Yay, Excitement!

Wisewebwoman and Rummuser` have just written posts about excitement.

Wisewebwoman asks what do we elders do and think and feel to create excitement, that type of feeling we had as children and younger adults? She talks about the things that bring her joy. I can relate to that.

Probably the one thing that floats my boat the most is solving problems. Having things, often simple, come up and letting go of the results and treating the problem as a puzzle. Yesterday’s story about the credit fraud incident is one example.

Another is losing my house key yesterday. I almost never do that anymore, but things were different from normal because when we left the house yesterday we were going to Andy’s eye doctor in Santa Fe for a scan and evaluation and a shot in his right eye. It was fairly certain it would be a long wait — about two hours and forty minutes as it turned out — so I brought plenty of things to keep myself productively amused. I thought I had put my house key in a safe place, but after we got home (Andy drove there, I drove back) I couldn’t find it.

In order to get a new key I had to talk to our management to have a new one made, and that meant either now or later they would have to change the lock. We decided not to worry about it, we would happily pay whatever it cost rather than worry about it.

Still, I was puzzled. If it had fallen out of the car we probably would have noticed, and I had looked through all of my things twice and had checked underneath and behind the passenger seat of the car. So I started puttering around with other things when the idea came — I hadn’t looked between the passenger seat and the console between the seats. So I went out and looked, and sure enough it was there, well hidden unless you knew exactly where to look.

Trivial problem, right? Yeah, but I’m still high from finding it. It turns out a big part of me is still a little kid at heart. I spent the rest of the night celebrating.

Rummuser is more interested in equanimity than in excitement and joy. I understand where he’s coming from, but I have a different take on the term:

equanimity — mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

One of my favorite mantras is

Centered, creative, and productive.

The best thing we can do in difficult situations is to keep our brains plugged in, which means keeping our bodies relaxed. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited and celebrate when the answer comes. Equanimity doesn’t mean banishing joy from our lives. As usual, we’re all different, but for me that would be a really dumb thing to do.


 

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16 Responses to Yay, Excitement!

  1. Wisewebwoman says:

    Interesting how different some of us are and how alike also. I, too, am thrilled when I find something deemed lost. Anything actually. it is a huge thrill for it to show up often unannounced.

    XO
    WWW

  2. Rummuser says:

    I think that the differences are because of our understanding of the term ‘excitement’. I understand it as something that creates great enthusiasm or arousal. I can be as excited about finding lost things or solving a difficult puzzle as you appear to be. My reaction to the outcome however would be a restrained satisfaction rather than a big hoopla.

    • Jean says:

      We agree on the definition of excitement, but for me there are times for a big hoopla. Given the day I had Tuesday, the hoopla was simply turning latent distress into eustress. I’ll write more in a post.

  3. nick says:

    I find it exciting too when I’ve found something I thought was lost. It’s also exciting when I find an answer to some difficult problem that at first sight was unsolvable. And looking forward to things I’ve planned like holidays or a visit to the cinema is always exciting. I think the only difference that comes with age is that I probably get just as excited about things but I don’t show it in the very visible way that kids do – jiggling about, exclaiming, grinning etc.

  4. nick says:

    My lengthy comment has completely vanished! And so has Ramana’s.

    • Jean says:

      They are here on my browser. I captured them and sent it to you in an email. Sigh…. I haven’t the foggiest idea of what’s going on!

  5. tammy j says:

    a really beautiful snowfall always excites me. I used to feel guilty about that. since I’ve been retired especially. given all the people who have to be out driving in it. (just like rain… secretly its beauty has always excited me … work or not.)
    but then for many years I drove to work in it too. so one day I just thought to myself why am I feeling guilty? good grief! been there. done that!
    now I give myself permission to simply ENJOY it and feel excited!
    and the wonderful excitement comes back and I drink a warm cup of something and I read a wonderful book or watch a favorite movie and I feel very good! I call it my cozy excitement.
    same thing when our leaves finally changed! our whole city became Autumn. and I found it very exciting. it’s the little things that do it for me. 😀

    • Jean says:

      I’m with you! One of my great joys in winter/bad weather is to come back from the store and know we’re in for the night.

      Hygge — a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment. As a cultural category with its sets of associated practices hygge has more or less the same meanings in Danish and Norwegian, but the notion is more central in Denmark than Norway. The emphasis on hygge as a part of Danish culture is a recent phenomenon, dating to the late 20th century.

      I also love going grocery shopping with Andy after I’ve been working (playing?) inside all day. It doesn’t take much!

    • Cindi says:

      You would have been excited if you lived where I do.
      We had our first snowfall. Just enough to make it all wet and kinda crunchy.
      Can’t say I was really excited though.

    • Jean says:

      Cindi,
      If I had to scrape off the windshields and drive in it all the time I wouldn’t be excited either. I once said to a colleague at work, “You don’t like snow, do you Tai-Sen?” He pointed to a poster of mine with snow on top of a mountain. “Oh, I love snow — up on the mountains, but not down here!”

  6. Cindi says:

    I always smile at how different we are.
    I don’t care for puzzles and hate most games.
    If I lost that key I’d be the opposite.
    I’d be mad at myself and ripping things apart.
    Stomping around and refraining from beating my head against the wall.
    I’m forever misplacing my keys and the TV remotes so I recently set out a wooden bowl for each. It’s helping me to keep my BP down! LOL!

    I’ve tried to think what has brought me excitement. The giddy childlike kind.
    On a small scale, simple things like coming home from work and relaxing with my critters and watching a favorite show.
    Or scrolling through sites like Pinterest and being inspired and motivated to create.
    But a large scale, when I last felt that big grin on my face excitement?
    Hmm… I’d say it was when I visited the horse stables.
    I could barely contain my joy.

  7. if I lose something then find it again – it’s a sense of relief – I wouldn’t call it excitement at all…
    I’m beginning to see that we all have quite different takes on “certain words” …

    • Jean says:

      It’s not about different takes on the word, it’s about different levels of emotional energy generated. Ordinarily my reaction would be more like yours and Rummuser’s, relief and satisfaction. But Tuesday was a challenging day, first the long (two hours and forty minutes) wait in a doctor’s office specializing in helping people keep their eyesight from macular degeneration. I have a long history of eye problems with threats of blindness and I handled it well by having plenty of things to work on. Andy’s eyes seem to be reasonably stable right now, but the couple I mention in Integrity and Despair were there, and I was concerned about her. Then I drove home, which is always a physical strain on my mind because of my eyes, even though the rest of my body was relaxed.

      So I was happy to be home, then I was hit with the issue of the key. Not a big deal in itself, but the timing was bad, so I was thrilled/elated when the mystery was solved and the matter settled. I was done and free to celebrate having handled the whole day, not just the finding the key.

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