Smell it…Fear it:

 Our sense of smell is an automatic memory trigger, more so than almost any other sense.


“People recall smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only three months.”(Sense of Smell.org)

“Our odor memories frequently have strong emotional qualities and are associated with the good or bad experiences in which they occurred. Olfaction is handled by the same part of the brain (the limbic system) that handles memories and emotions…Very often we cannot put a name to these odors yet they have a strong emotive association even if they cannot be specifically identified.” (http://www.senseofsmell.org/funfacts)

The Smell

It is actually not the antiseptic smell that bothers me (I am a nurse after all…), but rather my sense of a combination that is a bizarre mix of: “bubblegum-ish” flavor in the air from the nitrous, as well as certain unidentifiable dental aromas. Ok, so hard to define. It has improved though…at least now the waiting area doesn’t make me nauseous.

I have an excellent dentist that is very caring and sympathetic to my phobia as well as my extremely sensitive teeth. Nonetheless, once I sit in that chair, my heart pounds, my palms get cold and sweaty and I dread the sound of the drill.

The Fear

My phobia has an origin – well, several in fact. Combine a multitude of uncaring military dentists, with one in particular, who slapped me because I wouldn’t sit still for the second shot to my gums. Yes it was many moons ago and yes my dad almost got kicked out of the Air Force for that one! Nobody hits his little girl. So, here I am at age 37 and yet that smell gets me every time! It has improved, but I was in the chair just 2 days ago for 2 crowns and I was shaking like a leaf!

What smells trigger a fear for you? And if you are wondering why I picked smells that evoke fear, rather than warm fuzzies…well, because : 1) I want you to have to think and the good stuff is always easier to come up with and 2) I really am curious. So please share – maybe we can help each other work through some of them!

The Upside Of Idleness:By Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian

Meet Josh Hanagarne, author of a very awesome blog: http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/ . I am officially hooked. He has proven to be a person with tremendous willpower, a super "give it your all" attitude, as well as a sense of humor that I truly appreciate! 
He put the call out for guest post topics a while ago and I gave him the topic of being idle. I had just finished a post on it, but knowing how hardworking Josh is, I was curious to see where he would go with a topic that is rather foreign to what I know of him and I was not disappointed.
Read on, I promise you will love this post and you might even learn a thing or two. Thanks Josh! You rock! 
Here is his guest post:

The Upside Of Idleness:By Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian

Stephanie asked me if it is possible for me to be idle. This might sound like an odd question. After all, is anyone truly incapable of lying down on the couch all day? Is there anyone who doesn’t occasionally get sucked into the Internet for longer than they had planned?

There’s a reason she asked me this question, however. Most people who know me have the perception that I’m a very hard worker. I write a successful blog and I write something every day. I guest post on other blogs nearly as often as I write my own.
I work 40-50 hours a week as a librarian and I have a 19-month old maniac running around my house like a little tornado. I also do serious weight training for about 90 minutes every day.

So—this can give the impression that 1) I’m very ambitious; 2) I can’t be idle; 3) I’m a workaholic; 4) I’m the ultimate multi-tasker.

Self-Defense
Unfortunately, none of those things are true. I work as hard as I do because I’m afraid of what will happen to me if I stop moving. You see, I have a very extreme case of Tourette’s Syndrome. Without going into it too much, I will just explain that Tourette’s makes people do two sorts of things:


1. It makes them move and twitch involuntarily
2. They make noises involuntarily


In my extreme case, the movements are often hitting myself, scratching at my eyes, grinding my teeth, tossing my head around, etc. Good stuff.
My vocalizations are usually screams, grunts, hoots, hollers, yowls, barks…I never know.
The only thing that helps is to distract myself.

Sharks, Distractions, And The Top Of The Food Chain

Do you know what happens to a shark if it stops swimming? They can’t breathe. It’s an interesting joke: this terrifying animal at the top of the food chain couldn’t sit still if it wanted to. They never get to take a break, so they spend all their time hunting, killing, and being efficient.


That’s me, except that instead of roaming the oceans and biting surfers, I work. By work, I don’t mean my job, necessarily. There’s that, but there’s also playing with my son, spending time with my wife, writing the blog, weight training, playing the guitar.
In order for these things to distract me effectively, I have to commit to them 100% or my tics overtake me.


This means that when I play, I play. Same for work, strength training, writing, reading, laughing, loving, and living. I can’t stop moving or I’ll hurt myself. But this doesn’t mean I can’t be idle. It just means that when I waste time, I have to waste it like it’s never been wasted before.


Everything I do requires extreme focus, including being idle.


Stephanie, does this answer your question anywhere in there? At times there is nothing I’d like more than to just sit still and slobber while I stare at the wall. But it’s not going to happen.


But the efforts I am forced to expend have made me very good at several things. That’s fun. It’s a good tradeoff. I’m no workaholic and I’m certainly not frightening or powerful like a shark. But in my own endeavors, I usually do wind up at the top of the food chain.

But it’s not by design. Just self-defense.
Josh Hanagarne
                    Get Stronger, Get Smarter, Live Better…Every Day
About the Author: Josh Hanagarne is the twitchy giant behind World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog about living with Tourette’s Syndrome, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 6’8”, old-time strongman training, and much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates to stay in touch.
Josh-yes you did answer my question...beautifully. I tend to be an all or nothing type of person, so I can relate, however, you have inspired me by taking what you cannot change and turning it into various tools to be used to better your life. You are also too modest by far! :) Thanks for sharing!

Home is...

I am an avid reader of the magazine called "Real Simple" and this month's feature question was:"What does home mean to you?"
There were an amazing array of answers from "the sound of a husband's key in the lock at the end of the day" to "total acceptance".

These answers led me to think about it for myself and here is a list of things that mean home to me:  
1.  Acceptance
2. Leaving the world at all its stressors at the door
3. Finding refuge in the arms of the man who knows ALL of me...and loves me anyway
4. My favorite ratty sleepshirt5. Sleeping in

6. A place to be myself; happy or sad, mad or glad
7. My sweet 16 year old Jack Russell, snuggled up to nap with Mommy
8. A cold Mountain Dew presented to me in bed
9. Dancing with my love, -creating moment when all is right with my world.
10. The smell that is my mom's perfume, there is no smell like it and no matter where I am, that smell reminds me of home.
Well, those are some of mine...

What things mean home to you? 

We all need a hug

I happened upon a website today: http://www.gagirl.com/hugs/hug.html and the passage below hit me in the heart, so I am sharing it with you:
"Hugging is good medicine. It transfers energy, and gives the person hugged an emotional boost. You need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance, and twelve for growth. A hug makes you feel good. The skin is the largest organ we have and it needs a great deal of care. A hug can cover a lot of skin and gives the message that you care. It is also a form of communication. It can say things you don't have words for. The nicest thing about a hug is that you usually can't give one without getting one." (Author Unknown )

There have actually been studies done that prove that hugs make you grow. Seriously, Duke University did a study showing that premature babies who were hugged instead of left in the incubators had a consistenly higher growth rate that those who were missing that physical contact. Of course, most parents know this already, but sadly it seems that as we grow into adulthood, some people seem to "outgrow" their hugging tendency.  Some people are more "touchy-feely" than others, but we can all use a hug!
Who have you hugged today? :)

Perception breeds Tolerance guest post

OMG ! I did it! My VERY FIRST own GUEST post was posted on Worlds Strongest Librarian. Check it out. I am so excited...Gotta "do a little dance, .....get down tonight..."Can you hear the music now? Ok -maybe its just my euphoria setting in.

If you can't get to the post via the link after my title, here it is again:

http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/3752/perception-breeds-tolerance-guest-post-by-stephanie-smith/

Can't wait for your comments! Whoo-hooo! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!!!!! Ok Ok-no more lyrics, promise! :)

The lens you view the world through

There is a Zen saying that goes like this: "To her lover a beautiful woman is a delight/ To a monk she is a distraction/ To a mosquito, she is a good meal." The point being: how we see things or people depends on the lens through which we view them. That lens or filter, is made up of our perceptions, our past experiences, our travels and our education. Both education (not just school, but life's teachings) and travel broaden a person's perspectives. The broader your perceptions, the better tolerance you have, which in turn leads to acceptance and resilience.
Every one's reality is different because it is filtered through the lens of our life experiences.

Let's do...NOTHING!

Idle hands....why is being idle such a BAD thing? I read a quote the other day that said something to the effect that there was nothing more satisfying than getting all you wanted accomplished done by the days' end. Well...perhaps you might feel accomplished after such a day, but personally I can have a very satisfying day doing nothing. OMG -yes- I said it: NOTHING!

Ok-perhaps I am being a bit melodramatic, but idleness does have a place in our lives. Why do you think so many creative ideas come to people at night or in the wee hours? Maybe it's because your brain has had some some to relax and noe it is ready to shoot out some ideas that were buried behind everything we try to fit into a day.

The biggest oppostision to idleness is guilt. STOP FEELING GUILTY. It's ok to let go and just BE- look at the clouds, doodle, eat chocolate, read a book, take a nap. You deserve it. I am not advocationg abandoning your resposibilities, but the sky isn't going to fall because you failed to mop the floor this weekend!

For more on this subject, check out a magazine called "The Idler" by Tom Hodgkinson. He has essentially made a career out of telling people how to be idle.

I am interested in your thoughts: are you for or against the "idler"mindset?