General Malaise
Footballguy
In Episode 2, Season 3 of The White Lotus, a character named Rick (played by Walton Goggins, who is excellent) attends a 'stress management session' at the fancy health spa they're staying in, against his will actually, as his lady friend insisted he do it and signed him up. The stress therapist Amrita asks him precisely what's in the thread title:
"Can you remember at time in your life when you were totally free of stress?" She even suggests that he go back into his childhood if need be.
But Rick can't come up with anything. His mom was a drug addict who overdosed when he was 10 and his dad left him, so Rick doesn't have an example and when Amrita suggests he try meditation he replies "I don't need to detach. I'm already nothing".
But it got me thinking - can I come up with a time in my life where I was totally free of stress? Can you? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
I'll quickly try and provide mine below.
Summer of 2017 and I'm in Michigan with my wife's family. Sitting around, on my phone checking fantasy baseball when *POOF* the phone just dies. No warning, no prior issues, just.....dies. I try everything but it's dead, Jim. I spend the next day trying to get it repaired, but the IFIX4U guys just laughed at me and the Sprint store I visited was so damn packed I knew I'd lose most of a vacation day trying to get a new phone, which I find less enjoyable than a colonoscopy. And I figure, screw it....I'll just deal with it when I'm back home in a week. Plus, we were going up to a cabin on Lake Huron the next day and cell reception is spotty at best up there.
Called my boss from the landline, told him I was unreachable and that I'd check in when we were back from Huron. For next 3-4 days, I was untethered to my phone, no way for work to reach me and I just completely detached. At the time, work was really stressful and busy and I took it with me everywhere I went so this was a gift, really. I was worried about a few things, but those concerns started to melt away and one of the days I was on the beach building a sand castle all by myself. I couldn't have been any happier. No stress, no worry, just a man in the sand trying his hand at a sand castle. I probably stayed out on the beach of Lake Huron for 2-3 hours, just trying my best to build something that was a passable sand castle.
Well, it didn't last very long. My twin boys were two at the time and they took great delight destroying my creation, which also made me smile. It was never meant to last. But for those few hours, I didn't have a care in the world. Not about work, not about a kid going to college, not about a kid dealing with a health issue, no marital strife, my mom was still alive, just.....freedom. I'd like to get that feeling back. I don't want to break another phone to get there, but that's the goal.
You got one? Park it in here.
"Can you remember at time in your life when you were totally free of stress?" She even suggests that he go back into his childhood if need be.
But Rick can't come up with anything. His mom was a drug addict who overdosed when he was 10 and his dad left him, so Rick doesn't have an example and when Amrita suggests he try meditation he replies "I don't need to detach. I'm already nothing".
But it got me thinking - can I come up with a time in my life where I was totally free of stress? Can you? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
I'll quickly try and provide mine below.
Summer of 2017 and I'm in Michigan with my wife's family. Sitting around, on my phone checking fantasy baseball when *POOF* the phone just dies. No warning, no prior issues, just.....dies. I try everything but it's dead, Jim. I spend the next day trying to get it repaired, but the IFIX4U guys just laughed at me and the Sprint store I visited was so damn packed I knew I'd lose most of a vacation day trying to get a new phone, which I find less enjoyable than a colonoscopy. And I figure, screw it....I'll just deal with it when I'm back home in a week. Plus, we were going up to a cabin on Lake Huron the next day and cell reception is spotty at best up there.
Called my boss from the landline, told him I was unreachable and that I'd check in when we were back from Huron. For next 3-4 days, I was untethered to my phone, no way for work to reach me and I just completely detached. At the time, work was really stressful and busy and I took it with me everywhere I went so this was a gift, really. I was worried about a few things, but those concerns started to melt away and one of the days I was on the beach building a sand castle all by myself. I couldn't have been any happier. No stress, no worry, just a man in the sand trying his hand at a sand castle. I probably stayed out on the beach of Lake Huron for 2-3 hours, just trying my best to build something that was a passable sand castle.
Well, it didn't last very long. My twin boys were two at the time and they took great delight destroying my creation, which also made me smile. It was never meant to last. But for those few hours, I didn't have a care in the world. Not about work, not about a kid going to college, not about a kid dealing with a health issue, no marital strife, my mom was still alive, just.....freedom. I'd like to get that feeling back. I don't want to break another phone to get there, but that's the goal.
You got one? Park it in here.
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