My dad told me a story of a Chinese guy who came to the US as an engineer. His company took forever to get him a visa. He didn’t mind. He bought a house, started a garden, and eventually, in 7 years, got a visa. When he went back to China, all his friends had gone into business and had gotten rich. But they had high blood pressure and were all stressed out. Meanwhile, he was happy and healthy. He had invested in laid-back.
I saw some old guys discussing investments one time. I thought: who really cares about gold or silver when you are very old? I can’t promise any definite health benefits, but I think it’s a good idea to invest in laid-back. You don’t need a lot of money to invest in laid-back, you just need time.
I’m not really all that good at investing in laid back, I’m not really all that good at life. But I’m working on it. Today, I got stressed on the road and ran a yield sign which could have caused an accident. Today, I ate way too much ice cream and felt sick. But today I also laid in the grass in the park and watched the sky. For a second there, I connected with the universe. Then I went back into my rat-race, need-to-do-stuff frame of mind.
A neurologist said that neuroradiologists make tons of money. I had to restrain myself from going on a wild internet chase about neuroradiologist salaries. The Chinese guy wouldn’t have wasted his time on the internet looking up neuroradiologists. He would have just gone out to his garden.
I need some life coaching, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I guess I implicitly thought school would teach me life skills, but it has not. It is helpful to me to have a religion other than competitiveness.
Recently, I’ve found two good life coaches:
-The Jewish religion, with its emphasis on taking a day off every week, for family, friends, reflection, and growing your soul.
-Yoga, with its emphasis on moving the body in a healthy non-competitive kind of way.
Goodbye, atheist capitalist academics. Hello, mystical solitude. I’m putting all my money in laid-back.
danscreativeoulet 