Ok, we have a tonic for this one. Every morning, greet the SUN, look around your home or property and decide that today you will accomplish one task. It turns out that accomplishing something feeds our brain reward system. This article from the NLM (National Library of Medicine) can get you started on getting out of bed and doing tasks throughout your life as Humans are meant to do. "The mesolimbic system, also known as the reward system, is composed of brain structures that are responsible for mediating the physiological and cognitive processing of reward. Reward is a natural process during which the brain associates diverse stimuli (substances, situations, events, or activities) with a positive or desirable outcome. This results in adjustments of an individual’s behavior, ultimately leading them to search for that particular positive stimulus. Reward requires the coordinated release of heterogenous neurotransmitters. However, of the brain substrates implicated in reward, dopamine has a central position. Dopamine plays a critical role in mediating the reward value of food, drink, sex, social interaction, and substance abuse (Hernandez and Hoebel 1988; Everitt 1990; Robbins and Everitt 1996; Bardo 1998; Beninger and Miller 1998)." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992377/#:~:text=Reward%20is%20a%20natural%20process,for%20that%20particular%20positive%20stimulus.
Go outside if you have a yard and with pruners in hand chop off that out of control branch of vine. Cutting something other than oneself can bring great satisfaction. It may even cause you to sweep the walk (I remember sweeping our walk as a child and wanting that to be my job as part of our family). Inside the house, notice that ball of fur lodged in the corner or under the stools at the kitchen counter. Pick it up and before disposing it, think of where it came from. In our case, its a result of having four pups that all shed fur or hair that ends up accumulating in out of the way places like those I mentioned as well as behind doors and of all places on top of door hinges. When you pick it up, notice how soft it is or if it contains long strands of human hair as well. Think about how it could be woven into thread like wool from a llama or sheep. Or my best thought of how to reuse it by placing it on a branch for a nesting bird to add to the nest. Let's get back to being Human and search for that particular positive stimuli, and get those doses of dopamine from our natural acts of reward rather than scrolling for hours to watch photos or videos of messy and sometimes disgusting hurkle-durkle bed-head's bedroom set up.
Maybe. No one is working on identifying whatever it is, of course—unless they're in some secret laboratory under a mountain in Appalachia. We did get the first two shots, which we now regret. And of course got Covid too.
The hurkle durkle is just an offshoot of the Hokey Pokey. You just never put your right foot in or your right foot out. And God forbid you turn yourself about. THAT’s what it’s all about.
Thanks for offering an opposing viewpoint to the #Wellness culture (at least that's where my head went). However, I think it might be more nuanced than this, which is unfortunate to say since damn near everything is too nuanced these days to have a coherent conversation about. Coming out of a high-tempo job in the military, I had to relearn how to just chill, which started with meditation and psychedelic therapy and then went into 5 weeks of isolation in the Alaskan bush and has since simplified to a forced thirty-minute time-out on my couch at the end of a long day; just to get the freight train to come to a complete stop. The nuance seems to be with the individual. Some of us do need the "hurkle durkle" because we have an issue with staying too busy. But of course, the narcissists and opportunists on social media will take a simple concept such as "proportionate rest" and dig-up some random terminology such as Scottish (Gaelic?) phrasing and make it something faddish. The reality is that self-care has just as much to do with effort as it does with coasting. Its a proportionate thing. Anyway, it's fun to see the #Wellness culture finally getting the pushback it deserves.
Is it not interesting how we slowly as a culture begin to accept ideas and or "movements" that seem at first glance to be either silly or vain or radical. Then given enough presence through our media especially if the all powerful celebrity takes it up we say hey, maybe not bad, hey seems cool. They keep talking about it all over so I guess I am the of man out step here. Let me not be the one behind or critical of the important changes in our time. Let me try. Rare would be a presentation of critical thought that might reach them. A scary thought as I relate this article to the one I just read by Jonathan Haidt and Smartphones rewiring our children. They may not lie in bed necessarily with their SmartPhones, However, they do not seem capable or find it important to self limit and find actual meaningful work either in school or their job as valuable to themselves or their community. Was not familiar with the term Hurkle-Durkel but I am sure I would be blasted by saying anyone who calls this self care and they feel they deserve it, they earned this , would be ignoring the ancient word of the fourth deadly SIN Sloth other wise accepted as laziness.
What chance does our society have to flourish and maintain credence if this attitude becomes acceptable behaviour.
"hurkle-durkle ... sounds more like you’re having a stroke in a fairy tale". That made me chuckle. You may have lost your hold on other readers, but you have me firmly in your grasp. (That sounds kinda creepy, I know; I promise I'm not a stalker.)
Proverbs 23: 33-34. “ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man”. The Jewish Wisdom books in the Writings are rock solid and timeless wisdom for all time for all peoples. I love the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. I am a Reformed Christian who loves Jewish people.
When I was young, I worked extremely hard every week day, to make my small bit of wealth for my family then and for their future when I am gone. Now that I am old and unhealthy, it seems that I sometimes have these moments you describe. I have many health issues that slow me down down.
In my wildest imaginations, I have a hard time seeing young, healthy people being so lazy and worthless to themselves, their futures, their neighbors and their families futures. They are probably too weak and useless to even get married properly, have children, fight the good fight, and make a bright future for their children and grandchildren. Shame. Shame. Shame.
Suzy we usually see eye to eye but I’m team hurkle-durkle. To be clear, I have two kids, work and would kill for 20 minutes of lounging in bed in the morning. Sounds amazing.
Ok, we have a tonic for this one. Every morning, greet the SUN, look around your home or property and decide that today you will accomplish one task. It turns out that accomplishing something feeds our brain reward system. This article from the NLM (National Library of Medicine) can get you started on getting out of bed and doing tasks throughout your life as Humans are meant to do. "The mesolimbic system, also known as the reward system, is composed of brain structures that are responsible for mediating the physiological and cognitive processing of reward. Reward is a natural process during which the brain associates diverse stimuli (substances, situations, events, or activities) with a positive or desirable outcome. This results in adjustments of an individual’s behavior, ultimately leading them to search for that particular positive stimulus. Reward requires the coordinated release of heterogenous neurotransmitters. However, of the brain substrates implicated in reward, dopamine has a central position. Dopamine plays a critical role in mediating the reward value of food, drink, sex, social interaction, and substance abuse (Hernandez and Hoebel 1988; Everitt 1990; Robbins and Everitt 1996; Bardo 1998; Beninger and Miller 1998)." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8992377/#:~:text=Reward%20is%20a%20natural%20process,for%20that%20particular%20positive%20stimulus.
Go outside if you have a yard and with pruners in hand chop off that out of control branch of vine. Cutting something other than oneself can bring great satisfaction. It may even cause you to sweep the walk (I remember sweeping our walk as a child and wanting that to be my job as part of our family). Inside the house, notice that ball of fur lodged in the corner or under the stools at the kitchen counter. Pick it up and before disposing it, think of where it came from. In our case, its a result of having four pups that all shed fur or hair that ends up accumulating in out of the way places like those I mentioned as well as behind doors and of all places on top of door hinges. When you pick it up, notice how soft it is or if it contains long strands of human hair as well. Think about how it could be woven into thread like wool from a llama or sheep. Or my best thought of how to reuse it by placing it on a branch for a nesting bird to add to the nest. Let's get back to being Human and search for that particular positive stimuli, and get those doses of dopamine from our natural acts of reward rather than scrolling for hours to watch photos or videos of messy and sometimes disgusting hurkle-durkle bed-head's bedroom set up.
Maybe. No one is working on identifying whatever it is, of course—unless they're in some secret laboratory under a mountain in Appalachia. We did get the first two shots, which we now regret. And of course got Covid too.
The hurkle durkle is just an offshoot of the Hokey Pokey. You just never put your right foot in or your right foot out. And God forbid you turn yourself about. THAT’s what it’s all about.
I'd never hurkle durkle! I am up and out of bed at 6AM, at age 78.
I do, however, take post breakfast naps on my couch, along with post lunch naps, and pre dinner naps. That's just common sense.
I'm still laughing that Hurkle-Durkle sounds "...like you’re having a stroke in a fairy tale..." -- That's just perfect! Yay, Suzy!
Who knew the grandparents from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were so ahead of their time; trendsetters.
I include reading Free Press articles as self-care!
Thanks for offering an opposing viewpoint to the #Wellness culture (at least that's where my head went). However, I think it might be more nuanced than this, which is unfortunate to say since damn near everything is too nuanced these days to have a coherent conversation about. Coming out of a high-tempo job in the military, I had to relearn how to just chill, which started with meditation and psychedelic therapy and then went into 5 weeks of isolation in the Alaskan bush and has since simplified to a forced thirty-minute time-out on my couch at the end of a long day; just to get the freight train to come to a complete stop. The nuance seems to be with the individual. Some of us do need the "hurkle durkle" because we have an issue with staying too busy. But of course, the narcissists and opportunists on social media will take a simple concept such as "proportionate rest" and dig-up some random terminology such as Scottish (Gaelic?) phrasing and make it something faddish. The reality is that self-care has just as much to do with effort as it does with coasting. Its a proportionate thing. Anyway, it's fun to see the #Wellness culture finally getting the pushback it deserves.
Is it not interesting how we slowly as a culture begin to accept ideas and or "movements" that seem at first glance to be either silly or vain or radical. Then given enough presence through our media especially if the all powerful celebrity takes it up we say hey, maybe not bad, hey seems cool. They keep talking about it all over so I guess I am the of man out step here. Let me not be the one behind or critical of the important changes in our time. Let me try. Rare would be a presentation of critical thought that might reach them. A scary thought as I relate this article to the one I just read by Jonathan Haidt and Smartphones rewiring our children. They may not lie in bed necessarily with their SmartPhones, However, they do not seem capable or find it important to self limit and find actual meaningful work either in school or their job as valuable to themselves or their community. Was not familiar with the term Hurkle-Durkel but I am sure I would be blasted by saying anyone who calls this self care and they feel they deserve it, they earned this , would be ignoring the ancient word of the fourth deadly SIN Sloth other wise accepted as laziness.
What chance does our society have to flourish and maintain credence if this attitude becomes acceptable behaviour.
If only I had ambition, I would set up Slacker University. Where you could Major in Hurkle Durkle.
If only I had ambition, I would set up Slacker University. Where you could Major in Hurkle Durkle.
"hurkle-durkle ... sounds more like you’re having a stroke in a fairy tale". That made me chuckle. You may have lost your hold on other readers, but you have me firmly in your grasp. (That sounds kinda creepy, I know; I promise I'm not a stalker.)
Anyone who has stood face to face with a grizzly or a lion or moose and has survived will cherish life more than someone who has not.
Great piece Suzy !
Proverbs 23: 33-34. “ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man”. The Jewish Wisdom books in the Writings are rock solid and timeless wisdom for all time for all peoples. I love the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. I am a Reformed Christian who loves Jewish people.
When I was young, I worked extremely hard every week day, to make my small bit of wealth for my family then and for their future when I am gone. Now that I am old and unhealthy, it seems that I sometimes have these moments you describe. I have many health issues that slow me down down.
In my wildest imaginations, I have a hard time seeing young, healthy people being so lazy and worthless to themselves, their futures, their neighbors and their families futures. They are probably too weak and useless to even get married properly, have children, fight the good fight, and make a bright future for their children and grandchildren. Shame. Shame. Shame.
To da.
Suzy we usually see eye to eye but I’m team hurkle-durkle. To be clear, I have two kids, work and would kill for 20 minutes of lounging in bed in the morning. Sounds amazing.
Grateful to get out of bed and go to work every day. And also to get out of bed and have a life on the weekends!