Suffering

If you’ve ever spent much time talking to brain tumor victims, care-takers, friends and family, you know that they suffer. They suffer physically, mentally, financially, spiritually and, I’m guessing, a whole lot more ways, too.

At the same time, I’ve never believed that suffering is good for the soul. If suffering was good for the soul the world would be chock-full of saints, and that doesn’t seem to be the case.

David Brooks, in an Op-ed- piece for the New York Times, talks rather convincingly about “What Suffering Does.” http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/opinion/brooks-what-suffering-does.html?referrer  Here’s the first four paragraphs of his article:

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself in a bunch of conversations in which the unspoken assumption was that the main goal of life is to maximize happiness. That’s normal. When people plan for the future, they often talk about all the good times and good experiences they hope to have. We live in a culture awash in talk about happiness. In one three-month period last year, more than 1,000 books were released on Amazon on that subject.

But notice this phenomenon. When people remember the past, they don’t only talk about happiness. It is often the ordeals that seem most significant. People shoot for happiness but feel formed through suffering.

Now, of course, it should be said that there is nothing intrinsically ennobling about suffering. Just as failure is sometimes just failure (and not your path to becoming the next Steve Jobs) suffering is sometimes just destructive, to be exited as quickly as possible.

But some people are clearly ennobled by it. Think of the way Franklin Roosevelt came back deeper and more empathetic after being struck with polio. Often, physical or social suffering can give people an outsider’s perspective, an attuned awareness of what other outsiders are enduring.”

Personally, I feel I’ve endured more than anything else. But if you’re suffering, or know somebody who is, you might want to read what Brooks wrote.

Actually, my feelings on suffering are inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. who famously said, ““As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”

I hope I have the grace to do likewise.

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_kmiragaya'>kmiragaya / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

The First 20 Minutes – Book Review

I just finished reading Gretchen Reynolds’ insightful book entitled The First 20 Minutes. It’s informative, interesting and readable.  My only criticism is the title, as the long subtitle – Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer – better describes what this book is all about.

Ms. Reynolds spends a lot of time on myth-busting, e.g. noting that “20 minutes of cardio at a time is enough to obtain the maximum health benefits" (the key work here is “health” versus “fitness”), stretching before a workout is counterproductive (it’s better to just start easy), and core strength is nice but not necessary (a six-pack looks great but actually has little bearing on performance).

In terms of the interaction between the brain and memory she notes that “Thomas Jefferson, who famously enjoyed farming and other vigorous types of sowing, once wrote, ‘A strong body makes the mind strong.’ He was half-right. A strong mind also makes the body strong. The connections between movement and thinking are intricate, additive, and multidirectional.”

She packs a lot more into a chapter entitled “How to Build a Better Brain,” which has subtitles like “”None of Us Wants to Lose our Minds” (about cognitive decline), “Fighting Back the Shadows” (about aging), and “Use Your Noggin” which explains what the aptly named brain protein, “noggin,” does.

Each chapter has a nice summary which gives direction on what to do based on the studies she just reviewed.   

Lastly, I like her ability to include some adroitly placed witticisms which livens up everything. For example, after noting that recent research reveals that chocolate milk is a superb recovery drink she writes that “You could, if you distrust the simplicity of Hershey’s syrup, invest in premixed, bottled protein-carbohydrate drinks or prepared sports protein shakes and powders instead. But, really, why?”

BTW, Ms. Reynolds writes the “Phys Ed” column for the New York Times.