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Memorial Day Ramblings

By JanetEisenbise on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 | No Comments

Irises

It’s Memorial Day, a holiday with some paradoxical associations for me.  As a school kid it meant the real beginning of summer, and with its extra day off the end of the school year, usually brought a picnic and family time.  Reared in a family with pacifist religious beliefs, the military association was lost on me until years later.

As I studied American and world history the pictures I got about war were horrifying and the ramifications deeply disturbing.  And although I certainly don’t claim to know what all the realistic alternatives to war are, I wish that we as members of the human race would dedicate our efforts and resources to figuring it out.

The physical, emotional and social ramifications of surviving war have been brought home to me in working with the family members of enlisted military personnel and returning soldiers. As well as the professionals in the trenches of treating the wounded warriors who are weary and traumatized as well. Those facing a long recovery of PTSD and the ones who love them and are trying to hold the marriage and family together need all the help and support they can get.  And too often that help and support is in ridiculously short supply. Too little too late.

I have to confess to feeling angry, sad and helpless about this.  And when I hear the platitudes of Memorial Day repeated, I also confess to a sort of disconnect.  They really don’t make any sense to me.

I don’t think those who are killed and maimed and traumatized are helped by our ceremonies and flag waving.  I think those ceremonies and platitudes help us feel better about our passive acceptance of a system of thinking gone seriously awry.

Can you imagine what might transpire if we could change this paradigm?  What might happen if the governments of the world would direct a portion of their military spending to understanding and treating the problems that underlie conflicts that lead to war?

Can you imagine what might happen if we as ordinary people were to begin to question and search for answers to these problems and to expect those who represent us to do the same?  What if we were to look beneath the fear that leads to aggressive knee-jerk reactions?  What if we didn’t need to repeat the platitudes to mask our fear and sadness over what has happened?

I like to imagine that we had several generations of young people who didn’t have a war to attend.  And that Memorial Day was a distant memory of the old people.  And that there was a more light and lovely way to usher in the summer.


Living on the Net

By JanetEisenbise on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | 2 Comments

The news of the past week reminds us that we are all living in a very small place.  Oil gushing out of the sea bed in the Gulf of Mexico is sending shock waves all over the world.

The ramifications of it are huge and will sooner or later affect us all.  What we do as individuals and organizations and governments will either clean it up or use the experience as a lesson for changing policy and our practices; or not.

Being an American who grew up watching John Wayne tame the West, and later enthusiastically reading Ayn Rand, I understand the appeal of rugged individualism.

But it seems to me that true long term success isn’t obtained in that way.  What we do sends out ripples, affecting other people we may not even be aware of.  And what may seem to be a great idea to one as an individual will have effects for good or ill way down the road.

Most importantly we cannot succeed without the help and support of many other people.  Even the entrepreneur working in her/his home office must have a network of other like-minded and helpful people at their disposal.

Who is on your net?  Do you have a mentor?  A consultant or advisor?  Someone who either is great at looking at the big picture if you’re not?  Someone who is great at organization and details if you’re not?  Have you found a group, small or large, who share your world view and are active in promoting ideas or causes that inspire you?  Who is available to offer you honest feedback when you are going off the rails?  Who can you commiserate with after you’ve failed before you’re ready to get back up and figure out what to do next?  Is your network encouraging you to be the best human you can be?

Make no mistake about it; we do not change either our own lives or the world by working alone.  We need a net both to catch us when we trip, and also to join forces and resources to make the changes that the world so badly needs.

Please leave a comment about how you are building your net, or any ideas that you have.

Want A Brain Boost?

By JanetEisenbise on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 | No Comments

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.”    ~Henry Ford~

Have you seen ads for video brain games?  Do you play them?  Millions of people are and they are gaining in popularity as a way to increase IQ and improve the memory.

Seems that until recently there has been little research to back up the effectiveness of them. You might be better off playing Sodoku or cross word puzzles.  New York Times anyone?

That is until a study in the UK was recently released.  A group of more than 8,600 people ages 18-60 were recruited to participate in the study in which their reasoning, memory and other skills were measured before and after they played games for 10 minutes, 3 times per week.

The results were compared to a group of 2,700 people who spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general information questions.  There were no significant differences between the groups.

The journal Nature published the study.  The lead author, Adrian Owen, states that if you just want to have fun, it’s fine for that, but don’t expect to have better brain functioning from it.  He says that the game skills have little application to real life brain function for ordinary people.

Of course there is some disagreement with this.  Especially from Steve Aldrich CEO of Posit, the maker of some of the games.  He has published research results which indicate improvement in the memory functioning of elderly subjects.

So what should you do if you want to give your brain a boost?  Exercise is the best bet.  It seems that physical fitness increases the activity between neurons and builds new brain cells.  And so does new learning if it is difficult and challenging. Wouldn’t you know that if you are breezing along enjoying yourself, it isn’t doing much to improve your mind?  Learning a new language, or how to play a musical instrument or a new sport are brain boosters.

Seems that having a better brain, like everything else, takes some effort and hard work.

Love and Marriage: Good for your Health?

By JanetEisenbise on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 | No Comments

“If you do not change direction,
you may end up where you are heading.”
~Tao Tzu~

The New York Times ran an article about how marriage affects the state of your health.  Conventional wisdom has said that people who marry tend to live longer and to be healthier than those who don’t.  This is based on the earliest research on the subject which was published in 1858 by British William Farr.

The question has been revisited more recently in studies that look at the more varied nuances of modern life and relationships.  Groups of married couples, couples living together, widowed and divorced and never married people were included.

Generally it seems that the key to relationships and health boil down to how conflicted and stressful it is.  Stress has a bad effect on the immune system.  And the more severe and chronic the level of stress, the worse it is for your health.

What factor seems to boost this stress effect?  Conflict of course.  And the nastier and more personal the conflict, the higher the stress and the longer it takes the body to recover from it.  Couples who can have an argument without personal attacks, and can reach some agreement, show a beneficial effect on their general health.

One study shows that men have a negative reaction to arguments which center around control issues, and that women suffer more from a lack of affection or a feeling of positive regard.  In other words, even during or after an argument, if women perceived that their partner still loved them, they tolerated the stress of the conflict remarkably better than if they didn’t.

The bottom line is that married people do generally live longer and healthier lives than those who never marry or are divorced.  But people who had gotten out of a hostile or cold, conflicted relationship are healthier than those who stay in the marital wars.

If you are married and thus inevitably have conflict, then learn how to fight in a constructive and effective way.  And if you have gotten out of a destructive relationship, then learn what you need to learn about yourself and get over your ex and what happened.  Keeping yourself in a toxic stew of anger, resentment and stress is what is most detrimental to your health.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18marriage-t.html?pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig

Happy Taxes?

By JanetEisenbise on Friday, April 16th, 2010 | No Comments

This morning while I was driving to the post office to get my taxes in the mail, I suddenly remembered a comment that Dr. Marshall made when I was in graduate school.  He said that there were taxes that he considered “happy taxes” and that he was glad to pay.

At the time I was a little startled to hear it, and this morning thought of the irony.  Like most people I heard myself grumbling about the effort and expense of meeting my obligation to Uncle Sam.  I admit to some tension with the whole ordeal.

And of course it is hard to miss the resentful comments about taxes on the news and in nearly every political campaign coming from every quarter.  People are paying too much or too little or the money is designated for the wrong thing, or it’s being wasted.  It’s rare to hear anything positive about taxes.

So I asked myself what taxes am I happy to pay?  At the time I was driving down a street that has been torn up for months for major infrastructure work.  During the day it is always one lane driving which means a lot of waiting.  You would think that I could remember more often not to go that way!  I can see they are making progress, and no one would argue that the road doesn’t need a major overhaul.  I’m glad that my taxes are paying for that.

On the same trip I saw the police pull someone over for a traffic violation.  While I’m not happy if that’s me being stopped,  I am happy to pay the taxes so that the police can be there doing what they do.

I wish more of my taxes were going to support the library that I love.  And public radio and television that I listen to frequently.  They have taken a bit hit during this recession.  I’m really glad that my taxes support public education.  Do you realize that we are nearly the only country in the world that has taken on the obligation to educate every child regardless of his/her ability or life circumstance?  An educated populace is essential for a working democracy.

Of course my taxes also help pay for things I wish they didn’t.  And what can I do about that?  Until the IRS gives us a line item designation, nothing.  I do occasionally express my wishes and opinions to my elected representatives.  And I have been known to sign a petition or two.  And although it seems very indirect most of the time, I also express myself in the voting booth.

There are no doubt more things to be happy about supporting.  Thinking of them makes writing the check a little less painful.

Thinking About Retirement?

By JanetEisenbise on Sunday, April 11th, 2010 | No Comments

Lake in Maine

Last week Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he plans to retire in a few months.  The oldest and longest serving judge in the court, he will turn 90 soon.  Well past the point that most people think about retirement.

The political pundits are speculating about the battle lines that will be forming over the appointment of the justice who will replace Judge Stevens.  No doubt there will be another bruising fight between ideological opponents in the Senate.

But what interests me is that a man who has lived for the better part of a century is just now deciding to retire after working at his profession and serving on the court since 1975.  Never mind the years of work that led up to his appointment by President Gerald Ford.

Every week I hear at least one person, decades younger that Justice Stevens, counting the years or months until they can escape their jobs by retiring.  When I ask what they intend to do next, most of them say they are looking forward to doing nothing.

Usually this is someone who hates work and has a pension they are counting on to support them.  A model from previous generations, I don’t think it’s a very healthy one.  Recent studies support this by indicating that doing nothing is bad for brain health, emotional and social well-being.

In short, living without purpose and meaningful work is not good for you.  Of course going day after day to a job you hate isn’t good for you either, but that’s a topic for another day.

I would suggest that we retire the usual concept of retirement!  Better to consider the nearly endless field of possibilities for making a transition to a new arena of work.  Work that may make use of different interests and skill sets that you have.

Consider developing interests that you haven’t had time for.  Make new social connections; volunteer to teach what you know to others; learn something new.

You will be healthier and happier for it, and will probably live a longer life.

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