"Not surprisingly, they have found that beyond a certain minimum level of income, greater happiness comes from strong and plentiful human connections, a sense of control over one’s life and employment, meaningful work, good health, basic economic security, trust in others and in government, and other opportunities less directly connected with monetary remuneration."
A good start for today's' post. I am big on happiness. I found this article AROTM. Absolutely Right On The Money. (like we need another acronym, sorry).
There is not much I can add. Please visit the link and check it our for yourself. I can however add some serendipitous exposition in the form of comment, so here goes:
1) Certain minimum level of income. Roger, got that. Minimum.
2) Strong and plentiful human connections. OK. Could be stronger and more plentiful, but for the most part, most of the time, I pass here.
3) A sense of control.... Check, if it is to be-it's up to me.
4) Meaningful work. Hey I am RCVman, providing the planet with entertaining and didactic training videos so they may improve health and fitness.
5) Good health. That's where it gets interesting*.
6) Basic economic security. This is about as basic as it gets.
7) Trust in others and in government. Others yes, the .gov? Don't think so.
8) Other opps less direct than ROI. Opportunities or ideas, beliefs, disciplines, passions? I prefer the latter.
If graded as an 8 part quiz, I think I score at around 80% of max. The money thing and my propensity towards rebellion, my relentless questioning of authoritative propriety and alternative spiritual practices keeping me from 100% nirvana.
How do you score?
Photo: *My six hours last night at Harrison ER (chest pains) confirmed one thing: I have a VERY low resting HR (36). As the EKG, Xray and blood enzymes showed nothing but good stuff, the Dr. recommended a follow up treadmill stress test. I will melt that thing.
As a footnote, sincere thanks to Scott Davis in LA for reminding me of Jim & Brian, Dr. Greg Henderson for making the tough call for me, and the entire staff at Harrison in Silverdale ER, who were professional and talented and personable. That is a tough room but I got some yucks. Also to Chris Harvey for putting courage and character on display over the last two weeks.
12 comments:
Do they think you are ingesting too much sodium? You don't seem to have any other apparent risk factors.
They have no clue, hence the additional testing. I am kinda looking forward to the stress test. Meet with local doc tomorrow, Andersen?
They said that being single was a risk factor. Really.
I hope your OK. Without your blog I'd be a bit low on #2 :); but your still blogging so that must be a good sign. Let me know if you need help. I'll ask my doc friends as well what that could be.
Thanks ej. I am fine. We'll get some more answers tomorrow. They are continuing the blood tests and after I melt down their treadmill during the stress test, I am sure they will let me race again.
Funny though, one sentence from C. McCarthy's incredible "Suttree" has been on my mind since the initial read: "....froze him with fear as he pondered the mathematical certainty of his own death."
Wow. 10, 100, 1001?
Well, take care of you, I believe it will all work out for you.
2) is definitely a gaping hole in my life, despite my kids and a small community church. There's maybe two people I connect with a few times a week (or less, usually less). I should make a bigger effort to connect, and facebook (sadly) doesn't count. I long for a sense of community, I should seek that out.
I score decent on most other areas (relative to my standards :).
I look forward to a good report from your tests.
Am I detecting a trend here? We all have issues with number 2? Could our standards be too high? Are we too busy? Are we anti-social? Hummmmmm. That is one of the many reasons why I like racing so much, to check in with like minded folk. And then there is my spinning class......I agree that FB doesn't count.
I will post ongoing test reports as there were a few family members that were "concerned" that they heard about all this on a blog.
Times are tough when you have to go to ER to get something to blog about, eh?
Hang in there, and btw, it hit 17 last night and my hot water has been froze since Monday. If that makes ya feel any warmer.
17. . yikes. That's not good for you guys. Hope your water unfreezes SOON!!
There's a sign in town here, that posts the weather in Honolulu, yesterday it was 81. 81!!
*sigh* I'm in the wrong neck of the woods.
I was thinking about a "winter cabin" somewhere (warm) where I could retire to for 60 days every Dec & Jan and just ride, run and (gasp) swim. Maybe do a mini camp. I was thinking about Arizona, Mexico and Hawaii. Maybe a time share. Maybe a cabin swap with somebody who loves to ski and tell stories by the fire.
Maybe I'm dreaming. 81. Nice.
Take great care, KML. There's some crazy (and borderline cruel) crap going on in the cosmos right now. IMHO, we can do our best to flip it by taking #3 (what little sense of control we have) and using it to strengthen #2 (developing plentiful human connections). And then by moving to Maui......
Thanks for the heads-up LE. Hate it when I get double teamed by society at large AND the cosmos! Interesting take on the 3-2 flip. Tried a little of that tonight when meeting with the PCP candidate. We had a nice chat. He thinks the "episode" was some gastric flux with chest area nerve irritation brought on by excess: food, wine, coffee, stress, cold. I go back tomorrow for some blood work. When I asked him about a treadmill stress test he said, "Do one with your 0530 class tomorrow and let me know how you felt. That'll save ya $150."
Did I say I like this guy?
Glad to hear that, at least in part, it was caused by some factors you have some "control" over, yes? By the by, I'm offering up as much positivity back up to the cosmos as I can muster, knowing truly, I would not be able to get through these times without the loving support of my human connections. If adversity makes us stronger, then let's strengthen the network. And if you need a good laugh to relieve any stress, go see Pirate Radio. Might save you on any additional tests they need to run.
Yes, I have only control of me. (Most of the time). Everything else is pretty much random chaos. As much as we like to think we are in the drivers seat, it is a road of illusion. I will offer some positive vibes in your honor today as well. Sometimes I think the human condition is AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL. Thanks for the tip on Pirate Radio. Was going to see The Road (being the HUGE Cormac McCarthy fan I am) but not sure if I need to see that carnage and despair today. Stay warm and thanks for the pledge.
Post a Comment