How sociable do you feel these days?

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement ~ by David Brooks, 2011, psychology, xviii + 427 pages

This is the story of how success happens, told through the lives of one American couple, Harold and Erica — how they grow, push forward, are pulled back, fail, and succeed.  It shows a new understanding of human nature.  The unconscious mind, it turns out, is most of the mind — not a dark, vestigial place but a creative and enchanted one, where most of the brain’s work gets done.  This is the realm of emotions, intuitions, biases, longings, genetic predispositions, personality traits, and social norms:  the realm where character is formed and where our most important life decisions are made.

Drawing on a wealth of research from numerous disciplines, Brooks takes Harold and Erica from infancy to school; from the years that have come to define young adulthood to the high walls of poverty; from the nature of attachment, love, and commitment, to the nature of effective leadership.  He reveals the deeply social aspect of our very minds and exposes the bias in modern culture that overemphasizes rationalism, individualism, and IQ.  Along the way, he demolishes conventional definitions of success while looking toward a culture based on trust and humility.

Word of the Day

so·cia·ble / ˈsōSHəb(ə)l / adjective = willing to talk and engage in activities with other people; friendly.  Example:  "Being a sociable person, I love going out to lunch with a friend or two."

Caturday on Sunday

Have you heard of cats sitting in circles?  Even better, have you actually seen a cat do this?  I was fascinated when I read about it, HERE.  What do you think?

I've found pictures of cat sleeping in a circles, which they do with or without the help of a container (like the cat on the left curled up in).  It shows us just how flexible cats actually are.  This is how Clawdia (and my other cats) would often sleep, though not all the time.

How would you reply to this question:

On Friday, I came up with a weird thought:  If I asked you to think of your childhood, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?  For me, it was my special tree.  I wrote about it in 2012, HERE.  I loved climbing the plum tree in our yard.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.