"The Morphine Within"
G has been all tied up in knots lately; my world is a tad out of whack these days -- that really being just way more than usual. So what did I do about it?
I started running again.
Oh, I know. It's not like I'm on a streak yet; nor have I gone two days in a row. But the most important factor is I feel good.
We have all witnessed desperate measures when the pressures of life and liberty seemingly become too great -- with an airplane flying into a building, a man in Ohio bulldozing his house before he would succumb to foreclosure, and a professor shooting up a biology department meeting.
While with the Health Care legislation still looming over our heads and heating things up again -- can't wait for Thursday -- it would appear America has reached a point of no return on this one; what to do about nothing and everything?
Somewhere along the line we have lost our ability to take care of ourselves, while I may not be the best one to talk about such matters for very long before my own creaky joints get the best of me and kick me in my own behind -- I'm going to meander down this road anyway, if only to walk off the shin splints.
But how is it we have come to this place where we expect the government to fix everything? Just who is responsible for teaching this behavior to us? Inquiring minds wanna know -- as it is soooo wrong in soooo many ways to Sunday.
The GOVERNMENT:
They can't eat (right) for us.
They can't strap on the old running shoes and take in a mile or two, all the while fighting off the evil green giant within who just wants to go home, sit on the couch and eat potato chips.
They can't see into our lives and know what each and every one of us wants for ourselves, if not also for our children, our neighborhood, or the aging parents who need us -- who may live all the way across town or perhaps over a couple state lines.
They can't show up at the office and do the work for us, including the over time while being under paid.
They can't go to the lender and plead our case to buy more time or cut a new deal -- or for that matter, make the commitment for the three bedroom, two bath town home as if times are so good and we got nothing to lose anyway.
They can't even tell us to turn off the lights, not to buy that television at Best Buy, or know when to say when.
Our habits -- Our choices -- the things we put our money where our mouth is -- whether good or bad or indifferent, originate from the one source within us and that which we can call all our own. On a micro scale, it's one thing; but upon the macro --
oh my God.
There is just no conceivable way the government can be all things for every body, but it very well seems to be that this is what we are expecting out of them and in the end, this mentality will surely bring us all down. The Government is not God, people.
And really, what God actually gives us to use at our own discretion is far more valuable. Up until now, most of us just didn't see it.
For people who run (religiously that is -- not people like me, ha ha ha), they refer to the "runner's high" after they have been running so long they reach a peak, pushing their own endurance beyond it's capabilities, to a point where the body releases endorphins into the system. God created our bodies with it's own natural mechanism to fight the sensation of feeling pain in order to relieve that which might seem unbearable. Ingenious, no?
It wasn't until the 1970's, when a University of California at Berkeley chemist, by the name of Choh Li, actually discovered "the morphine within" and aptly named it ENDORPHINES:
"any of a group of endogenous peptides (as in enkephalin and dynorphin, of the Nervous System) found especially in the brain, that bind chiefly to opiate receptors and produce some of the same pharmacological effects (as pain relief) as those of opiates; specifically Beta-Endorphin, of the Pituitary Gland."Natural Heroin; and we wonder why so many people get hooked, on running that is.
Who doesn't want the feeling of euphoria, coupled with appetite modulation or control, along with the release of sex hormones and all things good and fabulous? Who doesn't want a piece of that action?
Twenty more minutes of this and I am out the door...
But no matter how hard we try, the turn we are collectively making towards the county line of nanny state meets pimp daddy will never give us what we really need; it will never give us the high as compared to doing the work ourselves; it will never give us a sense of satisfaction, having labored the road ourselves; it will never be enough, as we will continuously look ahead down the road to see what else can you do for me...yeah baby...this feels good...hit me up with some more of that...
as the more we get...the more we want...and pretty soon, it's all we want.
When it comes to euphoria, just how high can we go?
Apparently there was a meeting of the minds here in my neck of the woods this past weekend; scientists, psychologists, coming together to evaluate things pertaining to the natural, the supernatural, and more specifically including our inherent ability to create happiness. Certain attributes, other than what we were born with and genetically bound by lineage, were highlighted -- in accordance with all things happy people share:
Gratitude, for what we have
Optimism, for what will be
Counting our Blessings
Using Our God Given Talents/Strengths
Promoting Random Acts of Kindness
I have to wonder, if only people would stop for five minutes every day to focus on the things that truly matter -- as within this simple list of five -- how our world would look a whole lot healthier, wiser, perhaps even bring a certain glow to our cheeks and a little bounce to our step.
We wouldn't be watching the partisan bickering in Washington over a subject matter that was never intended to be theirs to discuss in the first place; we would be taking care of our own, within the boundaries and civil liberties of a country suspended and highly held above all that.
Our fellow countrymen would be allowed to sell insurance over state lines, and travel miles across the purple mountains majesty to find the right fit, the right price, and the right services.
Frivolous lawsuits for burning our mouths -- and our laps -- on a cup of hot coffee from the drive thru simply wouldn't exist -- we would know better and take responsibility for our own stupidity.
Doctors and hospitals would charge whatever the market would bare for their expertise and years of experience and schooling -- some would be rewarded generously -- and likewise, if they made a big mistake, it would cost them and their shingles would come crashing down.
It wouldn't take a discussion with Congress, a Board of Directors, or a panel of seven or even a hundred, to decide what is best for me and my health -- all it would take is a sit down with a doctor and the family.
While we all recognize the real cost of healing the uninsured (including illegals) is insurmountable and will be the root cause of our final demise (through legislation enacting overhead of nearly twenty percent of our economy, added to the already overwhelming bureaucratic heart attack waiting to happen)...
The real ailment -- not producing enough American-made Endorphins to override the full operating system breakdown -- will escape us.
That secret, which four out of five doctors agree, is safely held deep within; get plenty of rest, eat right, do something nice for someone else, and take a walk, run, bike ride, or swim -- move the body and move the mountains seemingly too hard to climb.
And then,
just before we close our eyes at the end of a day,
give a moment of yourself to the world within and feed the soul -- that which truly sustains us to make it through another day when perhaps not every thing is going our way. In place of sheep jumping over a cloud, imagine counting blessings; give thanks for what is good, even if it was only a smile from a stranger or an "A" on your child's math quiz; look forward to tomorrow, even if it means rising at dawn to look for a new job, a new home, a new lease on life; share your strengths with the world, if only a sense of humor or your rose colored sunglasses.
America needs you -- she needs all of us to do our share and to do our part.
We all start at a crawls pace and work up to the coffee table and eventually the sprint across the living room floor. This is what we do; we start small and go big, and with each step, a greater responsibility of our movements come along -- yet in time, our endurance will outlast even the most aggressive paths. We will be rewarded with endorphins kicking in and feeding our ultimate destiny. We will create a society so healthy and vibrant, the world will want a piece of us once more -- and in a good way.
Our health and happiness was never intended to be in the government's hands; no matter how many ways to make believe, it never has been and it never will.
MOVE today and make it a Good Day, G
nothing stays the same,
but if you're willing to play the game...
....I believe in love...
...coming around again...coming around again...
oh I believe in love...I believe in...
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