The Artist's Journal
I have a journal in my studio in which I paint and write and break every artistic rule. I don't say, “I must never do this,” I just put down whatever comes out of my head. Sometimes I think what I'm doing is brilliant, but it doesn't matter, since no one ever has to see it or judge it—I don't have to read what someone says about it in the paper. When I'm expressing myself in my journal, I feel drunk with color and material.
“The greatest part of our happiness and misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.”
—Martha Washington
THINGS TO DO
Newsprint Roll-Ends
If you feel the urge to express yourself in a big way, or if your paint-crazed child is constantly running out of paper, pay a visit to your local newspaper and ask if they have any roll-ends for sale. Newsprint comes in gigantic rolls that are often discarded when they're close to being used up. You can get them for a song (cheap) or, if you get lucky, for a smile (free).
The End of an Illness
There is nothing more wonderful than the first day after a long illness (in my case several years); when you walk down the street and feel well, the lightness is wonderful. So is the first moment of unsolicited well-being, not reactive but gratuitous. When you're recovering from a chronic or long-term sickness, you can summon the energy for reactive well-being long before you have any of those freefloating bursts of simple joie de vivre. They are the last thing to return as health returns.
“Is it so small a thing
to have enjoy'd the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done?”
—Matthew Arnold
THINGS TO DO
A Spring Tonic
Cultures throughout the world swear by garlic soup as a spring tonic and all-around cure for that under-the-weather feeling. No one knows if it is merely the pleasure in the taste that is the pick-me-up, or whether garlic has mysterious health properties. But give it a try when you're feeling blue and see if it works for you. Don't let the huge quantity of garlic scare you off—when cooked it turns very mellow.
Garlic Soup
4 heads of garlic
1 bunch parsley or thyme or marjoram, tied into a bundle with string
1 quart chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
juice of 1 lemon or lime
salt and pepper to taste
lightly toasted bread or croutons (optional)
Break up the heads of garlic into cloves, and discard the papery membrane, but don't peel the cloves, and place in a 4-quart soup pot with the herbs. Add the broth or water, cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until garlic is very soft.
Strain the soup through the fine disk of a food mill or puree in a blender or food processor, and push through a medium-mesh strainer with the back of a ladle. Add the lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper, and bread if desired. Serves 4.
The Perfect Backhand
The ball comes over the net to my left side, and I get in perfect position behind it and smash a low backhand that arcs into the opposite corner right by the service line. It's just the antidote I need for all the other backhands that go out of control, and I say to myself, Hey, I can do that—it's easy. It's like the pleasure of throwing a perfect spiral when I toss a football, and I notice how little effort it takes. I wouldn't enjoy it half as much if I could do it all the time.
“A little of what you fancy does you good.”
—Marie Lloyd
THINGS TO DO
In Your Mind's Eye
Pollyanna and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale were right: Research shows that optimism and the power of positive thinking can affect everything from health to job success and life span. Several researchers have reported that pessimists who tend to blame themselves for their misfortunes are more susceptible to disease. The pessimist's typical attitude of helplessness may be associated with weakening of the immune system's resistance. Or pessimists may simply neglect their health.
A psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Martin Seligman, suggested that our initial, automatic reactions to minor misfortune can be self-defeating. The technique of “cognitive therapy” involves identifying these automatic, negative thoughts and replacing them with ones that are more realistic.
And who knew better than Dr. Norman Vincent Peale? His wife Ruth, that's who. In the 1950s, Peale was dissatisfied with his manuscript for a book, then called The Power of Faith, and threw it in the trash. His wife retrieved it and took it to a New York publisher, where an editor changed the word “faith” to “positive thinking.” The result: ninety-eight weeks as America's best-selling nonfiction book, and an inspiration for generations.
So if you catch yourself saying things like “I know this won't turn out well,” “I'm sure he's going to disappoint me,” etc., try replacing them with thoughts like, “I'm going to do by best to make it come out well.” You'll be giving your body and soul a boost!
Animal Crackers
I'm a forty-year-old lawyer who goes looking for animal crackers whenever my day gets too stressful. They're the perfect size and shape for eating in one quick bite, they melt in my mouth, and they're sweet, but not too. But more than that, they take me back to my childhood, when life wasn't complicated, I didn't have difficult choices to make, and all I wanted was animal crackers and Mommy. I guess that's why animal crackers are so comforting to me now. When I was much younger, I used to talk to the animals, but now I just bite off their heads. My favorite is the gorilla, who looks like a very contented Buddha.
“Animal crackers and cocoa to drink, That is the finest of suppers, I think; When I'm grown up and can have what I please I think I shall always insist upon these.”
—Christopher Morley
THINGS TO DO
Melting Away Stress
If you're a very important attorney—or a very unimportant one—you can nibble on animal crackers at your desk all day, coaxing out those little bits from the box that looks like a miniature circus animal car. That woven string handle is so you can carry it outside your briefcase. And if you
