Bill

I’m thinking back to Peter Sterling’s notions about expectations (presented in an earlier Salus forum].  He identifies the extent to which our body reacts to our expectations not to reality.  This leads, in turn, to an internal locus of control.  If the expectation is that I can take some action that will influence the outcome—then we might find Hardiness. If my expectations are that whatever I do will not make any difference, then I won’t be hardy.  Perry, you talked about political stress. I lived for many years in California.  The notion of somehow influencing anything in the State of California was absurd.  Now I live in a small town in Maine. This town has the old traditions of town hall meetings.  We actually have a yearly meeting where we vote in person on the budget of our town. You stand up and indicate that you support a particular item or don’t support it and indicate the reasons for your support or nonsupport.  You stand up and speak. My wife, Kathleen, is a strong advocate for specific issues. She stands up during the town hall meeting and declares “I don’t like this!”  I do like this!”

I guess I’m not in California anymore.  Because, when I lived in Walnut Creek, about five blocks from John Muir Hospital, the idea of my influencing what was going on in Walnut Creek would have been absurd. At the time, there was massive development going on in Walnut Creek—but I would have had absolutely no influence. So, I was thinking about the stress that comes with political affairs–when you know that you don’t have a single thing to say about what is happening. This is very powerful. It might be one of the reasons why someone brings a gun and tries to shoot someone.  They believe that the only way they can influence what is happening is by killing that bad person.

Perry

I had that same experience having grown up in California for many years. I then moved to a small town in Ohio and to a small town in Kansas. Just being in that environment felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It just felt so much more peaceful whenever I was there—even before we moved there.  So, I resonate Bill with what you have said. When I visit my kids in California, I feel like I have gone to visit the asylum.

Mark

I’m going to defend living in California.  I will grant you that small town life can be less stressful. After working in an urban hospital in Chicago, I did move to a suburb of Detroit, which was a pretty small town.  But I think that you can still make an impact in your community. It is just that you have to think on a small level.  For instance, I do meals-on-wheels.  That’s my contribution.  I was on an eight-member board at a local high school.  I was able to host fund raisers for the music programs that had been gutted over the past forty years.

So, when they say that all politics is local, it is important to remember that California politics can be just over-whelming. As you said, you feel like you’re visiting an asylum.  I agree that that if you were just to walk into a mall or any public setting it is just sensory overload—as opposed to small town calm.  However, I still believe that I can make an impact –but it is on a very small scale.  It is like trying to straitjacket that small town feel into a problem that seems manageable like funding for music programs at a particular school.  So, that’s how I survive in California.