Where I'v been

It has been a month!!!! Where have I been? Well, I'v been busy and distracted. I have fallen in love, started swimming, mastered stocking produce, searched future career opportunities, and have been on a job safari. Relative to my pre-2010 status, I have been thriving, but I still could improve. I have been doing really well on the negative side of things by quitting smoking and drinking less. And in place of those I have been exercising, reading more, getting better sleep, and going on more adventures! Not only do I feel like a million bucks, I feel like I have a million bucks!! Well, not really. I don't make much cash-o-la but I have so much more than I would if I had not started healthier habits. I think wellness, when it is truly being achieved, comes packaged with many improved aspects of life. Health, wealth, and wisdom are joint ventures.

But to get on a topic. Can distraction be a part of thriving? I think so, but like all things, in moderation.

Moderation.

Now there is a word.

To be moderate means to be between the extremes of excess and dearth. But each thing which is capable of excess, scarcity, or moderation has it's own nature and temper. Some things are better done frequently while others only on occasion. Breath frequently, eat ice cream on occasion. But how do we know what to do when and how often? Where is the compass pointing towards happiness?

I think our bodies do a good job at telling us.

Mr. Dombos, my grade school gym teacher, dictum of caution was: "Pain is natures way of saying 'don't do that'"

But, then again, our bodies also tell us some things we shouldn't listen to. We often have repetitive pain in our lives, but can't seem to get rid of it. Our lives are filled with complexities and so are our minds and bodies. It makes sense, then, that it is hard to resolve the pain that is mixed up between our minds, bodies, and the world. I think it takes a careful mind, one that looks attentively at histories, patterns, and details, one that asks and listens to others input, one that is not afraid to change, take risks, and be wrong, to find the root causes of our troubles. In short, we need to create and partake in communities of scientists devoted to improving each others lives. We need to experiment with our experiences.