“It’s funny because it’s true.”
(from the article) “The Referendum is a phenomenon typical of (but not limited to) midlife, whereby people, increasingly aware of the finiteness of their time in the world, the limitations placed on them by their choices so far, and the narrowing options remaining to them, start judging their peers’ differing choices with reactions ranging from envy to contempt.”
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
~Robert Frost, from Reluctance
If you have chronic pain (back pain or otherwise) that the “established” medical profession can’t seem to fix, you might try the three steps below. I and two others I know personally have been cured of chronic pain (foot, back and neck, respectively) by Dr. Sarno’s program.
Good luck. (Note: I’m not a doctor, and I am in no way associated with Dr. Sarno and don’t make any money from sales of his books/video! I had chronic foot pain for almost two years, saw many doctors, and was even told I might need foot surgery. After two people (one a chiropractor!) referred me to Dr. Sarno’s book, the pain went away in about 3 months and has been gone now for over 6 years.)
I don’t know who started it, but I love the fact that whenever people on a boat or ship pass you (especially when you yourself are on a separate boat or ship), you wave to each other. You sometimes see this phenomenon with people on those open-top tour buses as well. There you are standing on a city corner, stewing about something and waiting for the light to change, when a bright red, double-decker bus with no roof (or sometimes shaped like a duck) glides by, full of smiling faces and hands waving your way. Only the Scrooges resist waving back.
What’s odd is that this phenomenon simply doesn’t translate to other public arenas, even if it’s the exact same people involved. Sitting on a crowded city bus, my back to the window, facing the people sitting just a few feet away, I imagine that if I started smiling and waving, at least one of them would come over, punch me directly in the face, and ask me (rhetorically) what the hell was wrong with me.
People are strange when you’re a stranger, unless you’re on a boat, or a tour bus shaped like a duck.
