Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Older = Happier.

Brain magazine had uplifting news: Older brains are happy oriented. When presented with a photograph of something sad or something happy, older brains spend more time processing the happy picture, and pays less attention to sad pictures.

Perhaps this is because the older brain has already processed what it needs to learn about sad things, and realizes that focusing on happy things creates mental pathways to find other happy things, as opposed to finding pathways to help avoid unhappy things.

I'm wondering how old my brain would have to be to not pay attention to this picture:

(FYI: Tax Freedom Day is the day each year upon which one's tax burden is finally met. For us here in Utah, we fork over every dollar we earn between Jan 1 and April 11th to pay our taxes.)

Is it just me, or does it seem like the more we work the more we have to work?

I was looking at THIS or THIS website; it showed many kinds of charts to assist with the visualization of how much we are now working to just keep this country running...and actually going deeper into debt anyway.

(Canadians are welcome to check out their own charts HERE.)

You know what really bothers me the most?

The fact that almost all women work now and pay taxes.

How was it way back before the Feminist Revolution that for the most part families and our country survived on just one income-the husbands?

Sure, lots of women worked before the Feminist step up to the plate, and even back in Biblical times women were "praised" for being good business women (read the Virtuous Wife passage in Psalms; she apparently was into real estate and marketing fashion sashes.)

I'm not suggesting that women should never work outside the home. However, I'm about ready to suggest that until the government can figure out how not to go amok spending our dough, we women re-think a bit how our work enables overspending.

Women used to provide a lot of what is now called "Social Services". We nursed the sick, tutored the learning challenged, sheltered friends and family when they were down and out. I have a feeling we women did it with a lot more accountability too...figuring out how to do these services inexpensively. I like to also think that women provided a degree of dignity to those that they cared for, inspiring, with love, the recipients to be responsible for whatever they could provide.

The Christian who gives to the poor, tends the sick, and cares for the needy is a different person than the person who is forced to do the same under penalty of law.

In my world, a demand that you MUST hand over your time or money or suffer consequences is something I called "Stealing".

I seem to remember a commandment against that.

And I remember a greater commandment too: to love your neighbor as yourself.

What is more loving: to funnel money through many governmental hands to fund governmental programs, or to provide one-on-one to the needy?

Well, darn. I guess I am still too young brained. Apparently my brain still wants to pay attention to these unhappy sort of unresolveable things.

Anyone know a fast way to age one's brain?

Are the anti-aging creams and lotions that I slather on my face seeping down through my face and onto my brain?

(More facinating articles about the brain can be found HERE )


Judy ~ My Front Porch said...

From a recent study...those in their seventies are the happiest. So don't worry about your next birthday...it will only get better.

myletterstoemily said...

well darn! you had me all happy
about my old brain, and then you
had to go and remind me that we
pay over half our income to a govt.
we have little respect for.

Lovella ♥ said...

We are about to enjoy a new combined tax up here in Canada. They are combining our federal tax and our provincial tax. They like to point out how it will make things better but so far. .I don't see it.