#2023 – Page 4 – The Corrigan Encore

I Wanted to Feel Better

August 15, 2023 John Corrigan

It was a long day for her and she had dealt with some stressful situations, as soon as she put on the dress she started to feel the stress melt away. It is called retail therapy and the act of shopping can and does release dopamine and make us feel less stressed. Let us back up one second dopamine is actually released prior to the purchase as well as during the purchase of an item. So, scrolling through Amazon comparing prices and not buying them can help reduce stress almost just as much as actually buying the product does.

There are many ideas as to why the act of shopping provides us with dopamine but one of the major reasons is that shopping gives us a sense of control and a reward.

Shopping addiction is not retail therapy and it can be pretty awful for individuals and society. Here is a pretty good online article that outlines the negative effects of consumerism. In the article the writer mentions that the current rate of consumerism is something unsustainable and that

If everyone lived like western consumers we would need 5 planets to support us.
The world counts. Available at: https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/number-of-consumers

Consumerism may provide a quick high that helps us to relieve stress, but the cost of rampant consumerism is to much. Some great alternatives to retail therapy that also provide us with dopamine from control and reward include but are not limited to

Exercise
Building something
Reading
Spending time with Family and friends
Reading

Everything in this list gives you control, reward and releases dopamine. So why do we do it? Why do we consume? Well we are trained our whole lives to consume so there is the way we were raised. We have to buy food and supplies to live so we consume to live. Did you know that, impulse buys at the grocery store account for 62% of the overall sales?

Why not buy more while we are here? I do not need it and before seeing it I didn’t want it but, why not buy it? After that first impulse buy many many more can and do happen, its a slippery slope.

How can we avoid and reverse rampant consumerism then? I think to avoid this rampant consumerism we should first and foremost be thoughtful in our purchases. Asking why.

why am I buying this?

asking how much

how much will this cost me?
how much will it cost society?
how much will it cost the planet?

asking what else

what else can I do to satisfy this need?
what else can I do with the cost for this need?
what else can I purchase that will make less of an impact on society (a used car is actually much better for the earth than a new one and there are already many used electric vehicles on the market)?

No matter what you do know that you deserve to treat yourself to better mental health regiments than just a shopping trip.

Somewhere that is not here

August 11, 2023 John Corrigan

The rain had just started and was not in full swing. I have never been a fan of wearing wet clothes as such I put on my rain jacket. One of my colleagues saw this and asked why I was putting on the jacket. I let him know that I was not a fan of rain. He told me that perhaps I could imagine that I was dry and on a beach with sunny 70 degree weather and maybe the rain would not affect me as much.

I am a fan of visualization just as much as the next guy but I choose to wear the jacket.

Visualization is a powerful tool when it comes to dealing with anxiety and accomplishing goals.

Through visualization we can make our minds believe that we are not experiencing some trauma and actually put ourselves into a calm state.

Through visualization we can see our desired outcome and the steps it takes to get there.

To use visualization imagination is required and often as adults we tend to frown on imaginative folks.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.
George Bernard Shaw

It is a tragedy that we belittle those who have and use their imagination. Lets work hard today to not belittle anyone especially those using their imagination or stop from using our imaginations

Kintsu.. who what?

August 10, 2023 John Corrigan

Kintsugi is an Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold as the material for repairing the cracks. The philosophy behind Kintsugi is very similar in nature to wabi-sabi , which is embracing the imperfect.

There is a great song written by Trains lead singer Patrick Monahan and performed by Train and Ashley Monroe called Bruises.

The song deals with embracing our flaws as part of who we are. It can be tempting to cover up imperfections but it will not work. People can spot fake people a mile away.

It’s all right to make mistakes, you’re only humanInside everybody’s hiding something.
Dido Armstrong

Its important to put forth your “real self” flaws and all to the world, especially our family and friends. If your relationships are loving ones the family and friends will not only accept you flaws and all they will celebrate you with gold, flaws and all and, if they don’t they will eventually come around.

This is by no means a recommendation to hurt someone. It is ok to celebrate your flaws however it is never ok to break another person. Never

Thanks Amazon and Apple and Planet Fitness

August 7, 2023 John Corrigan

Describe one habit that brings you joy.

My feet are moving in a pattern that can best be described as the machine I am standing on and, that is elliptical. My feet are moving in an elliptical pattern. I am not moving through the earth but my imagination is soaring. In front of me on the elliptical I am looking at the kindle app on my Ipad.

One of my favorite things to do that I have made a habit is reading. I love to read books especially fiction ones. A good story can move us from where we are to an unknown world and I love that.

Reading is good for us, it improves our memories, empathy, and communication skills. I highly recommend reading as a fun healthy habit for everyone.

Get out there and there and there

August 3, 2023 John Corrigan

Did you know that Mark Twain was part of a confederate militia? For anyone who doesn’t know the confederates were part of the confederacy in the United States. The Confederacy was a racist part of the United States that fought a civil war so that they could keep slaves.

At the end and even middle of his life Mark Twain was far from racist. Twain wrote Huck FInn.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime
Mark Twain

I encourage everyone to see all of the world they can. Humans were made to wander and explore and interact with life all over the world.

Get out there and take the world trips you have planned you will be a better person for it!

A sentient being

August 2, 2023 John Corrigan

The idea of being sentient to me has become a barometer for life. If a form of life is sentient than I believe that is life worth protecting. It was this type of thinking that caused me to change my diet. Right now my family and I are eating plant based protein because of the fact that many of the animals used for protein are sentient beings.

There are strangely enough, many situations that you may find yourself in that require the need to define life and this definition I created for my self has helped me navigate.

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you’ll be criticized anyway.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Cider House Rules, is a great movie and I watched the movie but did not read the book (I know shame on me, I do intend to read the book someday). The movie is a classic and should be watched by all. In the movie a young man learns that rules written by those in charge may work in theory but not application.

You are living your life and you should learn what is right and wrong for yourself and not really on others to tell you. Learning right from wrong for yourself is called ethics and it is confusing and hard sometimes and there is nothing wrong with seeking help, however at the end of the day you must decide what is right or wrong

Unconnected in a connected world

July 24, 2023 John Corrigan

Today was my first day back from a weeks long vacation. Me, my wife, and niece spent a week in the bayou Teche. We were camping in our rv and had a blast. We did some exploring, fishing, and a whole lot of swimming.

When I got into work this morning the emails were there in abundance, so were the instant messages and phone calls. I got top work on the backlog and I am finally starting to clear out the workload. I purposely left behind my work cellphone, tablet and laptops. I was unplugged and disconnected but I didn’t feel that way. Out there on the water I felt more connected than I had in a pretty long time.

I thought it was odd as I stood alone on the water, fishing that, I would feel connected. I am a huge fan of nature but, I don’t think nature has magical properties. I do think nature can be restorative though simply because nature has a way of cutting out distractions (like pretty much all my emails, messages and calls) and making us focus on what matters.

So what is it that really matters? Life and the environment that we live in matter more than anything else. Last week we experienced the hottest days on record. Man made climate change has caused serious damage to life and the enviroment that we live in.

The man made climate change was accomplished through and still happening because of a lack of perspective. As a species we have become distracted and lost focus of what really matters.

Maybe we should all take a week of disconnect unplug and reconnect with what matters.

What would you do

July 12, 2023 John Corrigan

I live in the United States of America and here we have a pay to play or live system. Capitalism is the economic and political system we use in the United States. Capitalism has created a pretty big gap between the haves and have nots in the United States. Over the past 20 – 30 years the United States has become the one of the most unequal countries in the world. The United States is the most unequal rich country in the world. Because of the inequity things like the lottery have grown in popularity by leaps and bounds. State lotteries are the most popular forms of gambling in the United States. About 18% of the United States citizens play the lottery on a monthly basis.

Photo by John Guccione http://www.advergroup.com on Pexels.com

As I type this post there is a drawing tonight that will award the winner (if there is one, often no one guesses the right numbers) over 170 million dollars. 170 million dollars is a pretty large amount of money and would be life changing. An exercise that I am sure is done by everyone who buys a lottery ticket is a what if type of exercise.

What if I won the lottery? What would I do if I wasn’t trapped in this system? I think the exercise is fun for the first few minutes, then you begin to realize that you are trapped in a pretty awful system.

I think the lottery can be fun and is fun but capitalism is not. Capitalism is brutal and corrupt and continues to be brutal and corrupt.

A great way to beat capitalism is through charity and helping others. Here is a super interesting post about how 5 lottery winners stuck their fingers in the eye of capitalism. link to blog post

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.
Maya Angelou

It is not to late

July 11, 2023 John Corrigan

Did you know that the average age of most successful entrepreneurs was 42? When I say average age I mean average age at the start of their companies. Did you know that Mark Twain did not start writing until he was 42?

Age really is just a number. We are often conditioned to think that there is a prime time in our lives, but honestly their isn’t there is just our lives. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are too old or too young to do something especially since age is just a number.

Want to, should and have to

July 10, 2023 John Corrigan

This week the world is experiencing intense heat. Just last week, the planet was the hottest it has ever been. This intense heat has some pretty dire consequences and will and is changing the way that humans live on the earth. There are foods that we once ate that we cannot eat anymore, homes and parts of the world that humans lived in and cannot anymore the ways that climate change have already affected humans is long and getting longer. In the 80’s scientists were ringing the alarm bells about the consequences of burning fossil fuels. No one listened because society didn’t want to.

In the 90’s the scientists rang again and no one listened. We should have but we didn’t really need to.

Now here we are in 2023 and we have to listen. Burning fossil fuels has destroyed the world we live in and changed the climate so much that we now have to listen if we do not humans will not adapt. This article in Time magazine outlines how humans will not be able to adapt to the pace of the heat on Earth.

The changes are being made but the pace we make the changes has to happen at a more rapid rate. We need to consider the environment before any action we make. Reduce, reuse and recycle and stop burning fossil fuels for transportation and energy creation.

We can change I know it.