Sadie and Affluenza

Affluenza is a psychological term describing someone who has an overabundance of everything good such as lots of money and things that other people may want. There was a case in Texas regarding a 2013 fatal drunk driving, Ethan Couch, a sixteen-year-old from Burleson, Texas who avoided immediate prison time after his defense team argued his immense family wealth left him unable to understand the consequences of his actions.

The young person killed four people, but because of his attorney’s using affluenza as a defense, instead of a twenty-year prison sentence, he received ten years of probation. Trump would be the ultimate example of that disease. It is not a recognized psychiatric condition. But it raises the question what happens when too much can cause a lot of damage.

Sadie, the wonder dog had affluenza triggered by me.

People such as I can contribute to affluenza where it is seen as working against the best interests of another. In this case, it was Sadie. A few weeks back she had abdominal pain that required major surgery. The pain was caused by her eating tall grass on our property. We were shown a picture of what the surgeon took out. It was disgusting with long grass woven in such a way that she could not pass it in a normal way.

It gives me great pleasure in spoiling others by giving someone more than they asked for. You remember that biblical passage which states that “if someone asks for your shirt, give them you coat also.” (Matthew 5:40) It turns out that moderation in all things is needed as well.

After Sadie had recovered for a few weeks of a tightly controlled diet, I thought that it was now time that it would be OK to give her the treats that she got pre-surgery. Labs are notorious eaters. Sadie once ate a whole hoagie and devoured it and lined up for dinner. There are many videos on Facebook that highlight the craziness and high-spirited nature of the breed. They want to be the taster of anything that is food coming into the house. She loves to be the pre-rinse as plates are put in the dishwasher. Full disclosure: I am the one who has spoiled her with food. Vicki is like a woman of steel. But labs pick out quickly who is the easy mark to get what they want. They know no boundaries as they will push you around on a couch to get more room.  They are known as well for having two speeds, stop and faster than one can imagine. They are muscular and greet others new to the house with a toy in their mouth to greet anyone including a burglar if they broke in.

Can too much be detrimental. I learned this past weekend that the answer is “yes.” She spent an overnight at the ER in Malvern with pain, and then we were sent to Penn Vet to make sure that we could get to the cause of her distress post-surgery. We waited long hours. Kudos to both ER(s). At Penn when we finally met with the vet there, but we got a surprise answer to Sadie’s dilemma. The vet ruled out anything serious.  She was fine. She didn’t need any more testing including an MRI of the brain.

So is too much of a good thing bad for you? The answer is yes. Hugh Misseldine wrote Your Inner Child of the Past indicating that we never get rid of our childhood’s emotions. Dogs were never walked in the working-class town in which I grew up. They were housed in dog houses no matter what the weather. When a bad storm particularly during the winter hit, I would sneak her into the house and incur the wrath of my mother.  My dog’s name was Peppy, and she was a pure white husky. So, I understand my indulgence. Because I had so little as a child, it causes my response to others to make their lives better than better.

We are seeing a lot of moving around during the Trump Regimes. But he doesn’t know the difference between the Hollywood brand of overindulgence and sensate pleasure and be other centered which is the opposite of Narcissism. My pleasure is helping others and seeing folks find both pleasure and happiness. They are not mutually exclusive if you can get by the pleasure level. That is why wealthy people give so much to others in need. They know the feeling of joy of making another person’s life better.

Jim Carey, the actor and comedian, made a profound statement that “I think that everybody should get rich and famous so they can see that it isn’t the answer.”

It took me a while to figure that out as a working-class kid with money on the brain that his comment was helpful and critical to happiness.

The answer whether it be Sadie or people there is one word that can help us. It is the ENOUGH. I had John Bogle speak in chapel as one of the members of our student spiritual group’s family were friends of his. He had a five-year calendar of engagements but because of the student’s request, he agreed to speak.  He founded the Vanguard Group, a 18. 6 trillion dollars investment company. Because of his giving money to those in need his worth at his death was 80 million dollars.

We wanted him to speak because of his book, Enough.

I forgot Bogle’s premise to the full life was one word, enough, when I was giving her more treats than she needed.  Bogle told the story of a billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vannegut informs his pal Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day that Heller had earned from his widely popular novel, Catch 22, over its whole history.  Heller responds, “Yea, but I have something that he will never have…ENOUGH.

Trump will never feel that he has enough, a burden not a blessing.