Lisa Napoli's Blog, page 66
March 15, 2011
Beaches, pricey gas, and me on the stump
In San Diego for a visit Wednesday to: KPBS in the AM, a country club luncheon/book thing at noon, and Warwick's (billed as the oldest family-owned bookstore in the country) in La Jolla at 7:30.
Thursday night: Manhattan Beach's Pages Bookstore at 7pm. Here's a preview from the local paper there:
http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2011/03/15/stepping_out/step5.txt
And on Saturday: the AAUW Literary Lunch in Laguna Beach.
Tuesday I'll be in Redondo Beach at the library at 7pm.
Good thing I have a non-gas-guzzling machine, given that petrol's now four bucks a gallon….
Beneath Blossom Rain
My pal Larry, a reader in Tucson, gave me an excerpt of a forthcoming travel book about the outrageous 24-day Snowman's Trek in Bhutan. It's by Kevin Grange and it's called Beneath Blossom Rain, published by U of Nebraska Press.
Sounds like R/S/L, by a guy, and without the radio station–but lots of hiking instead. 
Excerpt from the promotional web site:
"In a remote kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, there is a trail said to be the toughest trek in the world—twenty-four days, 216 miles, eleven mountain passes, and enough ghost stories to scare an exorcist.
In 2007 Kevin Grange decided to acquaint himself with the country of Bhutan by taking on this infamous trail, the Snowman Trek. He was thirty-three, at a turning point in life, and figured the best way to go at a crossroad was up. Against a backdrop of Buddhist monasteries and soaring mountains, Grange ventured beyond the mapped world to visit time-lost villages and sacred valleys. In the process, recounted here with a blend of laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt insight, and acute observation, he tested the limits of physical endurance, met a fascinating assortment of characters, and discovered truths about faith, hope, and the shrouded secret of blossom rain."
#3goodthings
1. banks of flowers, bright purple flowers, dotting the highway and brightening the drive
2. finding that sweet little park behind this modest motel and walking at dusk
3. talking to my dear friend Brian after a long time.
#3goodthings
The Winter of our Disconnect
The great culture blog Head Butler turned me on to this book about a family of four (one mom, three teenagers) who unplug all the screens (cell phones, tv, internet) for six months. The resulting opus is called The Winter of Our Discontent. I don't even need to read it to know it should be required reading for every family. Can anyone remember the days before our always-on culture??
From the book's promotional page:
"For any parent who's ever IM-ed their child to the dinner table – or yanked the modem from its socket in a show of primal parental rage – this account of one family's self-imposed exile from the Information Age will leave you ROFLing with recognition. But it will also challenge you to take stock of your own family connections, to create a media ecology that encourages kids – and parents – to thrive.
When journalist and commentator Susan Maushart first decided to pull the plug on all electronic media at home, she realised her children would have sooner volunteered to go without food, water or hair products. At ages 14, 15 and 18, her daughters and son didn't use media. They inhabited media. Just exactly as fish inhabit a pond. Gracefully. Unblinkingly. And utterly without consciousness or curiosity as to how they got there. Susan's experiment with her family was a major success and she found that having less to communicate with, her family is communicating more.
At the simplest level, The Winter of Our Disconnect is the story of how one family survived six months of wandering through the desert, digitally speaking, and the lessons learned about themselves and technology along the way. At the same time, their story is a channel to a wider view – into the impact of new media on the lives of families, into the very heart of the meaning of home."
Being unhappy can be healthy, too
Just to prove for every survey that says up there's one that says down is good, too….comes this piece from the WSJ on a U of Wisconsin survey. (Thanks, Judi!)
Source: Pew Research Center, Social and Demographic Trends Project
Excerpt:
"The relentless pursuit of happiness may be doing us more harm than good.
Some researchers say happiness as people usually think of it—the experience of pleasure or positive feelings—is far less important to physical health than the type of well-being that comes from engaging in meaningful activity. Researchers refer to this latter state as "eudaimonic well-being."
Happiness research, a field known as "positive psychology," is exploding. Some of the newest evidence suggests that people who focus on living with a sense of purpose as they age are more likely to remain cognitively intact, have better mental health and even live longer than people who focus on achieving feelings of happiness….
"Sometimes things that really matter most are not conducive to short-term happiness," says Carol Ryff, a professor and director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
"Eudaimonia" is a Greek word associated with Aristotle and often mistranslated as "happiness"—which has contributed to misunderstandings about what happiness is. Some experts say Aristotle meant "well-being" when he wrote that humans can attain eudaimonia by fulfilling their potential. Today, the goal of understanding happiness and well-being, beyond philosophical interest, is part of a broad inquiry into aging and why some people avoid early death and disease. Psychologists investigating eudaimonic versus hedonic types of happiness over the past five to 10 years have looked at each type's unique effects on physical and psychological health."
This is why I wish the King of Bhutan had used the word "well-being" rather than "happiness" when he uttered the phrase "Gross National Happiness" so many years ago….
In fact, in some cases, too much focus on feeling happy can actually lead to feeling less happy, researchers say.
The pleasure that comes with, say, a good meal, an entertaining movie or an important win for one's sports team—a feeling called "hedonic well-being"—tends to be short-term and fleeting. Raising children, volunteering or going to medical school may be less pleasurable day to day. But these pursuits give a sense of fulfillment, of being the best one can be, particularly in the long run.
"Sometimes things that really matter most are not conducive to short-term happiness," says Carol Ryff, a professor and director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
fear.less
The latest issue of fear.less is out; it's a free online magazine that's chock full of inspiration about how to combat that awful but common pest, fear.
Here's what you can read about this month, according to the free, fear.less newsletter:
"In honor of spring we're bringing you a set of brisk, vibrant stories that will renew your spirit and encourage your potential to bloom.
Brad Ludden is a professional whitewater kayaker, and it's difficult to look at his
pictures without wanting to go for a run or a swim. Wisdom and insight flow from
his interview because he recalls the exact moments that he conquered his fear
and also topsy-turvies the whole notion of fear by actively seeking it out for the
rush and the reward. He has also made a big splash in the nonprofit world – his
organization First Descents uses extreme outdoor sports as a platform for
enriching the lives, skills and confidence of young adults with cancer.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FEAR.LESS MARCH 2011
Jonathan Fields was a hotshot lawyer until he realized his heart – and the rest of his
body – wasn't in it. After a stress-induced medical emergency, he decided life needed
to be lived on more of his own terms and entered the fitness industry. Calmed by a
job he loves and a healthy dose of yoga, Jonathan now firmly believes that you can
follow your passions and make money – the cover of his book Career Renegade
depicts a stack of cash curled into a heart. That about sums it up, doesn't it?
Bindu Wiles is a writer, a Buddhist, a yoga teacher, a disciple of dark comedy, and
a warrior. I love her interview and life story because it is on such a different track
from my own but still feels utterly real. She talks openly, blessedly openly, about
the consequences of anger and other extreme emotions and deeply explores
the interiority of fear."
March 14, 2011
Tiny Buddha/Words of Wisdom
1. How many times you smile today.
2. How much effort you exert at work.
3. Your level of honesty.
4. How well you prepare.
5. How you act on your feelings.
6. How often you say "thank you."
7. When you pull out your wallet for luxuries.
8. Whether or not you give someone the benefit of the doubt.
9. How you interpret situations.
10. Whether or not you compete with people around you.
11. How often you notice and appreciate small acts of kindness—they're everywhere!
12. Whether you listen or wait to talk.
13. When you walk away from a conversation.
14. How nice you are to yourself in your head.
15. Whether you think positive or negative thoughts.
16. Whether or not you form expectations of people.
17. The type of food you eat.
18. When you answer someone's question—or email or call.
19. How much time you spend worrying.
20. How many new things you try.
21. How much exercise you get.
22. How many times you swear in traffic.
23. Whether or not you plan for the weather.
24. How much time you spend trying to convince people you're right.
25. How often you think about your past.
26. How many negative articles you read.
27. The attention you give to your loved ones when you see them.
28. How much you enjoy the things you have right now.
29. Whether or not you communicate something that's on your mind.
30. How clean or uncluttered you keep your space.
31. What books you read.
32. How well you network at social events.
33. How deeply you breathe when you experience stress.
34. How many times you admit you don't know something—and then learn something new.
35. How often you use your influence to help people instead of focusing on building your influence.
36. When you ask for help.
37. Which commitments you keep and cancel.
38. How many risks you take.
39. How creative/innovative you are in your thinking.
40. How clear you are when you explain your thoughts.
41. Whether you formulate a new plan or act on your existing one.
42. How much information you get before you make a decision.
43. How much information you share with people.
44. Whether you smoke or drink (unless you're an alcoholic, in which case I am not qualified to offer you advice.)
45. Whether or not you judge other people.
46. Whether you smell good or bad (unless you have some strange resistance to soap and deodorant).
47. How much of what other people say you believe.
48. How quickly you try again after you fall.
49. How many times you say "I love you."
50. How much rest you get at night.
Bhutan in 1988, way pre-TV
I love people's vacation photos, particularly when they're of Bhutan long ago.
Yak, by Jeffrey Minker
Birthday gift/Darlene Chan
The wonderful LA-based publicist Darlene Chan, who is so kind and supportive to me even though I didn't hire her to help me promote my book (for no other reason than budget), gave R/S/L to her sister for her birthday! Hope she likes it!
Arizona Spotlight with Mark McLemore
The Tucson Festival of Books was an amazing experience: an almost entirely volunteer effort to raise money and awareness of literacy that's grown to be one of the largest festivals of its kind in just three years. I got to see this jam-packed exhibit on the Arizona campus (where several good friends have gone to school;) got to see two dear old friends and make a bunch of new ones, including: two women who teach Bhutanese refugees in the community, several people who've been to Bhutan (one very long ago,) some wonderful people who are about to go to Bhutan (like the head of the area Women's Foundation, who hosted me at an event on Thursday night) and the wonderful owner of Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore…..and to experience the beautiful desert surroundings.
Here's an interview that ran that ran on Arizona Public Radio's Arizona Spotlight by the golden-voiced Mark McLemore; spot the error (unless it gets fixed right away) on the accompanying webpage.
