Aphrodite of Milo or Venus de Milo as is more commonly known is an ancient marble statue of the Greek goddess of love. It has been considered a benchmark for the ideal human form for centuries. Where “penis envy” is very gender specific, “Venus envy” applies almost equally to both genders in this day and age.
Images are everywhere around us of beautiful people. Is it me or are they getting more beautiful every day? I know…most still images have been touched up, colour adjusted or airbrushed. But we are all caught up in the dream for youthfulness and for some it has become an obsession. Isn’t it ironic that we spend our youthful years doing everything we can to look older and our aging years attempting to look more like our youthful counterparts? Are we not just a little schizophrenic?
We are no longer satisfied with the hand that nature has dealt us and with the help of every kind of plastic surgery imaginable we can re-sculpt our human form to resemble whatever or whoever we wish. Just like the sculptor of Venus de Milo these surgeons can work their magic on our flesh and bone to reshape and mold us. If fat lips are in fashion you too can have them. If large breast are your thing, every form of augmentation is available. And since thin is in, don’t forget to have that fat vacuumed.
Some of these attempts for that eternal youthful look can seem somewhat benign such as the all too common use of Botox for removal of those character lines on your face. Others are not so benign. Any time you undergo a surgical procedure you are taking a risk. These risks run the gamut from just a simple scar, serious disfigurement, to possible death. A simple Google of the words “plastic surgery gone wrong” is extremely eye opening.
Our bodies are going to continue to age in spite your attempts to stave off the natural process. The reality is that some of these procedures result in a much less appealing look over time. Some people get caught up in an endless cycle of reconstruction with almost cartoonish looks. We are not that lifeless chunk of marble that Venus is modeled from and many of us, including the author, would prefer something real lying next to them not something crafted in an operating room.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
In Search of Happiness
Happiness is such a subjective thing. I would suggest it means something different to just about anyone you care to ask. It’s also a very relative thing. One person might say that chocolate makes them happy while another may relate happiness to personal relationships. What about how happy we think we will feel at some future point in time? The problem with this is how we feel at any given moment has an influence over how we think we might feel in the future. Our brains work in the here and now and that is our only reference point. This makes it difficult when trying to think outside the box of possibilities.
The eminent psychologist Daniel Gilbert has a favourite comic strip of a fish asking a sponge if it could be anything in the world what it would choose. The sponge thinks for a bit and says “I guess I’d have to go with a barnacle.” We are all trapped in our own barnacle world and make choices based on our own experiences.
Let’s assume we have a “happiness meter”. If something makes you feel good would it be better to enjoy it in small doses or experience as much as you can at any given time? Studies have shown that if we take our feel good experiences in small doses, spread over time, we can increase the number on the happiness meter. The longer we experience pleasures (or pain) in our daily lives the more we become numb to these events. It’s called hedonic adaptation.
One area of our brain that plays a part in the formation of new memory is the ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) or “Oh shit” center. When information is received by the brain that is unusual (pleasurable or painful) the ACC kicks in to put your brain in “alert” mode. The pleasure registers as good, let’s remember to do this again, the pain registers as bad, remember to avoid this next time.
So how can we take this information to increase the happiness in our lives? Well when you enjoy chocolate, rather than eating the entire box in one sitting, savour one piece and spread the pleasure over time. To keep the pleasures of relationships at their peak avoid predictable, repetitive behaviour. Be spontaneous and unpredictable. Escape the cycle that results in hedonic adaptation. It should help you find more happiness in the future.
The eminent psychologist Daniel Gilbert has a favourite comic strip of a fish asking a sponge if it could be anything in the world what it would choose. The sponge thinks for a bit and says “I guess I’d have to go with a barnacle.” We are all trapped in our own barnacle world and make choices based on our own experiences.
Let’s assume we have a “happiness meter”. If something makes you feel good would it be better to enjoy it in small doses or experience as much as you can at any given time? Studies have shown that if we take our feel good experiences in small doses, spread over time, we can increase the number on the happiness meter. The longer we experience pleasures (or pain) in our daily lives the more we become numb to these events. It’s called hedonic adaptation.
One area of our brain that plays a part in the formation of new memory is the ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) or “Oh shit” center. When information is received by the brain that is unusual (pleasurable or painful) the ACC kicks in to put your brain in “alert” mode. The pleasure registers as good, let’s remember to do this again, the pain registers as bad, remember to avoid this next time.
So how can we take this information to increase the happiness in our lives? Well when you enjoy chocolate, rather than eating the entire box in one sitting, savour one piece and spread the pleasure over time. To keep the pleasures of relationships at their peak avoid predictable, repetitive behaviour. Be spontaneous and unpredictable. Escape the cycle that results in hedonic adaptation. It should help you find more happiness in the future.
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