Mind Over Medicine

Mind Over Medicine is about a solution to a great American problem; we let our jobs control our lives, and our lives control our jobs. In a recent issue of Minds magazine, some cops from Oregon took a meditation course as a way to reduce stress. Most of them scoffed at the idea; they all had hobbies, pastimes, and things to do outside of work, so what use would they have for meditation and yoga? But the truth is they needed it badly. The job was often boring rather than active, and that made them resentful. The resentment made it harder to maintain self-control when dealing with rude civilians, and there were numerous complaints.

Dr. Lissa Rankin has written a well-researched and highly enjoyable book on overworked Americans and what we can do about this. She makes it very clear; Americans tend to work long hours and lack true happiness. Worse than the long hours, we have long commutes, and we often hate our jobs. But in the chapter Loneliness Poisons the Body, we see how in one small town had far less stress. The town was 

Roseto, Pennsylvania, founded by Italian immigrants in the early 20^th century. Doctors found that there was no suicide, alcoholism, drug use, or crime, and that heart disease was rare. Was it the olive oil? No, the residents cooked everything in lard. Healthy food? No, they all loved pizza and sausages, and their diet was 40% fat. Genetics? They had the same genes as all other Italian Americans. Then secret was communal activity; families, and even multifamily groups, would gather nightly for group singing, while all the kids played together. Happiness was the key to their health.

Roseto didn’t do well in the modern era. As the younger generation left, the parents had less to do with themselves. As younger college-educated people came back, they influenced their younger townspeople with ideas, most of them about material things. The kids started demanding more, and feelings of discontent spread. By the 1980’s, there were more heart attacks among the residents. The chapter Death by Overwork is something that most Americans ignore. Why do we work such huge hours to pay for a huge home, when we could live in a smaller one and work less? Is it necessary for the kids to go to expensive colleges, when community colleges are within biking distance?

Years ago, I visited a family in Israel that lived in a tiny house, the size of a trailer. We ate dinner on the patio, and the father told us how he’d fixed the roof himself. When we left, my father spoke about how shocked he was. “They don’t have any money at all,” my father said, “their home is so small.” But I didn’t see it that way. The family had no mortgage to pay, only two of their kids were still living at home, and they didn’t have to pay for college. In short order, the family was 100% solvent. But if you have a huge house, two cars, and a kid going to an expensive college, are you truly rich? Are you in debt? Do you have to work such huge hours to pay for what you have?

Unless you are free from debt, you will never be truly free.