Savor Mystery

This is all shamelessly stolen from Prevention online.

I usually dismiss it as a terribly researched and sensationalist rag, but this whole article on happiness is quite sweet. I recommend it.

"In a culture obsessed with the power of information, the fact that most of us are a little unnerved by uncertainty is hardly surprising.

Yet research suggests that a dash of mystery can make positive experiences last longer. In one study, University of Virginia psychologist Timothy Wilson, PhD, and colleagues found that students who were given a $1 coin with little explanation reported feeling happier a few minutes later than those who were given either the same amount of money by a known source or no money at all. Wilson argues that those who didn't fully comprehend the reason for the gift spent more time mulling it over, extending their pleasure. "Once we've done the cognitive work to understand something, we kind of wrap it up in a little package and store it away and move on to other things," he explains."

One of the blessing of living with CLL and ITP, clandestine killers that I try to keep locked away in my medicine cabinet, is that you never know for sure what tomorrow will bring.

I got the full article from King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that I mentioned in the last post and deep in the text I discovered that the 3 patient in the study with ITP who like me also had CLL all responded to rituximab, two with complete responses, and 1 with an enduring response > 1 yr.

Nice surprise when I read the details. I can already feel my brain tying the white bow around that tiny factoid, including the directions for use and looking for the enclosed 20 year get your life back guarantee, as I move forward.