Drink Charitably!

Yesterday I wrote about taking action rather than waiting around for someone else to ‘make things better’.  I referenced Gandhi & implored readers to take action & make positive change.  It is all in reference to our reaction to ‘tough times.’

Today I’ve been thinking about how when times get tough, as the theory goes, people tend to gravitate to things that provide comfort…sort of a security blanket.  ‘Comfort food’ is probably the most commonly used term to describe this.  Certain foods tend to take us back to a more secure time.  Happier times. 

I have my own ‘comfort foods’.  I grew up in Southern California, home of In ‘n Out burgers & the Dodgers.  A Double-Double ‘animal style’ just screams comfort to me.  Dating myself, I think I had my first one in 1960 at age 3.  And seriously, is there anything better than a Dodger Dog?  And now that I have children of my own, I have rediscovered two of the most psychologically (if not nutrionally) satifying foods in the world…PB&J sandwiches and a glass of cold milk.  Whoa — who needs to pay a psychiatrist when that combo is all you need to take you to a much better place?

I’ve discovered that there are a whole lot of other ‘comfort’ things out there.  I have my own ‘comfort wines’ for instance.  I love just about all kinds of wines, but for some reason, Sauvignon Blanc is my ‘comfort white’ and Pinot Noir is my ‘comfort red’.  I have my favorites of course (Humanitas naturally being at the top of the list), but those are relatively recent productions — when I think of comfort, I think of something that has been around for a long time, something that is reliable, and something that evokes good times.  Hmmm — I’ll have to think about that for a bit…maybe some of the readers can help with this list.

‘Comfort music’ is something I think we can all relate to, but maybe don’t think about in terms of comfort.  However, don’t you have  a particular artist/band or song you turn on when you need a little mood change?  I know I do.  Slip on just about any Van Morrison, but specifically Poetic Champion’s Compose or of course, Moondance, and I’m in a different world.  And give me a little ‘Queen of the Slipstream’ and suddenly, in my mind, I am walking on the beach in Maui with a Mai Tai, my wife, and the warm glow of a new tan at sunset.  Comfort.  Or fire up a little early James Taylor (just about anything from the first 3 or 4 albums) and I’m feeling so mellow and so…secure, it is scary.  Steely Dan — I am so back in college.  And don’t get me started on the Dead.  If any music is mind altering, this is it — takes me to another place & time — and a good place.

Don’t get me wrong, ‘comfort’ isn’t all about ‘escape’.  But it kind of is to a degree.  And it isn’t all about something very far in the past.  Van Morrison, James Taylor, The Grateful Dead, Steely Dan — can you tell my musical generation?  My current ‘comfort’ music includes Brett Dennen, Bob Schneider and maybe a little Jack Johnson (when I’m feeling particularly stressed, his music can’t help but make me chill a bit).  Allison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt (new and old),  Joni Mitchell & maybe Norah Jones round out the female ‘comfort music’ for me. 

I listen to a broad range of music — but you can see that my ‘comfort music’ has a bit of a common theme — usually a little mellow, always strong in lyrics/meaning, and generally easy to slip into.  I’m sure it is easy to profile me knowing my choices for comfort music.  It has to say a lot about me.  God how easy a read I am!

Just for drill, let’s combine some of these to determine if the cumulative impact is more comforting than the individual parts.  How ’bout a Double-Double with a Pinot Noir while listening to Moondance?  Not bad — pretty good in fact.  Maybe a Dodger Dog with a Sauvignon Blanc hanging with the Dead?   Hmmm — not so much.  Or perhaps a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, a glass of milk and some Jack Johnson.  Not bad, really. 

OK — here’s the assignment:  send me your comfort ‘things’ and why they take you where they take you.  And try the cumulative thing — combine a couple/three/four of your comfort items to see if they make you even more comforted…or if it is just pushing your luck.  And in keeping with the ‘take action’ theme — even if you aren’t quite ready to change the world, maybe you can change your world, by lining up your own creature comforts in 2009.