Control what you can let go of the rest

The stock market is finding new lows.  Companies that

defined American industry are running low on capital and

asking congress for money.  Unemployment is climbing

The housing slump continues with prices falling and foreclosures

rising.  The retail Christmas projections look bleak.   Time to

go surfing!

I had a great session the other day.  Only 3 of us out in chest high

waves.  The air and water were both pleasant by November

standards.  It was one of those days when the waves keep coming

and you get a great workout...catch a wave paddle back out and catch

another.  I must have had a hundred waves.  What made the session

even better was the company.  I surfed with 2 good friends.  Ironically

both are feeling the impact of these crazy economic times.  One owns

a number of retail stores, the other is in commercial real estate.  You'd

never have known that these are troubles times.  We laughed, joked,

commented on the glassy, clean lines in the ocean, watched as schools

of fish broke the surface not far from us.  " It doesn't get better than

this" one of my buddies said.  

We don't have much control over the economic woes.  All we can do

is decide on a course of action and go with it.  Control what you can

control, let the rest go, and enjoy the rest.  What's the sense of worrying? 

A sense of place

I'm on a listserve of psychologists with a special interest 

in conservation and the environment.  Sometimes the posts

are pretty interesting, but sometimes they leave me scratching

my head.  Today there was a call for papers focusing on "identity,

place, and emotional behavior".  The call acknowledged that there 

was a growing interest in "research investigating the complex

interactions between self and environment".  It went on to

discuss "place attachment, place identity, and self environment

interactions".

Psychologists sure can make something pretty simple sound

complex!  I know, and have known since I was a young child,

that I belonged near the ocean.  I freak when I'm too far inland

for too long.  I remember visiting Colorado, marveling at the

beauty but feeling a little uncomfortable that I was so far from

the coast.  I guess that's "place identity".  I love and feel

a sense of happiness and of being confortable at the coast,

any coast.  That must be "place attachment".  I can't help feeling

upset when I see trash on any beach, people not appreciating

or acting as stewards of the place I love.  Guess that's a self-

environment interaction.  I'm a waterman, surfer, and ocean lover.

That's not simply what I do in my free time, it's who I am.

Maybe I should write a paper for this conference... only if it's

held near the coast though!

Quiet time to think...or not

Yesterday was a clear crisp day.  The ocean was alive

with blue fish, the wind was offshore, and the waves

barely knee high.  There has been a lot on my mind

as of late so I decided to go for a paddle on my SUP

and maybe even catch a wave or two.

The beach at 10 am was virtually empty except for

a few fisherman and my friend Jim with his dog Diz.

Diz is aptly named he's a pointer with OCD who, unfortunately,

is fixated on his frisbee.  He sees nothing else.  Diz is an

amazing jumper and displays his skill chasing down that

disk no matter how far Jim throws it.  That's about all Diz

can do.  It seems like the dog likes the beach but how really

knows.  He is obsessed with his frisbee.

Back to me.  I'd gone to the ocean with a mind focused on

some difficult and stressful issues.  Not exactly Diz like but

I'm sure you get the point.  Once in the ocean it seemed as if

those thoughts took their leave.  I noticed the water was an

greenish color and not very clear.  I watched the horizon for

each approaching wave.  I enjoyed the glide of my SUP as

I rode each little wave.  I became acutely aware that I was

alone in the ocean.  I watched the school of bluefish making note

not to paddle too near them and making double sure not to fall.

Was I thinking or not?  The stressful issues I'd entered the water

with, for an hour or so, were gone.  No obsessive focusing for me.

Sorry Diz