I'm sitting in the beach house, The Frenchman is doing his traditional thing of sleeping on the couch and everyone else has gone to bed. Madonna's Hard Candy is on repeat, but only I'm listening through the headphones, it seems more personal that way, and it takes me away from everything... Here I am in veritable paradise - Byron Bay where it has been a sunny day, I have swum a fast time in the ocean swim had food prepared for me, had a sunset swim in the crystal clear ocean, yet I'm getting away from it all, my solitary time to verbalise my world on my own personal blog, that I don't know who reads. . Go figure.
I was reading this article in this weekend's Sydney Morning Herald today about educating children (and people in general I guess) not just to have skills and know things, but to be positive, engaged in and have a meaningful life. They call this positive psychology. And in reading this it made me think about my engagement with the world around me. Certainly I am one who thrives on engagement, this is kind of why I have this blog I was thinking after reading the article. I get frustrated when I can't engage with people and I then tend to withdraw into my own world, today to the ipod's 'hard candy'. Last night I went to bed around 9.30pm. Anyone who knows me knows that that's just not me. And no there was no fever / illness / jetlag. Sometimes I think I could try harder to engage with people - but simultaneously I think it shouldn't have to be hard. Perhaps I should take up drinking for the social lubricant effect (it's not going to happen) . For the most part I do engage well. And certain there are a lot of people around with whom I could sit in a room for hours and talk unceasingly. They are just usually too busy to borrow them for as long as I'd like.
The article also talks about 'flow', a state it describes as being totally absorbed with whatever it is you're doing as if time has stopped. I experience this both with my work with patients and when I'm working with design / photography. The world could seriously be falling down around me and I'd hardly notice. If I haven't got to that state for a while I do tend to miss it - much as if I haven't swum for a while - I tend to need a hit of it to continue, or my perennial glass half full starts to become a glass half empty. So reading through the article I realise that without knowing much about philosophy or psychology I'm on track for this 'positive psychology' life, and feel some degree of contentment.
So now that philosophising is over, and trust me, it is, I'm going to tell you that here it's the end of the swim season - and I'm kind of glad to be over the whole competing thing, because I think it's time to diversify my training schedule. Despite this I was looking for some new swimwear as my current ones are falling apart. I tried on some aussiebum's at the only place that actually stocks them that isn't online (strangely here in Byron Bay), and to wear them properly (and be able to go out in public) I'd really have to shave pretty much every pubic hair I own. So I decide that I'm not made for aussiebums, or vice versa, and look at the boring speedos in the store which I also leave on the rack. And when I check my email I have a mail from teamm8 who have sent me pictures of gorgeous men in underwear (not the swimwear I'm looking for) who I have to add look like either they have really perfect skin, or the have had a big dose of enhancement. So I decide to post this one here. You looked at it before (or instead of) reading this. There were more but you'll have to go to their site for those (and they didn't pay me, damn it, to say this). But in the vein of my philosophising above I don't think going there will bring you true happiness... If you do, do you think they're photos or illustrations? The line is very blurry... If you read the elastic band on the underwear in the photo I've posted here, do you think they are trying to say something?
Anyway. I think I've had my flow now for today. The waves are still crashing on the beach, The Frenchman still snoring on the couch, and everyone else still in bed. Madonna has been replaced with random but appropriate itunes tracks and perhaps, maybe I've engaged with you for just a little bit.
I was reading this article in this weekend's Sydney Morning Herald today about educating children (and people in general I guess) not just to have skills and know things, but to be positive, engaged in and have a meaningful life. They call this positive psychology. And in reading this it made me think about my engagement with the world around me. Certainly I am one who thrives on engagement, this is kind of why I have this blog I was thinking after reading the article. I get frustrated when I can't engage with people and I then tend to withdraw into my own world, today to the ipod's 'hard candy'. Last night I went to bed around 9.30pm. Anyone who knows me knows that that's just not me. And no there was no fever / illness / jetlag. Sometimes I think I could try harder to engage with people - but simultaneously I think it shouldn't have to be hard. Perhaps I should take up drinking for the social lubricant effect (it's not going to happen) . For the most part I do engage well. And certain there are a lot of people around with whom I could sit in a room for hours and talk unceasingly. They are just usually too busy to borrow them for as long as I'd like.
The article also talks about 'flow', a state it describes as being totally absorbed with whatever it is you're doing as if time has stopped. I experience this both with my work with patients and when I'm working with design / photography. The world could seriously be falling down around me and I'd hardly notice. If I haven't got to that state for a while I do tend to miss it - much as if I haven't swum for a while - I tend to need a hit of it to continue, or my perennial glass half full starts to become a glass half empty. So reading through the article I realise that without knowing much about philosophy or psychology I'm on track for this 'positive psychology' life, and feel some degree of contentment.
So now that philosophising is over, and trust me, it is, I'm going to tell you that here it's the end of the swim season - and I'm kind of glad to be over the whole competing thing, because I think it's time to diversify my training schedule. Despite this I was looking for some new swimwear as my current ones are falling apart. I tried on some aussiebum's at the only place that actually stocks them that isn't online (strangely here in Byron Bay), and to wear them properly (and be able to go out in public) I'd really have to shave pretty much every pubic hair I own. So I decide that I'm not made for aussiebums, or vice versa, and look at the boring speedos in the store which I also leave on the rack. And when I check my email I have a mail from teamm8 who have sent me pictures of gorgeous men in underwear (not the swimwear I'm looking for) who I have to add look like either they have really perfect skin, or the have had a big dose of enhancement. So I decide to post this one here. You looked at it before (or instead of) reading this. There were more but you'll have to go to their site for those (and they didn't pay me, damn it, to say this). But in the vein of my philosophising above I don't think going there will bring you true happiness... If you do, do you think they're photos or illustrations? The line is very blurry... If you read the elastic band on the underwear in the photo I've posted here, do you think they are trying to say something?Anyway. I think I've had my flow now for today. The waves are still crashing on the beach, The Frenchman still snoring on the couch, and everyone else still in bed. Madonna has been replaced with random but appropriate itunes tracks and perhaps, maybe I've engaged with you for just a little bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment