Self-help or Self-yelp?
Good morning discerning readers.
Apparently Athie plans to hold me to my role, and she has asked me to put in a good word about cats as well ("practice what you preach"). I respect Athie. So I sat down to write first thing this morning only to be severely interrupted by my sister Boo (which is short for Annie Boo), who would not quit biting my neck, and only because I bit hers first.
The cats have been chased off--for the rest of the day, I hope. Does that suffice for a mention of cats? Oh. I thought so. Okay Athie, you want me to follow my own advice, so I will start today's blog with an appreciation for cats: they run fast. Yes, they can run faster than a dog, and another skill they have is the ability to climb trees. Though what is the good of that, I don't know. If they had the sense to be born as dogs, they would not need to climb trees.
Is that good enough? If, as my friend once observed, Republicans are akin to dogs, while cats are of the Democrat Party, you can't expect me to concede everything to them all at once. Certainly, they have not conceded to my agenda and do you seriously think they ever will?
As Athie is good enough to remind me, my role on this blog is self-help. Here is my self-help, or better yet, my self-yelp for the day. You all hear a lot of fuss about cognitive behavior therapy and meditation. That's because they go hand-in-hand, and actually, friends, they really work. Some of you dogs out there believe that these things are evil, or non-Christian--especially meditation. Actually that is not the case. When Jesus walked the earth he would disappear for 40 days and not explain himself. He was being quiet so he could hear God. Do you think he did that just for himself? I doubt it. Monkey see, monkey do. He was setting an example. When you get quiet and stay quiet, even on the inside, you start to hear things. No, no, no, I am not talking about hallucinations.
It's more like the voice of God. It's a stillness. Hard to explain. But it helps you get clear. It does not make you a cat-loving fool. It's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody can make you do it, either. This is a free country.
Now let me simplify CBT for you. CBT, as most of you know, is short for cognitive behavior therapy. Let me yelp about that for a few sentences.
If you find yourself doing something that helps you to feel and function better, notice what it is you are doing. For example, talking with Aunt Sue might give you a headache and make you depressed for a week. Talking with neighbor Horace might give you a happy feeling in your chest and a boost of energy. Which one should you do more of? Which one should you do less of? Well that depends. Do you want to have a headache, or do you want to have a happy feeling in your chest? That's the behavioral part. You figure out what helps, do more of that. Figure out what hurts, do less of that.
The cognitive part is the thinking part. If you think it is not okay for you to feel happy, then you're going to choose more of Aunt Sue and less of neighbor Horace. Why might you think you can't feel happy? You can make up a million reasons. Here's one: I can't be happy because the world around me is dangerous, or impoverished, or unhappy. Well, is it? You bet it is, if you go looking you'll find all kinds of stuff. I don't know, but it seems to me that quite a lot of people like to be alive. There must be something in it, this life. And it also seems to me that quite a lot of people want happiness.
If you are filling a bucket, every drop counts. You want to withhold your drop of happiness? Go ahead, but the bucket will take that much longer to fill.
I hope you found this much simpler than the versions you will find in three-inch wide books and journals filled with tiny print. Even a cat might understand. Athie accuses me of preaching so I'm going to stop here, let you draw your own conclusions, and have a happy day. Or not.
"Doc" O'Barker
Apparently Athie plans to hold me to my role, and she has asked me to put in a good word about cats as well ("practice what you preach"). I respect Athie. So I sat down to write first thing this morning only to be severely interrupted by my sister Boo (which is short for Annie Boo), who would not quit biting my neck, and only because I bit hers first.
The cats have been chased off--for the rest of the day, I hope. Does that suffice for a mention of cats? Oh. I thought so. Okay Athie, you want me to follow my own advice, so I will start today's blog with an appreciation for cats: they run fast. Yes, they can run faster than a dog, and another skill they have is the ability to climb trees. Though what is the good of that, I don't know. If they had the sense to be born as dogs, they would not need to climb trees.
Is that good enough? If, as my friend once observed, Republicans are akin to dogs, while cats are of the Democrat Party, you can't expect me to concede everything to them all at once. Certainly, they have not conceded to my agenda and do you seriously think they ever will?
As Athie is good enough to remind me, my role on this blog is self-help. Here is my self-help, or better yet, my self-yelp for the day. You all hear a lot of fuss about cognitive behavior therapy and meditation. That's because they go hand-in-hand, and actually, friends, they really work. Some of you dogs out there believe that these things are evil, or non-Christian--especially meditation. Actually that is not the case. When Jesus walked the earth he would disappear for 40 days and not explain himself. He was being quiet so he could hear God. Do you think he did that just for himself? I doubt it. Monkey see, monkey do. He was setting an example. When you get quiet and stay quiet, even on the inside, you start to hear things. No, no, no, I am not talking about hallucinations.
It's more like the voice of God. It's a stillness. Hard to explain. But it helps you get clear. It does not make you a cat-loving fool. It's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody can make you do it, either. This is a free country.
Now let me simplify CBT for you. CBT, as most of you know, is short for cognitive behavior therapy. Let me yelp about that for a few sentences.
If you find yourself doing something that helps you to feel and function better, notice what it is you are doing. For example, talking with Aunt Sue might give you a headache and make you depressed for a week. Talking with neighbor Horace might give you a happy feeling in your chest and a boost of energy. Which one should you do more of? Which one should you do less of? Well that depends. Do you want to have a headache, or do you want to have a happy feeling in your chest? That's the behavioral part. You figure out what helps, do more of that. Figure out what hurts, do less of that.
The cognitive part is the thinking part. If you think it is not okay for you to feel happy, then you're going to choose more of Aunt Sue and less of neighbor Horace. Why might you think you can't feel happy? You can make up a million reasons. Here's one: I can't be happy because the world around me is dangerous, or impoverished, or unhappy. Well, is it? You bet it is, if you go looking you'll find all kinds of stuff. I don't know, but it seems to me that quite a lot of people like to be alive. There must be something in it, this life. And it also seems to me that quite a lot of people want happiness.
If you are filling a bucket, every drop counts. You want to withhold your drop of happiness? Go ahead, but the bucket will take that much longer to fill.
I hope you found this much simpler than the versions you will find in three-inch wide books and journals filled with tiny print. Even a cat might understand. Athie accuses me of preaching so I'm going to stop here, let you draw your own conclusions, and have a happy day. Or not.
"Doc" O'Barker