Writing is Healthy

Do you ever feel like these Hostas in my garden in Autumn? Lifeless, droopy no go? That is now a thing of the past. I was reading an article today from a link supplied by Facebook. If something is in Facebook, it must be true, although a month ago one of their leading news reports told us that we would have the end of the world on 21st September, but it could also be 22nd or 23rd etc. I was not very happy about this as my dad would be 100 years old on 24th September and that would have been a disappointment to us all, especially Queen Elizabeth II of England who was sending him a telegram on 24th September. Luckily it did not happen, although in the meanwhile I believe the engagement with world endings has been postponed until the next comet appears on the horizon.

In the meanwhile I had a consolation. Returning to Facebook and its prophesies and gems of truth, there was a connection to an article with the title  “Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write” as if it was meant for me. I love to write and am always good for a surprise, so I read further. It seems I will profit from strong physical and health benefits. At last I can spring out of bed in the morning and  ignore the pains in my joints, I am cured. Just 15 to 20 minutes writing during three to five months does the trick, and do not forget I write at least an hour a day, when I am not taking photos to illustrate my work.

If I write about traumatic, stressful or emotional events the effect is re-inforced. My blood pressure will sink, although I was not so sure about that. I have an average of 115 to 120 something, and that is low enough. Even my physical wounds will heal quicker. Does this mean that if I have one of my unpredicted falls, where I break an arm, or perhaps even a leg, the bones will knit together again within a day or so. 

It seems that we writers go less to the doctor probably because we are so busy writing we do not have the time. We also sleep better due to writer’s exhaustion, like falling asleep at the computer perhaps. Blogging might, or could, trigger dopamine release. Here I was a little overstrained but it seems that low dopamine leads to lack of motivation, fatigue, addictive behavior, mood swings and memory loss. Now I know why I love doing housework, cooking and washing - I never feel tired and never lack energy. I am not addictive to anything, except perhaps to writing, but writing is healthy and I am convinced that my moods are always well balanced, I am the personification of satisfaction. And I would add, like an elephant, I rarely forget anything.

“What did you say Mr. Swiss? I should make a shopping list for tomorrow in case I might forget something again. Yes, of course, it will make the shopping trip much more enjoyable, my dopamine levels will reach a new high point.”

Now we know why we blog. It is healthier and we might even live longer, although that was not in the article.

WordPress Daily Prompt: Back of the Queue

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do, but never got around to starting (an activity, a hobby, or anything else, really)? Tell us about it — and tell us about what’s keeping you from doing it.

There are lots of things I have always wanted to do, but most are illegal and I might have problems with the police. WordPress does say “or anything else, really” as if that word “really” was added as an afterthought in case we go too far with our wishes.

As far an activity is concerned, I am not active at the best of times and since becoming a golden oldie active is only in the mind, but not in the action. I live near a river,: River Aar. Our village is on the left just before the river bends in the photos. You can swim in this river, it is quite clean, although I would not actually suggest having a glass daily, but we have no dead floating fish, and the swans and ducks are quite happy.  They even give birth to ducklings and mini swans. I have a relation and a few friends that find it super in summer to dive in from the bank and swim. There are even people that swim to Bern along this river, which is quite a distance, but they paddle away as if it was something completely normal. The advantage of this if that it is free, nothing to pay. Of course I would be proud to tell everyone “I took a swim to Bern last Saturday” but this has never happened. I can swim. If a dog jumps into a river, it swims no problem. My swimming efforts are very similar. I like to have the river bed near my feet, I do not like submerging my head in the water and diving does not come into the question, so strike that one from the list. My hands resemble two dog paws when I am moving.

I always have a hobby, but usually the passive kind, nothing involving death defying feats of the spectacular. I like to take it easy: once a week with a collection of golden oldies in a Tai Chi class. I think this is more to show I am still alive, can move, and you do not feel so alone when surrounded by others with the same body problems as you have. We have had many lively discussions concerning our back pains, movability of the limbs, and balance concerns. Yes, we are one happy bunch of mutual sufferers. I love it when we have an exercise balancing on one leg and making a kick into the bargain. There are even some of us that can do this. I look with admiration and wonder how they manage this. I cannot. It is one of those exercises where others kick with the leg and I just stretch is carefully in the same direction. “There is no hurry in Tai Chi” says our smug Chinese instructor on the DVD, “just do what you can” says our teacher. It all sounds so easy, but I persevere. One of the advantages of always wanting to do something, but not being able to do it, is that you always have hope that one day it might happen.

I would love to be able to ride a bike, I mean one with two wheels. Any fool can ride a bicycle with three wheels, but two wheels: that is a challenge. This is also something that will remain a challenge all my life. I dream of cycling along the country lanes, along the banks of the local river. To go shopping with my bicycle at the local farmers market, melting into the crowds with my wickerwork basket, filling it with local produce and cycling home to the village, being one of the others. All women do it here, except for me. I take the car, park if I find a place, put the shopping in the boot and drive home, pestering the air with the gas fumes. I was just not cut out to be one of those high powered women that take a bike ride even for fun: cycling up the nearest mountain and free-wheeling back home. Where am I left in the queue with my aspirations of devastating actions, the bionic woman, the one that overtakes them all and gives lectures in the local women’s institute about her successes in active life showing photos of dangerous mountain paths, close-ups of bears and lions: a living example for all to admire.

I never did get round to writing my best seller, my book, my novel. Someone always steals my ideas. I was going to do “50 Shades” but the title was stolen, enlarged and I never did read that book. Not my sort of thing and to be quite honest I am too lazy to write a book. If I wrote my prize suspicious Pulitzer/Nobel prize winning book, I would need time. I would have to squeeze it between hovering, washing, ironing, cooking and generally spoiling Mr. Swiss. My Daily Prompt works of literature would have to take second place and my followers would face a regular disappointment. They rush to their computers daily. “What has she written today?” they will be asking themselves only to be left with a note on my web site “No blog today, am writing a bestseller”. I would have a neglected Mr. Swiss, taking second place, although when I would stand on the pedestal of success I would naturally give him a mention of the sacrifices he brought.

It is amazing how I always think of something new, when these daily prompts are reborn, under a different description. That is the talents of a writer. Perhaps there is a chance for me. 

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WordPress Daily Prompt: It's a Text, Text, Text, Text World

How do you communicate differently online than in person if at all? How do you communicate emotion and intent in a purely written medium?

Electric Communication

I have never really given it much thought. I have an idea, might be a Daily Prompt, and just write. Perhaps I communicate the way I am in person, perhaps not. Mr. Swiss always tells me not everyone understands my sense of humour. Probably because it can be sometimes a bit ironic, a little bit tinged with black edges, and it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Perhaps it is because he is Swiss and I am a born English cockney: a conflict of the species, although life is not boring for both of us.

I am a bit of an amateur photographer, so like to illustrate my blogs when I can. Also saves a lot of explanations about the subject I am writing about..

I do not really do emotions, am not really an emotional sort of person. I try to keep my personal problems to myself. We all have problems, but I do not use my blogging platform as a handkerchief to soak up the tears. I am in Facebook, why not? That is a place for expressing all your likes and dislikes, but I never do. I think I am only there to cross post my blogs and I do have a few good colleagues that seem to stay on the sane side of the tracks. There again I think my expression of emotion is always tinged with a touch of humour. If I have a romantic situation in a poem or prose, the outcome is usually that someone dies by third hand, suicide or accident. I suppose I have a twisted brain, so write often twisted endings to my stories.

Sometimes I am asked to express personal feelings for the daily prompt. Here I try not to give a direct answer, but go around three corners until I get there. I do not want the reader to get the idea I am only writing for myself, after all I am writing for an audience of many people I do not know and I do not want to bore them with the sordid details.

When I write I write in Word to enable corrections. We all make mistakes and my grammatical errors can be quite strange sometimes. The words form themselves in my brain (which is now covered by grey hair), but often the words arrive in German and not English. Yes I am bilingual today, but in thought and speech. I am so glad for the online dictionary LEO which has often helped me out of the patch when I want to write something and only the german word seems to be available. Sometimes I even shout across to Mr. Swiss for a language explanation – two brains are better than one.

I find it very easy to write about my felines. In their autistic similar way they are very predictable, highly selfish and think only about food, having a scratch and sleep. They might want a tummy tickle or a chin rub, but they have to want it. If I want to do it, I more or less have to ask for permission.

There we have the secrets of my blog writing. Wonder what problems Shakespeare had when writing?