Nice. I've been doing something kind of like that. Between my office and the kitchenette where I get coffee or tea, there is a connector hallway that overlooks the Arb. I force myself to stop, and stare at the trees for just 30 seconds, twice a day. It's supposed to be for health reasons, to keep my eyes from getting stupid from staring at a monitor screen all day, but lately it has taken on a more metaphysical meaning. For just 30 seconds, everything makes sense in the world, and I have no worries. I'm going to start combining your idea with my tree-staring sessions.
Awesome. I am very grateful to the views to which I have workaday access for similar moments. I want to try to emphasize the positive aspects of the thoughts they tend to inspire.
I don't do this in 4-hour intervals, but when I'm feeling stressed or cynical, I do try to make lists of things I'm grateful for or that make me happy.
I agree -- it can be a big help in rough times. The idea behind the intervals in this version is to provide a means of gradually workup up to doing it all the time, which I can imagine might make for a really nice spin on life.
It makes sense to do it as a maintenance/preventative measure rather than just as a fixer-upper when you're already down. The books & articles I've read on neuroscience seem to suggest that focusing on happy memories and positive emotions can help to constructively re-wire depressive or anxious brains.
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"I counted my blessings and it actually worked."
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J says: If an alarm went off all night every four hours I would have a very hard time feeling grateful for anything. :/
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But I thought you wanted kids!
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http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27789
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