Feedback cycles

I recently finished Vaclav Havel's The Power of the Powerless. It was pretty profound, and I actually read it twice before I considered it read just to make sure that I really got it. I still think I probably missed things.

There are times when I really wish I was still in a book club or a college class where I was discussing what I am studying with others. Different perspectives catch different things, which can be a shared advantage when we are studying together. Some of that has come from some of the online classes I have taken too. The discussion boards aren't quite like being in a classroom together, but they can still get you thinking.

I did just sign up for the Turkey Trot. You may remember that when I decided to do that I was in a support group for caregivers that was focusing on physical health. I had forgotten about previously set goals, but suddenly I remembered them, and they seemed feasible again.

That support group is actually part of a study, so we are periodically interviewed and asked about our actions and feelings over the past week, month, and three months. I think they are basically the same questions, but different things hit you at different times.

The answers we give are things like "frequently" or "rarely", but then I am thinking things like this:

No, I have not been keeping up with that. I really need to do better.

Yes, I actually am doing pretty well at that. I have improved some.

Wait, what?

I am pretty sure that it was just that I noticed this time, and not that they added new questions, but in terms of looking for relaxation, there were questions about seeking out images and sounds and smells.Really?

Perhaps I have been taking too narrow of a view of relaxation. Usually when I get some time for myself there is a long list of things I need to do, and if I am too tired for that I lie down with my eyes closed. Maybe that leads to sleep, but it's not guaranteed.

But yes, there is such a thing as aromatherapy. That could be relaxing. There are people who find white noise relaxing, and nature sounds and things like that. (I do play music a lot.)

I don't know that I would be more relaxed looking at and listening to a waterfall than not. I mean, if we are going to get technical a bigger problem might be the backlog of things I want done. However, different ideas can be worth trying. Frankly, my mother is starting to need more time; maybe making that multi-sensory would be more effective.

I have been having some other thoughts on caring for her, including someone I can ask for advice, so that's a separate topic. I may write more about that later.

Today's post is a reminder that ideas can come from elsewhere, and so we need to have interactions. We really can't do it all alone. Sometimes that even means knowing what we need to do.