In this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon they are happily running when Calvin says,
Com’on. Let’s go try to find a big poisonous snake!
Hobbes stops and asks,
What will we do if we see one?
Calvin answers,
Are you kidding? We’ll scare ourselves silly and run around in circles, screaming like a bunch of loons!
Have you ever purposely scared yourself? For instance, watched a horror movie? I knew a fellow who bungee jumped, not because it was fun but to confront fear. Not my style, I avoid heights let alone bunging jumping, but I do confront fear regularly — I read the news every day. I do it in small doses, it’s part of my stress/mood management practice.
It all started about 30 years ago when both Andy’s and my divisions were having serious funding problems…it looked as if both of our jobs might disappear. All my colleagues were worried and tense, of course, so I looked around and asked,
What’s the opportunity here?
I could become an expert on stress management. It’s been one of my hobbies ever since and for about 10 years after we retired (we were offered a good retirement package) I taught and led groups in stress management, emotional aikido, etc. It was a good choice, and now it’s an invaluable resource given our ages and the state of the world.
How do you handle worry? Do you have any hobbies that help sustain you in these crazy times?
August 6, 2022
