Thursday, December 5, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
happiness with a side of relish..
hap·pi·ness
noun \ˈha-pē-nəs\: the state of being happy
: an experience that makes you happy
Happiness... Should not be a difficult concept, right? It has a very simple definition, yet, it seems to allude us frequently. I often tell people that I am happy a lot, but rarely content. That seems like an oxymoron, but I guess what I mean is that I often have happy moments in my life, day to day, but I rarely feel that I am at a "state of being" that I would like to hang out in for awhile, you know? Honestly, I think this isn't all bad, as it keeps me in motion, striving for more- but always at a cost.
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| image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2013 |
First of all, I am not adding these happy moments together. I simply take each one as it comes and then let it go, like shelving a good book or tossing out the remnants of an amazing salted caramel pumpkin cake (just saying)! "The sum is greater than it's parts." Big cosmic DUH to me.
The second thing I do sometimes is compare myself to others.
Theodore Roosevelt said "Comparison is the thief of joy." I totally get this, rationally, but to live it is quite another thing.
The second thing I do sometimes is compare myself to others.
Theodore Roosevelt said "Comparison is the thief of joy." I totally get this, rationally, but to live it is quite another thing.
My wish today is to be able to string all of my happy moments together like little twinkling Christmas lights or drops along a spider web- to keep with me and brighten my path as I go. I wish to be able to enjoy MY moments, because they are mine and not compare them to others. I wish to savor every tiny bit of happiness that each day brings me and to relish in the happiness of others.
Monday, October 21, 2013
a coolness with a lack of foreboding..
So, here in the midwest, fall is upon us. That means, apple picking, pumpkin carving, cooler temperatures and darker evenings are in store. Ironically, as the landscape begins to look more barren, I find that I tend to feel the most alive.
Sure, it's hard not to be taken by the beautiful fall colors that begin to show as the green of summer is lost. But, you would think that fall being the messenger of winter would leave a foreboding taste in my mouth. It really doesn't! In fact, it is during fall that I seem to come to grips with some of the darker shadows floating about my soul. As the cool wind cuts at my eyes, I can't help but tear up and I can't help but feel. Yes, there is certainly something magical about fall!image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
we are all broken in some way..
Many people have described the importance of darkness and light. Walt Whitman said, "Every moment of light and dark is a miracle and "J.R.R. Tolkien stated, "You can only come to the morning through the shadows."
These quotes ramble through my brain every time I go to work, bumping off of all of my mundane every day thoughts like a pin ball machine. Every time that I set foot into a patient's room to meet them for the first time, to help them navigate through the murky waters of recovery- I hear these words. This post is for all of us who have ever lost something, who have ever had to keep searching for the light.
image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2013
These quotes ramble through my brain every time I go to work, bumping off of all of my mundane every day thoughts like a pin ball machine. Every time that I set foot into a patient's room to meet them for the first time, to help them navigate through the murky waters of recovery- I hear these words. This post is for all of us who have ever lost something, who have ever had to keep searching for the light.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
connectomes...
In the field of Neuroscience there is a concept called "neural recruitment." Basically, we are born with a set number of neurons (brain cells) and, in fact, lose many along the way (some of us more than others) as we age. Our bodies can not manufacture new neurons, but we can utilize something called neural recruitment to assist our recovery after an injury.
Once we experience a stroke or a head injury our existing neurons can literally, and figuratively, reach out to others to make new connections and strengthen current ones. We see the result of this recruitment as we heal and function starts to return. Basically, to encourage this "recruitment" we need to stimulate the brain in ways that are challenging for it. For instance, someone who suffers a stroke and has difficulty expressing themselves verbally- needs to be challenged to produce more and more language. Or, maybe someone has a significant hemiparesis and needs to be challenged to stand or walk.
Doing challenging things, makes our brains stronger. Ralph Waldo Emerson said something similar, "Always do what you are afraid to do."
Recently, I was at a party discussing a totally different topic- people's various levels of willingness to be vulnerable and how being vulnerable with other human beings is what allows us to heal our souls, strengthen community and make progress as a civilization (yes, I may lean a smidge to the dramatic side of things, but whatever, that's me). Well, this sounds a lot like a new concept I am going to coin right here and now "soul recruitment."
As we open up our souls and show glimpses of them to others, especially given a challenging situation or topic or time in our lives, this encourages our soul to reach out and make new connections with other souls or strengthens connections with existing souls, thus making us all better, all stronger and encourages collective healing!
Being vulnerable has not always been a strong suit of mine, but I find that certain people bring it out in me and these are the people I like being around the most, probably because I can sense the healing and building up of my soul.
Thank you Renata for opening yourself up to me, for encouraging me to be less guarded and for helping me to make this all too important "connection."
Once we experience a stroke or a head injury our existing neurons can literally, and figuratively, reach out to others to make new connections and strengthen current ones. We see the result of this recruitment as we heal and function starts to return. Basically, to encourage this "recruitment" we need to stimulate the brain in ways that are challenging for it. For instance, someone who suffers a stroke and has difficulty expressing themselves verbally- needs to be challenged to produce more and more language. Or, maybe someone has a significant hemiparesis and needs to be challenged to stand or walk.
Doing challenging things, makes our brains stronger. Ralph Waldo Emerson said something similar, "Always do what you are afraid to do."
Recently, I was at a party discussing a totally different topic- people's various levels of willingness to be vulnerable and how being vulnerable with other human beings is what allows us to heal our souls, strengthen community and make progress as a civilization (yes, I may lean a smidge to the dramatic side of things, but whatever, that's me). Well, this sounds a lot like a new concept I am going to coin right here and now "soul recruitment."
As we open up our souls and show glimpses of them to others, especially given a challenging situation or topic or time in our lives, this encourages our soul to reach out and make new connections with other souls or strengthens connections with existing souls, thus making us all better, all stronger and encourages collective healing!
Being vulnerable has not always been a strong suit of mine, but I find that certain people bring it out in me and these are the people I like being around the most, probably because I can sense the healing and building up of my soul.
Thank you Renata for opening yourself up to me, for encouraging me to be less guarded and for helping me to make this all too important "connection."
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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