Blog Dis
Worrying ourselves into an early grave
2024-02-06
Worrying, that hopelessly stupid internal activity in our brains is a complete and total waste of time. Why then do we worry nonetheless? I've my own theories. The most logical explanation I can accept is that our brains are hard-wired to analyze and interpret and reflect and therefore our brains are incapable of remaining at rest continuously, unless we're dead. And if I broke down and categorized how much time was spent thinking and on what particular subjects, I'd not be shocked to learn that at least 10% of our time on this earth is spent worrying.
It must be hell for parents. Mom tells me she worries constantly about her grown children, which feels like an oxymoron to pair the words grown and children together, when referring to adults, but this is how many parents regard their offspring. These days my biggest worry is my Mom's ailing health owing to her advanced years. Back in 2001, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and according to neurosurgeons, she can go at any moment in the blink of an eyelash. Fast forward to 2024, my Mom is still with us, though recuperating from having broken her hip in 2021, plus her leg, and her arm in two places. Fast forward to Sep 2023, and she fell, which isn't an uncommon occurrence after someone has shattered their hip in a fall. We all, at some point in time in our lives, will deal with balance issues, even trickier after a broken hip. Worry about my mom has set in daily, hourly, and sometimes all throughout the weekend. I try to tell myself that worrying is a waste of time, that worrying will give me more grey hairs, that worrying is a time-stealer. All true.
I worry about the state of affairs of my investments, whether or not I'm being bamboozled by investment strategies that are designed purely in mind with the intent to make the mutual fund managers and banks more money, which is essentially what happens. Portfolio management fees are applied whether you make money or not. Online fraud is a real concern, and I worry at times about being tripped up, duped to relinquish personal information, unwittingly; there are far too many access points now, such as our clever phones, texting, hijacking emails, social networks and the like. I also worry about my sleep, to ensure I get the right amount each night. Women, I guarantee you, are more likely to endure several nights of insomnia days before the curse arrives. I worry about my diet and eating the right foods and not eating too much of the wrong stuff, like sweets and salt. I've trained myself to check the ingredients profile on each package: zero grams of sugar, low-sodium, non-GMO, to mostly avoid the gluten free products (which only means that wheat has been substituted for corn) and basically to place emphasis on greens, drinking loads of water, and keeping my alcohol intake to a moderate level. I might have 1-2 drinks per week when I'm connecting with a family member or a friend(s).
The list goes on, so pour yourself a cup of joe and don't worry about the length of this blog. Well, not to lose sight of the reason for this posting, I worry about how I may have hurt the feelings of others at times because I've a tendency to speak before I think, often times being unnecessarily blunt when a soft-shoed approach would work far better. No doubt, we are all guilty of doing this from time to time, putting one foot in our mouths, only to remove it, and then replace it with the other foot. Woke culture worries me too, yet despite its stranglehold, foot-in-mouth-disease hasn't gone away.
There are flower remedies formulated by a British homeopathic company called Bach Flower Remedies. One is designed specifically for people who are chronic worry-warts. I've tried this flower remedy which requires you to place a few drops on the end of your tongue three times a day. Not so sure it worked. I did my best to remain vigilant but then I found myself worrying did I remember to take the right amount of drops. Maybe too I should pour myself a glass of Beaujolais red like the French do for breakfast (theirs is in fact diluted with water; it's morning after all). The French appear to be less of a worrying nation that places the right amount of value on taking time off from working. The French leave for up to six to eight weeks each year for vacation, to fully decompress, and their Government to this end passed legislation that an employer isn't permitted to reach out to the employee during this vacation period. Whereas, North Americans are not entitled to this length of time off for vacation right off the top. In some corporations, an employee has to devote 15 years' service before earning the right to take off for six weeks. Seems uncivilized to me.
All to say, the act of worrying is perhaps proportionate to the amount of energy expelled in worrying about said subject. But let us keep things in perspective. If we were living in some of the war-torn and ravaged countries, we would be worrying about our water supply and where our next meal is coming from, but as it is, Canadians have little to worry about this happening, at least for now. According to one of our former Prime Ministers (Joe Clark), there'll come a time when civil wars will break out in Canada. But in getting back to the quality of life in Canada, if I want a drink of water, I just go to the tap and open the valve and presto! But because I worry about its quality, I make it a point of boiling my water, let it cool, and then I pour the water into a container and keep it in the fridge; taste is superior. I avoid buying water in plastic bottles. Scientific research has determined that micro-plastics are being found in these bottles of water, and that these plastics once in the body cannot be flushed out. One more thing to add to my list of worries!
Sometimes I need to have my head screwed on extra-tight so that I place my worries in proper perspective. Either that, or I pick up a set of worry beads and like the Greek men of old, flick them around in a circular motion to dispel my worries. Worry beads are meant to remain with you for your entire life. That thought actually worries me, frankly.
Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher (born in 571 B.C.) was noted for saying, "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present." Hmmm... 🤔I wonder if Lao was much of a worrier.
It must be hell for parents. Mom tells me she worries constantly about her grown children, which feels like an oxymoron to pair the words grown and children together, when referring to adults, but this is how many parents regard their offspring. These days my biggest worry is my Mom's ailing health owing to her advanced years. Back in 2001, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and according to neurosurgeons, she can go at any moment in the blink of an eyelash. Fast forward to 2024, my Mom is still with us, though recuperating from having broken her hip in 2021, plus her leg, and her arm in two places. Fast forward to Sep 2023, and she fell, which isn't an uncommon occurrence after someone has shattered their hip in a fall. We all, at some point in time in our lives, will deal with balance issues, even trickier after a broken hip. Worry about my mom has set in daily, hourly, and sometimes all throughout the weekend. I try to tell myself that worrying is a waste of time, that worrying will give me more grey hairs, that worrying is a time-stealer. All true.
I worry about the state of affairs of my investments, whether or not I'm being bamboozled by investment strategies that are designed purely in mind with the intent to make the mutual fund managers and banks more money, which is essentially what happens. Portfolio management fees are applied whether you make money or not. Online fraud is a real concern, and I worry at times about being tripped up, duped to relinquish personal information, unwittingly; there are far too many access points now, such as our clever phones, texting, hijacking emails, social networks and the like. I also worry about my sleep, to ensure I get the right amount each night. Women, I guarantee you, are more likely to endure several nights of insomnia days before the curse arrives. I worry about my diet and eating the right foods and not eating too much of the wrong stuff, like sweets and salt. I've trained myself to check the ingredients profile on each package: zero grams of sugar, low-sodium, non-GMO, to mostly avoid the gluten free products (which only means that wheat has been substituted for corn) and basically to place emphasis on greens, drinking loads of water, and keeping my alcohol intake to a moderate level. I might have 1-2 drinks per week when I'm connecting with a family member or a friend(s).
The list goes on, so pour yourself a cup of joe and don't worry about the length of this blog. Well, not to lose sight of the reason for this posting, I worry about how I may have hurt the feelings of others at times because I've a tendency to speak before I think, often times being unnecessarily blunt when a soft-shoed approach would work far better. No doubt, we are all guilty of doing this from time to time, putting one foot in our mouths, only to remove it, and then replace it with the other foot. Woke culture worries me too, yet despite its stranglehold, foot-in-mouth-disease hasn't gone away.
There are flower remedies formulated by a British homeopathic company called Bach Flower Remedies. One is designed specifically for people who are chronic worry-warts. I've tried this flower remedy which requires you to place a few drops on the end of your tongue three times a day. Not so sure it worked. I did my best to remain vigilant but then I found myself worrying did I remember to take the right amount of drops. Maybe too I should pour myself a glass of Beaujolais red like the French do for breakfast (theirs is in fact diluted with water; it's morning after all). The French appear to be less of a worrying nation that places the right amount of value on taking time off from working. The French leave for up to six to eight weeks each year for vacation, to fully decompress, and their Government to this end passed legislation that an employer isn't permitted to reach out to the employee during this vacation period. Whereas, North Americans are not entitled to this length of time off for vacation right off the top. In some corporations, an employee has to devote 15 years' service before earning the right to take off for six weeks. Seems uncivilized to me.
All to say, the act of worrying is perhaps proportionate to the amount of energy expelled in worrying about said subject. But let us keep things in perspective. If we were living in some of the war-torn and ravaged countries, we would be worrying about our water supply and where our next meal is coming from, but as it is, Canadians have little to worry about this happening, at least for now. According to one of our former Prime Ministers (Joe Clark), there'll come a time when civil wars will break out in Canada. But in getting back to the quality of life in Canada, if I want a drink of water, I just go to the tap and open the valve and presto! But because I worry about its quality, I make it a point of boiling my water, let it cool, and then I pour the water into a container and keep it in the fridge; taste is superior. I avoid buying water in plastic bottles. Scientific research has determined that micro-plastics are being found in these bottles of water, and that these plastics once in the body cannot be flushed out. One more thing to add to my list of worries!
Sometimes I need to have my head screwed on extra-tight so that I place my worries in proper perspective. Either that, or I pick up a set of worry beads and like the Greek men of old, flick them around in a circular motion to dispel my worries. Worry beads are meant to remain with you for your entire life. That thought actually worries me, frankly.
Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher (born in 571 B.C.) was noted for saying, "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present." Hmmm... 🤔I wonder if Lao was much of a worrier.
