I appreciate the vulnerability of writing about a succession of encounters with mortality as one gets up there where the numbers aren't on our side anymore. You seem well into it without being depressed or distressed so I'm impressed. Personally, while I'm determined to regain strength, I'm not confident about how to sustain that in the face of falls or what is a workable mix of life experiences moving forward. So I appreciate this glimpse into how you are thinking as you navigate aging and life.
Fight, flight… or, as we discussed, a third alternative: acquiesce, as we have seen in recent political history. At the individual level, acquiescence is acceptance of our impermanence and working with it. We do what we can to maintain (or improve?) our physical and emotional wellbeing. We get on with living each day, increasingly recognizing just how each is a gift!
What was the fourth response that we couldn’t remember yesterday ? Fight, flight, acquiescence and ????
I appreciate the vulnerability of writing about a succession of encounters with mortality as one gets up there where the numbers aren't on our side anymore. You seem well into it without being depressed or distressed so I'm impressed. Personally, while I'm determined to regain strength, I'm not confident about how to sustain that in the face of falls or what is a workable mix of life experiences moving forward. So I appreciate this glimpse into how you are thinking as you navigate aging and life.
Thanks, Mary. All I can say is "so far, so good". Are you ever on campus? I hit the library now and then.
Excellent start.
Fight, flight… or, as we discussed, a third alternative: acquiesce, as we have seen in recent political history. At the individual level, acquiescence is acceptance of our impermanence and working with it. We do what we can to maintain (or improve?) our physical and emotional wellbeing. We get on with living each day, increasingly recognizing just how each is a gift!
What was the fourth response that we couldn’t remember yesterday ? Fight, flight, acquiescence and ????
I looked it up. The four responses are fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-does-fight-flight-freeze-fawn-mean
Signs of a fawn response include:
Over-agreement
Trying to be overly helpful
Primary concern with making someone else happy
Sound familiar?