The Perils of City Living - Breathing Space Blog

Now it can be revealed! Besides viruses, urban dwellers are at higher risk for anxiety, mood disorders and schizophrenia.

Figured It Out - Breathing Space Blog

My colleague, Bob Wendover wrote a book that should be on your desk:

Figure It Out! Making Smart Decisions in a Dumbed-Down World is a practical guide to everyday decision making. With all the competition for our time and attention these days, it's getting harder and harder to find the concentration to solve problems.  

Figure It Out presents a simple, three- principle system for making better decisions when it so tempting to take the easy way or simply avoid an issue. It's full of practical stories and illustrations. On top of this, you can access 18 short instructional videos that will help you flesh out the concepts in each chapter. 

The Stress of Airline Travel - Breathing Space Blog

Airline travel has become increasingly stressful in the last few years. Consider the following: Once you arrive at the airport grounds, there's the issue of parking the car, making your way to the shuttle, and so forth. The delays you can experience once you're actually at the airport can exceed the time it took you to get to the airport.

Inside the airport, you have to either check your bags, or, if you're wiser, use rolling luggage or all carry-ons and make your way directly through TSA "the system." You have to clear the line that already forming and ensure that you have the right ticket, and the right identification. Finally, it's time to get on the plane.

Once you board the plane, you have to sit in a chair that was designed to seat the greatest number of people possible in the plane's cabin, not for your comfort. The shoulder width of most seat backs is two to three inches fewer than the typical adult male's shoulder span. The leg room is nonexistent. Unless you choose the bulkhead row or emergency exit row, or happen to be in first-class, forget about having an enjoyable flight.

Then there's the forced air within the plane. The air is actually drier than most of the world's deserts. You get a tiny beverage served every 30 to 60 minutes.

If you're on a single aisle plane, making your way to the bathroom problematic. The thought of stretching or getting any kind of exercise is nearly out of the question unless you're very adept at seated exercises. Finally, when you're about to begin eating, the pilot will announce, "We're heading into turbulence."

Millions of Cheerleaders - Breathing Space Blog

www.43things.com contains millions of people who list their goals, share their progress, and cheer each other on.

Overtime Can Kill - Breathing Space Blog

A study years back by a medical research council in the UK indicated that, of 7,000 healthy, middle-aged government employees over a 12 year study, those who reported working 11-hour days were 67% more likely to incur a heart attack than those who worked 7 to 8 hours. Those who worked 10-hour days were 45% more likely to incur a heart attack than more moderately-working peers.

While it is not certain precisely why excessive overtime harms the heart, unlike smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, one's work habits are an indicator of heart health. Possibly, excessive overtime, in addition to lack of exercise, too much stress, too little sleep, unhealthy eating, or depression, contributes to an overall pattern of high risk for heart attack.

Choice Galore and Their Consequences - Breathing Space Blog

For too many people, an abundance of choices has become a curse, not a blessing. In the 1984 movie, Moscow on the Hudson, the late Robin Williams portrays a Russian defector who settles in New York. He goes to the supermarket to buy some coffee. The markets he knew in Moscow were small and poorly lit. The Manhattan supermarket is dazzling. The coffee display overwhelms him – there is instant, freeze dried, dark brew, etc., in boxes, cans, and jars of different sizes and colors.

Confronted with all these choices, he has an anxiety attack, faints, falls forward, and knocks over the whole display. That scene got a big laugh, but it makes a point about our lives – too many choices. I suggest that you avoid engaging in low level decisions. If a toothbrush is available in red or green, and it's all the same to you, just grab the closest one.

Whenever you catch yourself making a low level decision, consider: Does this really make a difference? Get in the habit of making only a few choices a day – the ones that count.

Regain Your Time - Breathing Space Blog

Here is an excerpt of an insightful article by William J. Doherty appearing UU World September/October 2004, called “Let's Take Back our Time”:

“Welcome to the strange new world where being home for dinner is a radical act. For three decades, a new spiritual and social justice issue has been arising in our culture and our congregations, but we've been too busy to notice it. It's the problem of time: over-work, over-scheduling, and a chronic sense of hurry. We have become the most productive and the most time-starved people on earth...”

“This is a spiritual issue as well as a social justice issue.... Over-busyness has spiritual effects. Every spiritual tradition emphasizes the importance of silence and repose; most have some form of Sabbath and seasons of reflection. Our culture of busyness is antithetical to the spiritual life. The Trappist monk Thomas Merton expressed it well in Confessions of Guilty Bystander:

There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence, and that is activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of this innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone and everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”