Are we all on drugs?

Vitamins are not drugs, alcohol is, and maybe chocolate should be added to the list. We offer candy as a reward and children easily become addicted to sugar. There it is in the supermarket right by the register in colorful packages calling to us. The clerk even knows when we grab a bag of peanut M&Ms, that we want it right now and hands it back after ringing it up. And that rack of of candy bars and gum is often the target for a child's first theft. It is small and easy to put in a pocket when everyone is busy unloading the cart. It's so easy, it must be expected, and so the grocer becomes our first drug pusher. Chocolate makes us feel good. It makes us happy when that serotonin is released. As we get older, we are encouraged to try stronger drugs like coffee to wake up and sips of whiskey for our cold and drug store remedies for every problem and prescriptions for even more serious problems. My mother never told me about depression. I am not sure if she ever had any. She was always spunky. But, as I talk to my friends and coworkers, it seems that depression abounds. Happy pills are no longer peanut M&Ms. They are prescriptions that the doctors give so that we can function normally. How else can we handle the stress that gives us a rash, or the sadness that throws us on a couch with a blanket for four hours of HBO movies. So far, I have handled it with out doctor pills. Except for the month after my mother's death when I filled a scrip for Ativan. Half a pill put me to sleep when I would wake from nightmares that made my heart race my stomach churn, and my head spin. I quit watching violence on TV and gave up the pills. My daily anxiety does not require pills if I write, paint, garden, sing, or volunteer. My daily sadness does draw me to the easy chair at times, hoping to find a friend on Facebook. But planning lunch with a friend is far more fun. We cannot avoid stress, drama and loneliness. Best way to deal with them is to face them and tell them off if need be and replace them with more enjoyable feelings of love, sharing and together time.

Favorite Sayings

My dad said, "He who finishes first gets to help the others". He was referring to our dessert which my mother served every night back in the days when we all sat down together as a family. Does anyone do that anymore? His saying could refer also to helping others in a charitable way if you complete your own work. Just for fun, I asked a table of men in the Mall to write down their favorite sayings. One said, "Clean mind, clean body". That reminds me of grandma's, "cleanliness is next to Godliness." Another said, "Bring a sack lunch and a friend". Now that sounds like an organizer or a fun loving trip taking person. I hope the future holds some sack lunch occasions for us still. A third said, "Six pack and a pizza". And that means instant party in every generation. I am not sure what I expected from a group of retired men that meet for coffee every day at 9am. Maybe,"Fish or cut bait", or, "Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house". My father-in-law like, "The one with the gold rules", as his favorite Golden Rule. I would love to hear more timeless sayings that are important to you my readers. My mom said, "You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar". But my all time favorite is, "Don't run for your life, write for your life". So, write thank you notes, stories, poems and journals. Write letters to the editor, sermons, articles, and contracts. Write it down and remember what you want people to know about you. But, be careful because the pen is mightier than the sword- and some words are hard to take back.