Duration

I sometimes find that a specified duration is unnecessarily long.  Take meditation sessions.  They can sometimes be recommended for an hour when I find that a good effect is attained in 15 minutes or less. I wonder if longer periods are specified because good timers for shorter periods were rare.

I do find that repeating training regularly is an important practice.  I like to pick a time somewhat arbitrarily, one that fits into other plans and activities and make sure I repeat the activity daily.  That is often key for me: repetitions, not duration.

One of my favorite books is Prof. Larry Rosenberg’s “Breath by Breath”.  The title refers to using breath as a focus in meditation.  He cites a time when he and students traveled to a Buddhist monastery in Korea, to experience meditation there.  He found that the institution had a tradition of staying awake and avoiding sleep for one entire week.  My background immediately makes me wonder if that length of time was first used in order to be long enough to be difficult, to make a physical challenge that would be felt. It doesn’t take much for males to dream unnecessarily big.

“This is going to hurt” - book by Kay

We usually have some book we both approve that I am reading aloud for 30-60 minutes while she does a jigsaw puzzle. We started when I wanted to know when she heard a certain joke or revelation, to see her reaction.  Now the book is “This is going to hurt” by a British doctor-in-training, Adam Kay.  Their system differs some from ours but not by much.  

When I was about five years old, I said aloud that I was going to be a doctor “even if the houses fall down.”  I wasn’t that attracted to medicine or bodily repairs.  I think I just didn’t know that much about occupations.  I also had no idea at the time that being a doctor actually meant being learned, not being a physician.  I am a doctor and have been since the 60’s but not a physician.

30,007 !

A grandson was not used to stop-and-go traffic but we have a stretch with shops and firms all along the way.  There are enough driveways and offices and businesses that the car ahead of you may be forced to stop to allow the car ahead of that to slow down and turn off.  That was the situation when a grandson of mine totaled his car on the rear end of a pickup immediately ahead of him.  He needed a car so I gave him mine.

Then, I went to our local Honda dealer and said I was in the market for a replacement for me. He showed me a nice-looking Honda Fit.  He said it had not been driven much and was a good buy.  I said,"So you are telling me this car was just driven to church once a week by a nice little old lady."  He said,"Yeah".  I often think of that calm, simple answer.  I took the car and am still driving it.  This morning, after a trip to the store, I looked at the mileage as I turned off the engine.  30,007!

CNN photos of the week

It is easy to take photos with modern phones and tablets.  I think my blog is low on pictures and I admire CNN Photos of the Week.  I used to post a link to their weekly photos but they started posting a banner on their photo pages that requires acceptance of their cookies and usage policy.  My impression is that no statement of policy is of much use since the whole matter is too complex, especially for the average visitor to their site.  I looked for "recent photos from all over the world" and I found Reuters.  I sympathize with the problems of copyright these days and the problems of visual art, privacy and communication.

Another aspect of the whole matter is that News photos tend to show events that many people already have knowledge of.  News being what it is, many are of murders, warfare and natural disasters. I had my own darkroom when I was in the 4th grade, back in the days of developing film, not modern digital methods.  We both know that the world is filled with beauty and lovely views and scenes.

Can you get out?

Elderly professors can think too much.  Several members of my family all went to an "escape room".  That is a room into which we were 'locked' until members of my group could figure out how to unlock the door and escape.  I was fully aware that other people in my group had been in such an adventure before.  I could more or less sense that they were in enthusiastic anticipation of guessing the code to unlock switches and doors to escape. The room I visited had warnings and instructions to leave quickly and immediately if someone in the group became overcome with panic or sickness.  I have had much experience observing my surroundings, appreciating their design and colors so I had a strong feeling that I could wait for more experienced and enthusiastic relatives to open locks.  I didn't want to spend time gawking at them so I focused on the design of the room and the rules in play.  We were told we had an hour to experiment and escape.  60 minutes?  Ha!

Robins and snow

We just had a little bit of snow a few minutes ago.  Nothing much.  It would be easy to miss.  We have plenty of robins and until today, we had a warm spell.  Warmth melts the snow and water seeping down makes the earthworms come to the surface.  That is where the robins find and eat them.  We are seeing tiny bits of green leaves appear.

Do it from here

I went to grad school at the beginning of the current digital age. I have seen how more and more of our lives involve electronic ways of doing things, from flirting to shopping.  That tends to mean less need for travel and gasoline but also less need for movement and using our bodies in ways other than punching keys.

Sorry, Sir, Knowing myself is not possible

There are too many components in me and way too many unknowns.  I am learning about all sorts of unanswered questions about what is in the air I breathe and what effects they have or don't have on me.  My wife tells me about things that happened on trips we took together that I don't remember.

You may remember that an early Greek philosopher said that a basic principle in life is "Know thyself".  I agree that knowing myself is a good goal and is something to work toward.  However, that goal is not actually achievable.  Being beyond me doesn't mean that I should not work toward self knowledge but it does mean I am not going to get there.

Clock-watching

Here is a link to a results page for a search for "clock-watching." t.ly/WQyqx

 I think I could be termed a clock-watcher.  I tend to anticipate a coming event.  I often get ready too early but I picture being just on time, not early.  I tend to compare clocks around the house and other sources of the current time, such as internet-connected devices and the web page at time.gov.  

I have seen cartoons about being late and the difficulties such a habit can create but I haven't seen much about being early.

I was impressed by a grad school course that was about human minds and habits when the subject of astronomical observations came up.  The personal differences in habits and speed of recognition and recording an event needed to be recognized.

A vote for Mary's books

I am reading "Replaceable You" by Mary Roach aloud while Lynn does jigsaw puzzles.  Mary's books are unusual, witty and informative.  "Replaceable You" covers parts of the human body that get replaced, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.  "Bonk" is about human sexual intercourse, that important process that made us.  

I like Amazon Kindle ebooks.  They are virtually weightless, immediately available, arrive as a sort of phone call. Many of my friends dislike ebooks for lack of heft or scent or simply being electronic instead of paper.