Krysan Blog: Healing Words 2 - Optimism - Archive
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- Written by Marian Moore
KRYSAN
THE WELLBEING CONSULTANCY
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H E A L I N G W O R D S
(5-minute reads from Marian @ Krysan)
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. ALBERT EINSTEIN
You are invited to log on to the KRYSAN BLOG each Friday or Saturday during the months of July and August for this latest series of Krysan Master Classes. The intention is to continue to explore the use of writing as a form of therapy and hopefully the caption HEALING WORDS and the Einstein quotation will prove rich in possibilities. MARIAN @ KRYSAN
Blog 2
Friday, 10 July 2009
ROSE COLOURED SPECTACLES
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Last week - wearing my 'rose coloured spectacles' and my raincoat - I braved the summer weather and enjoyed a grand tour of Headlight's art exhibition at Sunderland's Winter Gardens. For the uninitiated (and you'll be in the majority) Headlight is a mental health resource centre in Sunderland's city centre, Sunderland being in the North East of England. Recently, the work of the charity was featured on the BBCs 'Secret Millionnaire' programme and the art exhibition mentioned above was part of the celebration of a welcome windfall, a gift of £20,000 from Headlight's very own Secret Millionnaire, Jonathon Hicks. Many thanks are extended to Jonathon for his generosity of spirit in adopting the folks of Sunderland as his own.
OPTIMISM. And, now to return to the task in hand - my cautious father once warned me about viewing the world through rose coloured spectacles. It was a warning well-meant and one I ought to have heeded - but didn't - and eventually the 'rose coloured spectacles' in the form of an optimism (bordering on exhuberance) did get me into deep trouble. Today, and for the purposes of this blog, I have again been considering optimism and exhuberance, and this time through the eyes of physician and writer, Dr. Larry Dossey. At last, I have got round to seriously weighing up its pros and cons with an expert in the field. Although Dr Dossey begins his book The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things byfirst discussing optimism, he approaches this attribute with the same caution as my father. And, as we shall see, maybe rightly so.
ULTIMATE OPTIMISM. I've conferred now with my husband. He's the man who has lived for nearly fifty years with someone (me) whose cognitive style is without a shadow of doubt what Larry Dossey describes in his book as 'ultimate optimism'; someone who has been throughout her life a go-getter, an achiever, and even 'a leader in her field'. My husband, when pressed, also agrees with the finding of Positive Psychology that optmists are generally likeable, able to motivate others, and unusually good to have around. However, my husband also professes a great deal of sympathy with Larry Dossey's comment that optimism [like Positive Psychology] is on a roll - and it sometimes feels as if it is about to roll on him! I'm inclined to agree - up to a point - that life might be quieter if I settled down to a more sedate life-style, became less smiley-faced and sometimes less insufferably happy! Despite all, I continue to ascribe wholeheartedly to this utterance from Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth century mystic, who had no difficulty in linking optimism with the Divine when she said,
"But all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
EXHUBERANCE. But, that's probably quite enough about the Divine. To get back to the downside of optimism. Dossey points out (and we in our family know) optimism in some people (like me) can shade into exuberance, a sense of over-flowing joy and energy, a passion for life which others might sometimes find difficult or even annoying. A psychiatrist with bi-polar disorder reveals that her 'highs' made colleagues at work feel uncomfortable after a certain point, something on which I make no comment. In relation to the partners of the profound optimists of this world, author Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) said,
"A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist."
Again, I pass. Without going into the painful details, my family found that my unrestrained exuberance could be (and was) hazardous when carried to its extremes. 'Moderation in all things' was another favourite saying that I grew up with and that was also meant as good advice but again largely ignored!
MIND-BODY MEDICINE. Let's turn our attention now to the brighter side of optimism and to its undoubted health connection. This takes us full steam ahead into what is known as 'mind-body medicine', and thus to one of the most significant breakthroughs of the twentieth century, the discovery of the importance of attitudes, emotions and beliefs in health. It's back to Larry Dossey, the doctor, who says with all the authority of his calling,
"Each thought and emotion is a message to the rest of the body, mediated by an intricate array of nerve signals, hormones, and various other substances."
In study after study, people who were found to be the most resistant to physical and mental illness used a style of coping in which they viewed their situation with optimism, ie less pessimism. This led them to taking steps, where possible, to change the external problem. Then, the individuals usually reduced the physical and mental effects of stress through exercise, relaxation training, or some other healthy behaviour.
FOSTERING HEALTHIER LIVES. Martin Seligman, an eminent positive psychologist, suggests four ways in which optimism actually fosters longer and healthier lives.
HEALING POWER OF OPTIMISM. Dr. Larry Dossey defines optimism as the tendency to believe, expect or hope that things will turn out well and he is of the firm opinion that evidence of the healing power of optimism is in plain sight. And, he gives many examples from the world of medicine where the healing power of optimism has made a dramatic, even miraculous, difference to the chances of recovery. Even the most serious and life-threatening diseases seem sometimes to respond to optimism on the part of the patient and on the part of the doctor. The attitude (the optimism) of the doctor is yet another story and a crucial link in the chain of healing. I might add that as Dr. Dossey's writings remind us of the healing power of the life around us; he gives us new eyes and vindicates anyone who has looked beyond drugs and surgery in search of their own ability to heal.
YOUR CHOICE. I conclude by saying that there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that the choices we make about diet, weight, exercise, and social and mental stimuli during middle age greatly affect our psychological and physical competence as we age. Moreover, spiritual and religious involvement are believed to add seven or more years, on average, to one's lifespan. And, most significant, several studies show that what one thinks about one's health is one of the most accurate predictors of longevity ever discovered. All I know is that I will stay forever the eternal optimist, viewing my world through rose coloured spectacles. That is the way I was made and, after weighing up all the evidence, it sounds to me by far the best of the options available.
NEXT WEEK. Tune in again next Friday when I'll be looking at the so-called 'hygiene hypothesis', again examining old and new ideas (about the healing power of dirt) through the eyes of Dr. Larry Dossey. Should be interesting if not fun! For me, Larry Dossey has the authority of a sage forever shifting how we perceive the magic and mystery of the world. Meanwhile, here are two quotations for you think about for next week,
Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.
JOHN WESLEY
Cleanliness is almost as bad as godliness.
H. L. MENCKEN
Marian
REFERENCE
DOSSEY, L., (2006), The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things: Fourteen Natural Steps to Health and Happiness, pub. New York, Three Rivers Press
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