Quote of the Day: “You have to have a darkness… for the dawn to come.” Harrison Ford
Exercise Log: We stayed in Park City overnight since we needed to paint the new doors. It was snowing when we awoke this morning and Maggie, who is always up for a sleepover, said when she saw the snow outside: “This is a perfect day for skiing”. Which would in most cases be a nice thing except that it is May 30 and Memorial Day. Really, will it ever warm up? After Joe painted for 6 hours with Maggie wanting to help, we headed home and I did 5.56 on stairmaster so that makes my total exactly even.
So this week in Time Magazine, there is an article about optimism. It says that most of us are more optimistic than realistic. I love that. Who wants to believe that future life will be worse than the present? How could I get through chemo if I had that attitude? It’s amazing to me how quickly the mind can forget or wills itself to forget past pain. This last week I have started to feel pretty good and when I think about what the next treatment will bring, I forget or my mind won’t let me go there. I just want to believe that I will feel good. Sure, as soon as I start to have those body aches again, I’m sure I will remember, but isn’t that a great thing that we can forget pain? We really are amazingly resilient. The article goes on to say: “People hugely underestimate their chances of getting divorced, losing their job or being diagnosed with cancer; expect their children to be extraordinarily gifted; envision themselves achieving more than their peers; and overestimating their likely life span (sometimes by 20 years or more).”
It goes on to say: “Without optimism, our ancestors might never have ventured far from their tribes and we might all be cave dwellers, still huddled together and dreaming of light and heart.” Furthermore, “To make progress, we need to be able to imagine alternative realities-, better ones- and we need to believe that we can achieve them. Such faith helps motivate us to pursue our goals.” “…optimism has clear benefits in the present. Hope keeps our minds at ease, lowers stress and improves physical health.”
So take heart optimists because the article goes on to say: “Without a neural mechanism that generates unrealistic optimism, all humans would be mildly depressed.” The human mind is so amazing- so enjoy that your mind wants you to be happy- don’t fight it!
Oh I just love your comments and insights-always uplifting, inspiring-you emanate so much hope into the world and the universe at large!!! The article could have been written about you.