors even if it's raining. Find a tree to hug. A dog to pet. A baby to hold. You'll feel better. 

jan

don't quit your daydream

 

This week I started reading “Writing from the Heart” by Nancy Slonim Aronie for the third time.

This book is intended to encourage and inspire reluctant or disheartened writers to trust themselves, to take the risk of living from the heart, and to embrace the art of writing from the heart. I think all of us, writers or not, can learn from this book.

I know the author's words ring true to my experience. My inner critic is always beating up on my inner child, discouraging the poor kid from trying new things, nit-picking every unintentional goof-up, bullying her until she’s ready to give up completely. First, it was the dream of going to med school:

“The competition to get in is fierce.”

“Maybe nursing would be a better choice.”

“They don’t take many women, you know.”

Even now, later in life, I have to turn a deaf ear to all those other voices, the self-appointed experts who claim to have my best interests at heart as they rattle off disparagement:

“Start writing at your age? Really??”

“But you’ve never written a thing in your life.”

“Why would anyone give up a career in medicine? Why now??”

It’s no wonder we get discouraged as children when our creativity, curiosity, and energy levels are at their highest. The problem is that these same voices stalk us into adulthood. They can stop us in our tracks.

Which is why we all need encouragement, not just to write, but to live from the heart. As I read this book again, it occurs to me that we can all benefit from Aronie’s words, especially when we start to think about beginning something a new, when we still cling to a dream we once abandoned because we were told it was unrealistic, or unproductive, or unattainable.

Maybe you’re thinking about going back to school, or taking up piano. Maybe you’d like to try sky diving or scuba diving. Perhaps you’re drawn to carpentry or improv theater, but something inside you is holding you back.

“It’ll take too long.”

“It costs too much money.”

“I’d just be wasting my time.”

It may be time to raise your voice. Stand up to that inner critic. Stick up for the child who was bullied out of following his/her heart. Make sure the same thing isn’t happening to you now.

Whatever you do...

"Don't quit your daydream."

~attribution unknown~

Have a great week!

jan