There are hundreds of phrases I attribute to my mom and among my favorites is, “laughter is medicine for your soul”. Throughout my lifetime, I’ve added a few more “pills” I try to take every day.
- Real medicine (I’ve long struggled with anxiety and am happily hooked on Celexa.)
- Music
- Silence
- Exercise
Each of these, along with laughter, have become essential daily disciplines for me. How about you? Not so much? Then here are some ideas.
Laughter: Read the comics? Watch a comedy? Say something silly to your kids, grandkids or a server or checkout person at the store? (That’s my favorite because I love seeing their reactions.)
Real medicine: Most of my friends still disdain the need for prescription drugs for mental health. But after refusing meds for years, I learned that when applied by professionals after researching my specific tendencies, they can be very helpful.
Music: When do you play music each day? Do you have any playlists? What’s your favorite genre? When did you last see live music? If you play an instrument, when did you last play it? (This includes if it’s been months or years – it’s never too late!)
Silence: Most everyone I know says they have no time for silence. Really? It does take discipline, I’ve been rewarded by stopping myself to notice…clouds, a baby crying, the sound of my breath, waves or rain. And Mother Teresa, in the first step of her “Simple Path” notes that “the fruit of silence is prayer”.
Exercise: Nope, I don’t mean running or hitting the gym, necessarily. Just wearing a gadget that measures your steps or heart rate may lead to some simple improvement. Walking, stretching, isometrics, yoga, whatever! Anything that causes your body to move.
And if you can only choose one of these? Choose laughter. It’s clinically proven (look it up) that when you laugh, your mind and body become healthier.
Life can become too serious. It’s hard to be serious when we’re laughing.
Peace.
Tim McCarthy
Quote of the Month: Shane Parrish
“Staying focused requires a lot of effort and discipline. One clue outstanding people leave is that they tend to commit and focus on something for an abnormally long period, even if the results are not immediately visible.”
---Shane Parrish
Song of the Month: “Breakup With Everything”, by Michael Franti & Spearhead
Editor’s Note: Here’s a lovely song sent me by my son, Kevin. One old acoustic guitar and one voice with feeling.
Favorite lyric:
"If it’s love that you lost,
Or some roses dried up
Or something you no longer believe…
Just break up with everything that you don’t need."
Book of The Month: “5 Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life", by Bill Eddy
Editor’s Note: My sisters and I have been discovering that age brings wisdom that mostly escaped us in our younger years. This book, and the people it describes, have been central to my understanding of what Eddy calls "High Conflict Personalities" (HCPs) who have successfully made me their "Target of Blame" (TOB). If this sounds even vaguely familiar to you, I recommend picking up the book. While it does concentrate on research-based definitions of narcissism and borderline personality disorder that underlie most HCPs, more importantly it suggests ways that enablers like me can lovingly cut the cord with these individuals. These personality types share one common tragic flaw: they simply cannot bear responsibility for their own lives.
Excerpt:
“Here’s the good news: You can trust 80-90% of humanity, people to be who say who they are, to do what they say they will do, and to follow most of the social rules that help us live together…The bad news: About 10% of humanity can ruin your reputation, rob your self-esteem or even destroy your career.”
Truly Funny: Sales Coach
I spent time with a childhood friend, who has been in private banking his entire career who told me about his client who was also his doctor doing an exam of his private parts. His buddy says, “well I might be the first guy ever to say honestly ‘I had my banker by the b----‘”. To which Joe responded: “you know, I bet that will be funny to me someday, but not today."
