We all go into bouts of the blahs, feeling down and, for some, even clinically depressed. This depressed state of mind sees nothing new to ignite the fire of life and heart of passion. It’s the same old, same old… no way out, no hope, nothing to look toward with enthusiasm and anticipation. Perhaps it takes a dose of wonder to kickstart the life force again.
As a remedy for the down, bored mind, and closed heart, I recommend this medicine. It’s called the New York Times Science Section Tuesday, March 16, 2010. If you can’t find something in this issue and dosage of Wow!, then it’s most likely you’re a heavy chemistry case and do need pills to rebalance.
In this printed form of “rejuvenation therapy,” how could you not get excited about a guy who’s going to jump out of a plane from 23 miles high in the air and break the sound barrier? Tiger playing the Masters doesn’t even come close to this kind of bloodcurdling drama! Nobody knows if this guy, Felix Baumgartner, will even survive. It’s possible his whole body might just fly apart during the jump. My adrenaline is jacked just thinking of this. I’m alive now. How about some adrenaline therapy for the depressed? ! Cured by OMG! (“A Supersonic Jump, From 23 Miles in the Air” – NY Times March 16).
How can this work for curing despondency and despair? It seems now from the latest neuroscience findings that we all have these so-called “mirror neurons.” These special neurons, amongst the 100 billion that exist in our brain, are the basis for empathy – to feel what it’s like to walk in another’s shoes, or in this case, Baumgartner’s “winged boots?” Mirror neurons tell us that if you can imagine it, on a cellular level, you are doing it! The body doesn’t know the difference. Wow, the power of imagination! So, if you want the ultimate rush and a way of elevating your way out gloom and doom, jump! Follow Felix. It’s your mind’s eye for the magic for transformation.
If that doesn’t grab your gut, how about checking out this book, “Insectopedia” for more wonder medicine. Maybe on your descent to earth at supersonic speed, you fly into at 15,000 feet (almost 3 miles high) a flying spider with legs spread eagled. You will need some windshield wipers on your supersonic flying helmut.
If that’s not enough to freak you out of the blues, you might need a dose of “Smush,” a film about a society of men who get off watching little creatures like insects and earthworms get crushed, presumably even spiders 3 miles high. Sometimes it takes weirdness to crush through the conventional boredom of life. Shock therapy (without the wires).
If your depression is so great that you can’t get that high or find that crushing doesn’t work for you, cruising may. Cruise around in a low altitude square mile area of Louisiana where 36 million insects have been counted flying around. Ah, the sweet medicine of wonder in the air. If flying is not for you, at least go there in your imagination and you will land reborn. (“The Vast World of the Tiny, Arranged From A to Z” – NY Times March 16).
