Go Buy a YoYo
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So what are you doing these days for fun? We're living in very precarious times, and worrying seems to be high on everyone's list. Either worrying or practicing methods to reduce worry, like yoga, meditation, community service, or long-distance running.
Nothing against meditation, but it isn't strictly what you would call “fun,” and I think we need some of that to keep us going, too. When was the last time you went out dancing? Used a hula hoop? Sang with other people and not because you're part of a Loving Spoonful cover band?
How about art: have you painted anything recently? Doesn't matter if it's a watercolor of climbing roses or an old wooden chair from a yard sale... anything that uses your art muscles is good for you. Decorating cupcakes so they look like sharks definitely counts, and so does painting your children's faces to resemble characters from The Hobbit.
Ice skating, bowling, pick-up beach volleyball. Planting scarlet runner beans. Reading a book, as long as it makes you laugh. One big component of fun is laughing, and that's part of why it helps our nervous systems. You can even fake laughing and in pretty short order the muscles you're using overpower the irony or cynicism in your mind and it turns real, bringing more oxygen into your blood, boosting the feel-good chemicals of your body just because the corners of your mouth are turned up.
When I'm worried, the last thing I want is some nut on the radio telling me to go ice skating. Who has time in this busy world, or money? Who even has ankle-strength any more? So forgive me. I know you've been worrying so long you can't even remember which things used to be fun to do. I'm terribly sorry your mom's got cancer or your kid's in jail, really I am. Those are things to cry over and rage against. It's important to be truthful about your circumstances, and feel everything there is to feel about them. But realistically, you just can't cry or rage 24/7. After a week or two, your body won't do it. And worry doesn't help solve problems, it only ties you to a mental hamster wheel. Believe me, the people and things you're concerned about are going to be best served by your strength and resilience, not your capacity to stay up all night tearing your hair out.
Which is why you need to drink a little extra water, get enough sleep, and practice having fun. Buy a yoyo and walk around the office retraining your hand to do “around the world” like it did in the fourth grade. Pull that frisbee off the garage shelf and wing it into your neighbor's yard. You can do this, and it will help us all.
Challenge your spouse to a game of gin rummy. Get out the bird book and I.D. those black and white ducks. Don't just walk to the bus stop, walk backwards! Tap dance! Skip!
