Doing Better

Years ago, I was at a training of some sort, and the comment was made that life is a series of relapses.  It is an interesting concept, and one that I think holds true. And, it does not necessarily apply to drug use or alcohol use, or even illness, although that is the context in which we usually think of relapse.

We go through periods of taking really good care of ourselves physically, then we slack off.  We might diet very carefully, then not pay attention to what we eat, or we gain back weight we lost, or eat the wrong foods, or too little food.  We may have episodes of insomnia in our lives, then we sleep well.  We may exercise regularly, then for some reason, do not have the time, mental or physical energy, or have ill health that interferes with exercising.

The list is endless: we may be diligent about housework, then decide something else is more important. We may have a garden one year, and decide not to worry about the yard and garden the next.  We may become involved in a craft, but then lose interest.  We may study for a degree or pleasure, then decide not to tax our brain.  We may follow sports very closely, then decide to put our time elsewhere. Or, we become discouraged by the performance of a once winning team that is now in a losing cycle.  We may be very active in our community, and then we may decide we have had enough.

I am not sure if life is a series of relapses, but it seems to me, we do cycle a great deal.  And, knowing this, we can expect that there are times in our lives when we are in a down cycle. And, in an up cycle.  

And, being in a down cycle does not mean we are at rock bottom, just we are not doing as well as we would like.  Just like being in an up cycle does not mean we have "arrived," just that we are doing better. So, in a down cycle, we know we can work to turn the corner, and go up. As with when we are doing better, maybe it is the best we can hope for, but that is not so bad. And, we can try not to start a down spin.

Maybe thinking in terms of life going in cycles can give us a perspective on where we are today, and where we would like to be; what part of the cycle we are in, and what we can do to correct or maintain it.

 

Can You Be Addicted To Music?

Recently, I wrote about a baby shower, and the CD gift the expecting parents gave to the attendants:  "A Lullaby Story."  This is a CD they put together, of a series of lullaby songs, songs about children, parents, relationships, going to sleep and the new morning.

I find that the songs of this CD ramble in my head throughout the day, over and over again. I hear it when I am driving, when I am reading, watching TV, trying to sleep.  It is a most relaxing series of songs. 

I think I am addicted to these songs. I listen to other music.  But I hear this music in my head when there is nothing else there.

Collecting

I could be but am not a hoarder...I am not a collector, and there are many, many people in this world who are collectors.  I can not imagine collecting like compulsive collectors do. You have to have the space, the interest in going out and finding things, and an eye for a deal, and a willingness to bargain, barter... That is so not me...

But, collectors serve an important place in our society. They keep "stuff" that has minimal value for the rest of us, until someone realizes how valuable, priceless, rare some of the "stuff" is. 

I think of all the museum artifacts from the Revolutionary War period, and wonder, in 200 plus years, how much will be available from our time period.

One of the funniest commentaries on artifacts, archeology, "stuff", etc that I have ever read is the book:  Motel of the Mysteries  http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=690599  by David Macaulay.  If you have not read it, I would recommend that you take the very short time it would take to read it... It is hilarious... And demonstrates what kind of miscontruances can occur with incomplete information.

I had not watched Antique Roadshow  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/;  Pawn Stars http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars ; American Pickers  http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers until the OLLI Appraisal Fair.   That turned me on to these shows.  And, they are wonderful.. I really enjoy them, when I am in the mood.

I think my most favorite is Pawn Stars.

Hoarding

I have often explained my inability to throw things away as a genetic disorder, or being anal retentive or both.  But, I was kidding.  However, quite a bit of study has been done on hoarders, and there is some thought that it is a genetically linked disorder.  So, maybe I was not so far from the truth after all.

My parents were savers.  A lot of that was generational, having grown up in the depression era, and in families that were not well to do, but worked hard for what they had. So, my parents were appreciative of material things.  Understandably so.  And, they were recyclers, and savers. Until later in life, when they started cleaning things out.  But even so, there was plenty left when my mom, that last to die, passed away.

Hoarding and saving are different.  Hoarding seems to take saving to an extreme, maybe to the point where it becomes a health hazard.  And, different people hoard different things, although newspapers are often a common item to hoard.  And, some people hoard animals:  you have heard of the people who have so many cats that their house is unsanitary, and they can not afford to feed themselves, because of the expense of feeding the cats...

Well, this week at work, for training, we read some articles about hoarding, which where I learned that there may be something genetically linked to hoarding.  

So, having it be genetic does not give me permission to become a hoarder.... For now, I will say I am a saver, because although I have piles of paper on my desk, and stuff strewn on my dining table, I do not hoard other things, and regularly take my stashes of recyclables to the recycling center...Which, I might add, I find quite cathartic... So, maybe that is hoarding therapy for me.

Coffee and Cigarettes

I recently traveled to New York City for a family get together/celebration. I had occasion to use the Long Island Railroad, and on one part of the trip, sat next to a woman who was traveling to visit relatives on Long Island. Her speech was heavily accented, and what the accent was, I am not sure. We chatted some, it was a pleasant interchange. She made a very interesting observation:



We were talking about the changes in the city. She mentioned she had only taken an "air ride" once before. I had previously heard the term, but was not sure what it meant. I think, though, it meant the kind of train in which we were riding: smooth, little ambient noise, compared to the clacking, whooshing roar of some of the other trains and subways.



This woman also talked about how much cleaner the city was... I had to agree, although it has been 10 or 12 years since I was in New York City, and then, I was in lower Manhattan...But, I will say that my forays to Central Park, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station and Time Square during this trip left me with the impression that the city was not as dirty as I had recalled.



The most interesting observation of this co-traveler was about coffee and cigarettes. She noted that years ago everything was filled with cigarette smoke: subways, trains, restaurants, etc... She commented now, that everyone has coffee with them... I began to think about it, and in many ways, she is right: think of how many Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts as well as local, non-chain coffee shops there are...And, what would happen to someone if they were denied their caffeine fix for a day..



I have long since said that people in AA change one addictive behavior for (an)other(s). I think AA members use coffee, cigarettes,and sometimes mints or other suckers to keep me from drinking. I think this woman's observations were right on target: The city is noticeably cleaner, but we now have caffeine addicts running around, trying to find another substitute and using caffeine as their "drug of choice."