Here in Flala Land, Christmas is just around the corner. Temps in the mid 80’s and no humidity. Top hat and a scarf as I belt out Noels are not exactly in the offing. But it is still that time of the year. 

I got to wondering why we feel all good inside? Grouches smile even if grudgingly. You air out your billfold and give this one or that a few bucks for their service. You watch, It’s A Wonderful  Life or Christmas Story. We are all Ralphies in a way. There is something that gets awakened.

I think it is the thought of giving. You love to put a smile on someone’s face. You search for the perfect gift or thought to be written. You do a good deed here and there. For those brief times it ain’t about me. I muse as to why we don’t feel that way all the time? By using too much of a good thing, would we lose it? 

We are more cognizant of what it going on around us. Our antennae are up and our radars scan everywhere for that  deep down feeling. I could give you twenty vignettes of things that happened this week that I hope would reach your heart. We realize that maybe we have been too cooped up in our own little worlds to see both tragedy and joy around us. 

The divine Miss K and I went for a late leisurely lunch yesterday. The place was a pleasant new Italian bistro. As we sipped our white wine trying to be so cosmopolitan, there was a family across the way. One of the children was handicapped. After lunch, big brother picked him up and carried him out as they left laughing. In a strange way it felt good to see. 

As we stared out in the parking lot there was a young woman and a gentleman who drove his electric wheel chair with a joystick he clutched with the only two fingers that worked. She opened the van and pushed him up the ramp with effort and yet ease. She had done this for years. She then picked up her baby in a carry seat that rested on the macadam. She had a pretty smile on her face. How do you do that? 

Your feelings are a cross between guilt and gratitude. We enjoyed our pasta but the thought of these people lingered long after. Kathy and I talked a good while.  I emailed my kids and old friends. I wanted to write my blog. There was just something in me I wanted to share. I hope I get it right. 

While we were driving, Kathy blurted out that she wished people would listen to God. We are churchgoers, but not holy rollers so it came as a bit of a surprise. She plainly stated that if we adhered to the Ten Commandments, the world would be a pretty good place. I thought about that not as a theologian but as a human being. 

This is not about proselytizing but trying to find a way in our crazy world. Forget about God but just think about,Do not kill, Do not lie, do not swear, Do not commit adultery,Do not rob. Geez Louise, just treat someone else as you would like to be treated. Do you want to be raped or shot at? Do you want to be taken advantage of or cheated ? Do you want to be looked at as a miserable human being just trying to make your way in the world? Is my color or status the only thing I have going for me in your eyes? Interesting thoughts. 

I often think about what Christmas is like in all the crazy places we have visited. Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand. A little town in Tuscany or Amalfi.

Wimbeldon, where my son lived with is family for three years. Denver, Cleveland, Scottsdale and San Francisco. There is so much out there to be thoughtful of. Longtime friends and casual acquaintances. Thousands of people we have met in our lifetimes. Each and everyone distinct and yet so much a part of this thing we call civilization. 

My final thought on this beautiful morning is about war. What TTG? You are a sicko. I hope not. We are battling COVID all over the planet. We want to quarantine and protect our turf. We are using syringes instead of missiles but aren’t they the same?

There are enemies everywhere and that is very sad. It could be Putin or Xi. It could be Delta or Omicron. It could be an immigrant that doesn’t speak our language. It could be a right winger or left of left liberal. 

We are all at each other’s throats. Some call it capitalism. Some call it socialism. Some of us are running out of water. Some are starving. We all want to shrink back into our cocoons and make the world go away. Except at Christmastime, when we are all so cheery and welcoming and generous. It is the week before Christmas. Maybe we could just make it the week before next week. You know, keep this feeling going. Might not be a bad world after all. 

As always

Ted The Great. 

AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!

Factoids: 

Simple. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I looked it up in Wikpedia and below proves it !

I thought I would Monkee around with this week’s title. Boo! Hiss! I can hear the groans now. I couldn’t resist. Then again many of you weren’t around in 1967, so my bon mot might be wasted. Anyhoo, I decided to write of one of my favorite pastimes…daydreaming. 

It is frowned about in our frenetic and demanding world. You are considered stupid at best and slovenly at worse if you make such bad use of your precious time. It has received a new moniker in our upbeat world. It is now clinically bad like everything else in the form of ADHD. Scientists really are downers at times.

 It has been studied since the days of that good old standup comic, Sigmund Freud.  No matter what is going on in your life, he theorized it is because of sexual deviation or not being toilet trained properly. Only recently has daydreaming been appreciated for its positive characteristics. 

I have become quite good at it. I have been known to have thoughts alternative, in the middle of my backswing in golf. If you have seen my golf swing you know why I want to think elsewhere. While reading, running or just waiting for something I just let myself wander into the world of reverie. The fun part of being old is you can now dismiss it as early stage Alzheimers. It works for everything. 

It is definitely  associated with creativity. You have a tough problem to be solved. Think about it. You don’t seek a solution among the strict confines of analytical thought. You draw outside the lines. You think the unthinkable and voila, that answer pops right up in front of you. 

That AHA! moment is the result of an increase in alpha waves in your frontal cortex. Whoa! Don’t worry I don’t understand it. I just read it somewhere. But even that is great fun. Pick a topic. Go to the world of Google and start researching. Trust me there is something for everyone. I sometimes get into a subject and zig and zag and then after awhile wonder how the hell I got there? Waste of time? I choose to think not. 

The brain and its multitudinal  functions fascinate me. It has been the subject of study for millennia and yet we are still just scratching the surface. We can watch brainwaves react to this or that stimuli but we still can’t put together how it manages our bodily functions, enables us to move around  and still have emotions all at the same time. It’s not artificial intelligence. It’s the real thing. 

It is more than interesting that we are all born more or less with the same grey matter. Who you are and what you become is not limited in any way. What goes on up there is the result of years of learning, decision making and most of all the environment you are brought up in. People are not born smart. They become smart. Yes, there is still hope for me.  

We can lay blame to ADHD and number of other so called diseases of the brain. Einstein,Da Vinci and Walt Disney were dyslexic. In today’s world we would label them as such and perhaps not take note of their creativity or scientific achievements. That is tragic. “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” is never more true. 

Too late to become smart? Not really. I find myself learning more and more each day. That is not because I am smart but because I have so much to discover. Hmm, Humility is the best teacher of all . When you feel egotistical, start looking into a world where people have put years of study into this or that. It is sobering and in a good way.

Daydreaming is a state of mind. Unfortunately some get depressed when they drift off. I am no good. I have no talent. I suck at thinking great stuff. Really? If you want to you are more than welcome to dwell on negative things. Replay the movie over and over. Guess what? It still turns out the same. On the other hand you can rewrite that script. It is all in your head. 

Your brain is not a muscle but you can make it better by working out.

If you want to absorb Fox, MSNBC,CNN or Facebook in a semi comatose state, go for it. If you want to rehash elections, decry most everything, complain incessantly about every little irritation, I understand. Does Putin or Xi give you fits? Do you really think you have control over the weather or stock market?  It is the way you choose to be. But it does not have to be that way. 

You can savor that cup of coffee or a dram of scotch and just relax. You can walk outside or look from the window and see how amazing this world is.You can say hello to just about everyone you see. You can text or email someone you have forgotten about. You can think about how lucky we are to still be alive. Corny? Maybe. But it is a wonderful daydream for me. It hope it is for you. 

As always 

Ted The Great  

Factoids:

Daydreams last only about 15 seconds. Mine seem a lot longer.

You don’t blink. Daydreaming usually completely consumes your thought processes because you’re basically creating a world within your head! 

Researchers have found that when they stimulated people’s frontal lobes with a mild electrical current, the people reported experiencing more daydreams than usual. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that regulates our self-control, planning and logical thinking.  See,I did look it up. 

The brain weighs about three pounds and is 75% water. It contains 100 billion neurons. I have no idea how they counted them. 

Human brain keeps developing until you are in your late 40s. It also sees more changes than any other organ. Around mid-life, the brain will begin to shrink. However, size doesn’t matter in the brain. There is no evidence that a larger brain is smarter than a smaller one. Trust me I knew that.