Wednesday lunch break!
I finished the work document that was due today! It was neither difficult nor long, but it required a lot of "spoons" as we OCD/introverts say. There are certain types of documents I must do that require a lot more emotional energy than others, usually having to do with personnel matters rather than legal matters, or matters upon which I will feel unusually scrutinized. This one fell into both categories. But I finished!
I ran this morning, thinking it would go well because of the cold front that went through last night, but it was still tough. Running 3 miles is all I can do during the summer these days. I try not to beat myself up by recalling the days when I could train for a half marathon through the summer. I am looking all muscly in the mirror, though :-)
Getting a massage this afternoon!
Now that I've finished that stressful document, I can spare some spoons for other matters, such as canceling/rescheduling the Labor Day maids visit, reminding people of this Saturday's game day, and inviting a couple more potential people to next Saturday's game day. [Anybody coming to the Sep 3 event may also come to the Sep 10 event, but I expect little or no overlap.]
Oh, I have to check on something with the pest control company. And I need to schedule a software update for my car. And I need to request next Tuesday off to play with Sir Ben.
It's been one week since that second, intradermal MPX shot. It's no longer bothering me so much, and the swelling is reduced, but it still looks like I have a bug bite on my arm. We'll see whether there's a lasting mark or whether it eventually fades. At least I'm done with MPX shots for at least a few years (if the virus is still going around in a few years, additional boosters will be required). Meanwhile it looks like the number of new cases in the US has plateaued. [How many English words have four vowels in a row like that? At least 70.]
It's possible that those of you who read my journal might think I get depressed about ... let's call them "current events" ... politics, foreign policy, the environment, etc. But I usually don't. Probably because my baseline expectations for the future of the universe are so low. I'm in no rush to meet my own personal demise, but I'm aware from studying science and history that there's no reason to expect humanity to create a lasting heaven on earth. I do try to game out problems and solutions, but I don't expect us to always "win". We've made progress in certain areas, while fucking up in other areas.
I think having realistic expectations is key to long-term mental health. I mean, all of us have difficult emotions and downer days. But for long-term mental health it is important to accept things as they are and not expect things to improve. You focus on what you're able to do, knowing that you're not in charge of the outcome. Sometimes you manage to improve things, but you cannot always. Almost every time I run into somebody who feels lasting depression and/or anxiety about "current events", it is because they refuse to accept the reality surrounding them. How can capitalism exist? they complain. How can prejudice exist? How can we not fix this problem or that problem? How can we stop people from being so shitty? Well ... ... have you studied history? Have you studied science? Have you studied philosophy and comparative spirituality? The world has always been fucked up. 2022 is nothing special. There's never been a perfect society.
Thích Nhất Hạnh pointed out in his final book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, before he died earlier this year, that there have been mass extinctions on earth before, depending on how you define them. Five events killed off over 70% of the species alive at the time. And over the history of planet earth, the climate has changed in dramatic ways before. Yet, here we are. He said the first step in saving the planet is appreciating the moment that you have right now. If you cannot first cherish this moment, then what is it you're trying to save? You could spend your entire existence frantically trying to extend it, while never appreciating a single moment of it.
First, learn to appreciate this moment.
It's a difficult lesson to learn, most of us have to continually relearn it. But what's the point of "saving" a planet you don't appreciate living on?
Once I wrote something about how earth is the pleasure planet -- we've not yet found a more hospitable planet in the universe than our very own. We still don't have the optical resolution to image planets beyond our own solar system. We can surmise that there may be other hospitable planets, and we've observed the gravitational effects of presumed planets upon their local stars, but, for now, this is it. Our one and only. There is no alternative. Figure out how to have some pleasure while you're here.
I ran this morning, thinking it would go well because of the cold front that went through last night, but it was still tough. Running 3 miles is all I can do during the summer these days. I try not to beat myself up by recalling the days when I could train for a half marathon through the summer. I am looking all muscly in the mirror, though :-)
Getting a massage this afternoon!
Now that I've finished that stressful document, I can spare some spoons for other matters, such as canceling/rescheduling the Labor Day maids visit, reminding people of this Saturday's game day, and inviting a couple more potential people to next Saturday's game day. [Anybody coming to the Sep 3 event may also come to the Sep 10 event, but I expect little or no overlap.]
Oh, I have to check on something with the pest control company. And I need to schedule a software update for my car. And I need to request next Tuesday off to play with Sir Ben.
It's been one week since that second, intradermal MPX shot. It's no longer bothering me so much, and the swelling is reduced, but it still looks like I have a bug bite on my arm. We'll see whether there's a lasting mark or whether it eventually fades. At least I'm done with MPX shots for at least a few years (if the virus is still going around in a few years, additional boosters will be required). Meanwhile it looks like the number of new cases in the US has plateaued. [How many English words have four vowels in a row like that? At least 70.]
It's possible that those of you who read my journal might think I get depressed about ... let's call them "current events" ... politics, foreign policy, the environment, etc. But I usually don't. Probably because my baseline expectations for the future of the universe are so low. I'm in no rush to meet my own personal demise, but I'm aware from studying science and history that there's no reason to expect humanity to create a lasting heaven on earth. I do try to game out problems and solutions, but I don't expect us to always "win". We've made progress in certain areas, while fucking up in other areas.
I think having realistic expectations is key to long-term mental health. I mean, all of us have difficult emotions and downer days. But for long-term mental health it is important to accept things as they are and not expect things to improve. You focus on what you're able to do, knowing that you're not in charge of the outcome. Sometimes you manage to improve things, but you cannot always. Almost every time I run into somebody who feels lasting depression and/or anxiety about "current events", it is because they refuse to accept the reality surrounding them. How can capitalism exist? they complain. How can prejudice exist? How can we not fix this problem or that problem? How can we stop people from being so shitty? Well ... ... have you studied history? Have you studied science? Have you studied philosophy and comparative spirituality? The world has always been fucked up. 2022 is nothing special. There's never been a perfect society.
Thích Nhất Hạnh pointed out in his final book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, before he died earlier this year, that there have been mass extinctions on earth before, depending on how you define them. Five events killed off over 70% of the species alive at the time. And over the history of planet earth, the climate has changed in dramatic ways before. Yet, here we are. He said the first step in saving the planet is appreciating the moment that you have right now. If you cannot first cherish this moment, then what is it you're trying to save? You could spend your entire existence frantically trying to extend it, while never appreciating a single moment of it.
First, learn to appreciate this moment.
It's a difficult lesson to learn, most of us have to continually relearn it. But what's the point of "saving" a planet you don't appreciate living on?
Once I wrote something about how earth is the pleasure planet -- we've not yet found a more hospitable planet in the universe than our very own. We still don't have the optical resolution to image planets beyond our own solar system. We can surmise that there may be other hospitable planets, and we've observed the gravitational effects of presumed planets upon their local stars, but, for now, this is it. Our one and only. There is no alternative. Figure out how to have some pleasure while you're here.