True, I've had some travel lately, and have been immersed in the usual holiday doings, and did have some heavy commitments to other hobby activities. But, in my less-than-hectic daily routine I certainly could have carved out an hour or so most days to keep the blog active and publishing every couple of weeks. I just didn't do it. Instead, I concentrated on feeling good. So, to get things up and going for 2017, I think this might be a good topic to explore.
First, let me stipulate that despite its uncertain relationship with getting things done, feeling good is important. Especially this time of year. There's the customary let down after the hoopla of the holidays. No more left over turkey or ham. No more Christmas cookies. And for many, a return to the grind of the workplace and the weighty expectations of coworkers. Then there are the icy commutes (for me, only to the cottage fortunately) and irritating snow removal chores. Not to mention that we often go 45 days or more into the new year before we see sunshine
Now when I say feeling good, I don't mean your everyday "no big crisis unfolding, normal aches and pains under control, and on pleasant terms with your spouse" feeling good. That's a desirable state, no question. But what I'm talking about is more. That "ooh life is fabulous, can't grin wide enough, please let me do this forever" feeling good. That feeling when you are doing or experiencing something that takes you to that other place, that place you love being and want to be again soon and often.
For me, and I would guess for others, there are a number of vehicles to get you to and tucked into that euphoric envelope. Some are big. Like sailboats or vacation homes or sports cars or trips to exotic places. Those things are nice and can certainly take you to high levels of feeling good. But they normally take some planning, a tidy piece of change and more than a little effort and time to maintain or get to.
What I'm referring to are those lovely everyday things that you can slide into smoothly for a perfect fit in no time at all. And have little purpose other than to make you (or others) feel good. Here are some of mine.
First on the list is just chatting with friends over coffee. Is there a simpler and more enjoyable pleasure than that? It can be in your PJs in the morning by the fire (everyone has gas logs, right?), meeting for breakfast at your favorite eatery, mid-afternoon on the deck (or lanai) after the day's errands or a leisurely stroll, or really anytime you find yourself in the presence of good friends. Since I live (and spend the bulk of my waking hours) with my best friend, this feel-good activity is an easy one for me to find.
An equivalent of this activity is sharing time with friends over happy-hour cocktails. However, societal norms place a few (intelligent) restrictions on this activity, like not doing it in the morning in your PJs, and making sure the dinner plan is well underway before stoppers come out of the bottles.
One noteworthy version of this feel-good ritual for me is Thursday night at the bar with the Spinners (see previous post Spinner Invitational) This small group of friends started out as a bowling team in the '80s. We gave up bowling almost 20 years ago (a few of us had a curling period in there for a few years), but we never gave up getting together. To this day whoever is in town on any given Thursday night comes to the bar. We've changed our venue a few times, lost one dear soul and have added others from time to time. But the basic feel and personality of the group has never changed. We laugh, relive past times, share our troubles, and make fun of as many people as we can (most often each other). And it's great.
In recent years I will admit that the volume of our collective intake of beer and other alcoholic treats has diminished quite a bit, and we seem to be in a different demographic from most of our fellow bar patrons (by a quartet of decades I would guess). And the wait staff seems to treat us with special care (helping us with meds when necessary, making sure the defibrillator is fully charged). But the two to three hours of hanging with the Spinners on Thursday night is still one of the best feel-good times of any week I'm in town.
Now to be clear, I do like to do things with friends other than sit around and place my kidneys in distress. But nothing else for me is as peaceful, relaxing and rewarding as sharing conversation with old friends and learning of recent events in their lives. Still, most of my own feel-good activities do not require the presence of others. Just me, in my lab or nestled into a deck chair, movie-room recliner or Adirondack, navigating familiar territory with my brain set on cruise control.
Probably the most common of these activities is re-watching movies or favorite TV series. While I do enjoy new movies, especially at one of the new fancy theaters that feature electric recliners, I spend much more time re-watching movies that made me feel good during an earlier viewing. I can do this with little effort because of my extensive home library of 2000-plus titles. Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming sources add to the temptation.
Now why would one re-watch an old movie, you say? To me a good movie (meaning one that I like) is like a good recording. It gets into your brain and tweaks those good feelings. No one would question listening to a recording you've heard before, so why not a movie? Also, I have yet to re-watch any movie without picking up a subtle plot point or clever foreshadowing that I had previously missed. Good movies are well-constructed and complex, and are almost always better understood through repeat viewings. Another benefit of re-watching a favorite movie is the anticipation. Knowing that you are about to feel good through reliving a past pleasure is a feel-good event in and of itself. Your brain starts shifting to "oh boy" mode even before you slip that Blu-ray, DVD, Laser disk or video cassette into its respective player. Then it's off to joy land.
I have written a few posts about favorite movies in years past (I'm actually way overdue to resume that series), but I haven't yet dealt with the "feel-good" category. So for the curious, here are just a few of my favorites:
- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. This is '50s sci-fi at its finest. A dinosaur freed from the polar ice cap by an atomic bomb test terrorizes New York until a clever scientist and a gutsy soldier ascend a roller coaster at Coney Island to shoot the beast with a radioactive dart. Most of you know that I'm a cheesy sci-fi buff. But the real reason I love this movie is that it was the first film I ever saw in a theater. My parents dropped me off on a Sunday afternoon at the neighborhood theater while they ran errands. I went by myself (I was eight) and was scared out of my wits (of being on my own and of the movie). But I loved it and was forever hooked on movies. Whenever I watch this movie (I have a glorious 12 inch Laserdisk version), I have the same sense of wonder that I had during my first afternoon at the movies.
- Any of the one-hour Bell Science Series educational films made in the '60s, but especially "Our Mr. Sun". There are eight titles in the series, each dealing with a different scientific discipline; I own them all. These clever films use live action and animation to teach the basics of the subject matter at hand (physics, astronomy, biology, weather, etc). The shows are hosted by Peabody Award-winning scientist Dr. Frank Baxter with actors Eddie Albert and Richard Carlson alternating appearances in supporting roles. They were directed by Frank Capra and Jack Warner. The films still hold up today in their creative use of visual effects and fundamental scientific principles. But the reason I love watching them is that they take me back to high school. In those days, one of the best feelings you could have was walking into Biology or Natural Science class and seeing the projector and screen set up. That meant that we were going to watch a movie rather than actually have school. And yes, in my high school nerd-ness, I was a member of the audio-visual crew. So with one of my good buddies (who I admit was the one who really understood how the projector worked), I got to help thread the movie through the gears and tracking spools and sit next to the projector during the show. It was one of my very few "I'm cool" moments from high school.
- Any Star Trek movie or TV episode. Being a die hard Trekker, I have in my library every foot of film ever released from the Star Trek universe (around 700 hours I think). I have watched this material so often that I feel part of that world. And as such it is easy for me to get emotionally involved with the characters. All of them. From James T. Kirk to Geordi La Forge to Odo, Kes and Dr. Phlox. And since the underlying philosophy of all of Star Trek is "hang in there - things will work out", how can you not feel good.
You get the idea. I can get to that "other" place pretty easily through movies. But let's move on. I'd like to share a few other feel-good techniques.
Doing anything musical. Playing favorites on my iPod, my phone, in the car, or blasting to ear-splitting level on my home or cottage sound systems (this latter option when I'm home alone, of course). Also making playlists around themes. Both making the lists and playing them is great fun. Music has a unique spiritual quality. It's something wondrous - the non-visual even non-conscious connection between music and your brain. Thinking isn't a part of it. Another option is making music, if you have been fortunate enough to learn to play an instrument. I have recently freed my nearly 60 year-old accordion from the confines of its velvet-lined case and begun tinkering with it. I have tried this a couple of times earlier in my life with little success. Mostly due to other time demands. But I have no excuse now. And I have to admit that after plowing through some start-up lesson books this last week, it's starting to come back. I was pretty good when I was a teenager. I may not reclaim my previous level of proficiency. But bringing my old Scandalli back to life has felt pretty good.
Actually sticking to my fitness plan. Boring. But surprisingly effective. If I exercise (45 minutes of treading, walking, biking or rowing), eat right (what Nancy suggests), get enough play time (a couple of hours on hobbies) and get jammed, brushed and in pre-bed read mode on time (midnight for me), I feel amazing the next day. Duh. I've started off pretty well on this regime in the new year. Now, if I can just keep it up.
Doing for others. Anyway you can. For me this can be keeping in touch (email, texting, Facebook), writing a birthday poem for someone, doing a favor for a neighbor, or creating/finding an inexpensive but personality-appropriate gift for someone (I have often stumbled upon a book or trinket of some kind while fun shopping - thrift stores, discount shops, eBay - that "has so-and-so's name written all over it"). Or one might share a few well-intended thoughts through a blog post :-) Even in the grayest, dreariest, seemingly endless sun-free days of winter, doing little things for others can be a great pick-me-up.
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Well, getting this initial post of 2017 down in print and out into the blogosphere has made me feel pretty good today. So, thanks for helping. I hope you all have ways of blowing off the mid-winter blues and getting to your feel-good places whenever you feel the need to. It's important. And I'd love to hear how you do it.
Happy New Year!
Grosse Pointe Charles
