Happy

Happy Saturday – The ‘Happy’ as my standard opening word is much more than just a filler word. Each and every day we all have at our disposal an opportunity. The opportunity to seize at whatever is tossed into our path as a challenge or as an impediment. As an ‘Albatross’ or as a positive opportunity.

This might be a (very) weak example of what I just mentioned; but here goes. I forgot to grind some of our Don Pablo coffee beans and wanted my mug of coffee ASAP. Without batting an eye, I got into my Hazelnut coffee stash; problem solved, plus a ‘wake-up-the-tastebuds’ moment – glad I made that move.

Happiness – Just to avoid getting into a long diatribe let me just steer you to the writings of the legendary Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961) – he was a main character in the psychology studies I had at Calvin. What you’d find is that many reliable rules as to what creates happiness can be found and most of them were figured out in 1960 by a senior citizen – none other than Dr. Carl Jung. Concepts such as having a “complex”, something being an “archetype”, even us being an “introvert or an extrovert”, were all put forth by Jung.

Approaching his 85th birthday Jung was asked what factors requisite for happiness were. He posited five pillars for happiness:

1. maintaining good physical and mental health.
2. good personal and intimate relationships.
3. satisfying work and a reasonable standard of living.
4. seeing beauty in art and nature.
5. a philosophical or religious outlook that fosters resilience.

Perimenopause – As we age, not necessarily yet old, most of us experience a bit of aphasia now and then. The ladies have a dedicated term to their specific type of aphasia, perimenopause (for men the closest is ‘andropause’). It appears that both Estrogen and Testosterone play a part.

I got a bit more of an insight on this subject through the writing of Mira Ptacin. I guess that I had one too many of those ‘brain-burps’. One which made me want to dig in a bit more on the subject. As Ptacin says regarding ‘losing words’; “Mid-sentence, mid-thought, mid-story I’ve told a hundred times; the word I want stands just out of reach, waving its little arms from a foggy distance.”

Anyway, this isn’t trying to be a science paper. Just an old guy placing front and center a small piece of all what encapsules the aging process.

But mostly, to also expose you, the readers, to a small piece of the charming writings of Ptacin as she writes, “When hormone levels are seesawing, neurotransmitters get jumpy and gray matter thins. Temporarily, they insist. Reversible, they say. Meanwhile, I’m in the kitchen trying to remember the word cinnamon and calling it “the spicy dust.”

Is there a Ball Game tomorrow? – Rumor has it that a few of us will be watching a football game tomorrow; still not certain if I’ll be part of it all. There was a time when we’d head out for parties or gatherings. This year it seems to be more of a ‘meh’ event. I haven’t really got to the reason why.

Musical Interlude – I’ve been a bit deep with this week’s Ramblings; please don’t get riled up or anything like that. Instead, just ease back with some super cool music. Listen to one of my favorite pieces performed flawlessly by none other than musical greats Wynton Marsalis, Taj Mahal, and Eric Clapton as they perform a wonderful rendition of Just a Closer Walk with Thee.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Over the years we’ve experienced many a Blizzard across the USA. Some were severe enough to be given a name. Here are the top 10 with the dates they occurred. All except for two, what year did those two storms occur?

1. GREAT BLIZZARD OF 1888
2. WHITE HURRICANE (1913)
3. KNICKERBOCKER STORM (1922)
4. CHICAGO BLIZZARD OF 1967
5. BLIZZARD OF ????
6. STORM OF THE CENTURY (????)
7. BLIZZARD OF 1996
8. SNOWMAGEDDON (2010)
9. GROUNDHOG DAY BLIZZARD (2011)
10. WINTER STORM JONAS (2016)

Last week answer – #7 Applesauce