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Sticky songs
“We become what we repeatedly do.” ~Stephen R. Covey Cher won’t stop singing “Dark Lady” inside my head. The pop tune — which was released in 1974 but happened to be playing on my car radio last week — now repeats itself on an endless loop in my mind while I’m drying my hair in the bathroom each morning. Then it starts all over again, later, while I’m chopping veggies in the kitchen. And it’s not like I’m a huge fan of Cher. What is it with sticky songs? According to my online research, sticky songs (otherwise known as “earworms”) have a scientific label: Involuntary Musical Imagery, or INMI. “According…
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A compass for everyday living
“Leave the road, take the trails.” ~Pythagoras When I’m in a hurry to reach a specific destination, I don’t mind driving the expressway. But my favorite vacation memories usually involve exploring country back roads, where greener landscapes or small towns await discovery. Side streets and backstories — even those near our own hometown — are too easy to miss when we’re speeding down the interstate. Today’s quote also serves as a direction for everyday living. Wherever your journey takes you this weekend, why not take the scenic route? ~CL
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Living in the past?
“Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed.” ~Brene Brown Some people believe nostalgia is a casualty of aging — but I’m not so sure that’s true. I’ve been nostalgic (and overly sentimental) since I was a kid. I’m the sort of person who loves old houses and anything with a history. I find comfort in rereading passages from novels with nostalgic themes (Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine comes to mind) and sometimes I view the past through proverbial rose-colored lenses. Which might be why today’s quote hit home…
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Strange places
“Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.” ~Robert Hunter, of the Grateful Dead It’s amazing what a couple of weeks of illness and isolation will do for you. You realize, for starters, how many things you’ve taken for granted for so long. The ability to taste and smell your food. The company of good friends. The freedom to run errands or go anywhere you please. Last month, Doug and I were hit with unrelenting cases of COVID-19. As I write this, I’m on Day 11, still testing positive with mild symptoms. But there are glimmers of hope.…
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Find your own shoe
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another. There is no recipe for living that suits all cases.” ~Carl Jung, psychiatrist and author There’s something called the theory of social comparison, which suggests that comparing and contrasting ourselves to our peers is key to our identity. Social comparison helps us form or solidify our values, preferences, and feelings of self-worth. If our friends or favorite celebrities are wearing a particular style, for instance, we’re likely to mimic or mirror it — whether we genuinely like it or not. This explains, in part, the hilarious trend of spending top dollar for ripped jeans and painful footwear. Things get more complicated when…
