🎵 The Magic of Music 🎵

Recently, I stumbled upon an article about the “Magic of Music,” and let me tell you, it was a real eye-opener. Apparently, we’re all victims of this thing called the Yerkes-Dodson law, which was cooked up by a couple of psychologists back in 1908. Their big idea was that too little stress or arousal makes us bored and unmotivated, but as stress increases, so does our motivation, and we start performing better at our tasks. Now, in 2010, some brainiacs did a study and found that when students listened to music by Mozart, it actually made them faster and more accurate at certain cognitive tasks. I’ve definitely noticed this myself–whether I’m sharpening tools in the garage or sitting at my desk writing up a storm, I seem to perform better with a little musical accompaniment (mostly Country). Although, I can’t say I’ve actually measured any speed increase. I guess I’m just too busy to notice! But here’s the thing, I’ve found that music can also be a real distraction when I’m trying to focus on something complicated, like a game of chess. I mean, how am I supposed to strategize my next move when I’ve got Garth Brooks blasting in the background? It’s just not happening my friends. So, is music the key to unlocking our full potential, or is it just a big ol’ distraction? Honestly, it’s hard to say for sure, but I know I’d rather die of passion (or at least a little musical madness) than succumb to the boredom of silence. Although silence is seductive 😊.  As the great Van Gogh once said, “I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” And you know what, I couldn’t agree more!

🔱 Procrastination

 Ah, the age-old struggle of procrastination–where nothing gets done, and the to-do list just keeps growing like a stubborn weed. I’ll admit I’m guilty when it comes to this vice. I’ve got a small stack of paperwork on my desk that’s been there for weeks, taunting me with its very existence. Every day, I tell myself, “Today’s the day, I’m going to tackle that beast!” But alas, it remains undisturbed, daring me to even think about touching it. It’s like the stack has developed a mind of its own, threatening my very existence if I dare to interrupt its delicate balance. Is it because the task is so mind-numbingly boring? Possibly. Or maybe I’m just too lazy to put in the effort required to get it done. Either way, I always seem to find more “interesting” things to occupy my time–like staring at the wall or counting the dust bunnies on my desk, or re-stringing my guitars. Meanwhile, my wife, bless her heart, is the complete opposite. She’s a task-tackling machine, diving headfirst into any project and seeing it through to the bitter end. It’s like she’s immune to the siren call of procrastination while I’m over here drowning in a sea of unfinished business. But hey, at least I’m not alone in this predicament, right? Maybe we can start a support group–”Procrastinators Anonymous” or something equally clever. Who’s with me?

🔱 The Beatles

Speaking of clever, did you know that the legendary John Lennon said, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Ah, the wisdom of a Beatle. Now, I’ll admit, I was never a huge Beatles fan myself. I mean, sure, I could appreciate their musical genius and all, but that whole “more popular than Jesus” comment Lennon made in 1966? Yeah, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, come on, John, you’re good, but you’re not that good.

But you know what they say about laziness, “Words without action is like winking at a girl in the dark.” And that’s kind of how I feel about my procrastination problem. I can talk the talk, but when it comes to actually getting stuff done, I’m about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Maybe I should take a page out of Lennon’s book and just focus on being happy, you know? After all, as Elie Wiesel says, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” And I’ll be darned if I’m going to let a stack of paperwork make me indifferent to the joys of life. So, who’s with me? Let’s start our own “Procrastinators Anonymous” group and see if we can’t turn this ship around. After all, as the old saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And in my case, that first step is probably just picking up a pen and getting to work on that stack of paperwork. Wish me luck! 😊.

🔱 Cardiologist

 Recently, I took a brief trip to see a cardiologist for the first time. I’ve been experiencing these episodes of rapid heartbeats for about five years, and my family doc thinks it might be “tachycardia” (that’s fancy doctor talk for a heart rate over 100 beats per minute). But hey, as long as it’s not causing me any problems, he says we can just monitor it and go from there. Well, let me tell you, these episodes have been getting a little more frequent lately–we’re talking several times a week, each one lasting a solid 3-5 minutes. And it’s enough to make a guy start questioning his own mortality. So, I figured it was time to bring in the big guns–the cardiologist. Now, I did a little research on this doc before my visit, and she’s one impressive lady. Mid-30s, super respected in her field, and busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. My visit confirmed all of that and then some. I showed up with my trusty journal, filled to the brim with all the details of my tachycardia episodes since 2019. I even brought along a spreadsheet of my blood pressure readings and a count of the 17 million (yes, million!) steps I’ve taken since 2015, all hoping to impress this young, brilliant cardiologist. I mean, surely a heart that’s been through 8,000 miles’ worth of steps can’t be all that bad, right? Wrong! As soon as I sat down, she took one look at my data and slapped a heart monitor on my chest, informing me she wanted me to wear it for the next 30 days. And get this–she’s not even sure if I’m dealing with tachycardia or some other heart condition called “arterial fibrillation” (or “A-Fib” for short). Apparently, my family doctor’s explanation of the two just didn’t cut it with this lady.

So, there I am, feeling like the world’s biggest medical guinea pig, and she’s already out the door, probably off to see the next poor soul like me, wondering who left the idiot door open.  It’s enough to make a guy wonder–why do I even bother keeping track of all this health data if it’s just going to get me slapped with a heart monitor and a three-month follow-up appointment? As the great Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” And let me tell you, this cardiologist just delivered a knockout blow to my carefully crafted health plan. But hey, at least I can take solace because I’m not alone in this cardiac conundrum. I have a few friends suffering from the same symptoms. A couple of days later, I signed in online to see the cardiologist’s notes, and I noticed that she said, “Appearances: age- related.” Shucks, my daughter has been telling me for years that I look at least ten years younger than my age, and the doctor just punched a great big ole hole in that pretense. I think I always knew it anyway. 😊 ….Tommy