"It's the final moments that define a journey and the first ones that make it possible." Tut
I think it is entirely possible that so few humans make great strides in life because they do not take the first steps toward that journey. It is a risk to begin a journey that, perhaps, family members do not endorse. Change is scary, and generally, we humans like the humans with whom we are in relationship to stay the same. So, when we decide to be true to our call to journey beyond who we are today, we can meet some fairly significant resistance. It is that resistance, coupled with our own fear of the unknown, that keeps us from making those first steps to a life better than the one we have today. We can support each other to be all that we can be: the health of the planet is counting on us.
May 31, 2013
May 30, 2013
Go With the Flow
"Having engrossing leisure pursuits are the secret to aging well according to a recent study of more than 3,500 older Japanese people. Those who had hobbies or interests that absorbed them were less frail and had less cognitive decline than people without those interests." Prevention Magazine, June 2013
It is well established in many fields that having something that completely absorbs your attention is healing. It can be meditation, hiking, walking, painting, some form of needlework -- anything you so love and can be completely engrossed by. It is the losing track of time that seems to be the healing factor -- that one is so intently focused, that time is irrelevant. What feeds you like that?
It is well established in many fields that having something that completely absorbs your attention is healing. It can be meditation, hiking, walking, painting, some form of needlework -- anything you so love and can be completely engrossed by. It is the losing track of time that seems to be the healing factor -- that one is so intently focused, that time is irrelevant. What feeds you like that?
May 29, 2013
Humor
Without a sense of humor, you're old in a hurry.
--Janice Clark
It is so important to have a sense of humor in life. I think having a sense of humor and not taking things personally are two of the greatest assets toward good mental health and overall happiness. In talking recently with someone, who felt slighted by other members in her family, we discovered together that it really was not about her personally --- it was just that the family had difficulty including anyone who was not blood relative. That can be true in many families; those pesky in-law relationships. Some families have unwritten rules and behaviors which state clearly that 'family' is just those connected by blood. That behavior can leave someone who has married into the family feeling slighted for decades. Not taking such things personally --- and that means any slight or discredit, is essential to happiness. So is having a sense of humor. Laughter is so good for the body, the soul, the psyche. Of course, it is important that the laughter is good natured and not mean spirited -- not directed at someone else's expense. What is there to laugh about today?
--Janice Clark
It is so important to have a sense of humor in life. I think having a sense of humor and not taking things personally are two of the greatest assets toward good mental health and overall happiness. In talking recently with someone, who felt slighted by other members in her family, we discovered together that it really was not about her personally --- it was just that the family had difficulty including anyone who was not blood relative. That can be true in many families; those pesky in-law relationships. Some families have unwritten rules and behaviors which state clearly that 'family' is just those connected by blood. That behavior can leave someone who has married into the family feeling slighted for decades. Not taking such things personally --- and that means any slight or discredit, is essential to happiness. So is having a sense of humor. Laughter is so good for the body, the soul, the psyche. Of course, it is important that the laughter is good natured and not mean spirited -- not directed at someone else's expense. What is there to laugh about today?
May 28, 2013
Love
Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.
--Rainer Maria Rilke
We talk a lot about love, but defining love is not as easy. People who cling to each other may call it love. Selfless caregiving may be called love. Caring for and nurturing a child may be called love. But, Rilke makes it more objective: two solitudes who protect, touch and greet each other. That protects the individuality of each person, as we are each solitudes in the world (though many suggest that we are not individual at all, but a part of a greater whole). These solitudes recognize the other and choose to protect, touch and greet. We can do that in partnerships, in families, in communities and with strangers. How can we be more loving to ourselves and to each other?
May 27, 2013
Bone Health
"Vitamin D is key to the optimal absorption and use of calcium -- and it's nearly impossible to get enough vitamin D from food alone. Most people should be taking 2,000 IU of supplemental D3 every day." Dr. Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil contends that we can get most of our calcium needs from food, but that we cannot get our vitamin D needs from food. Milk products, canned salmon with bones, sardines, dark greens, and broccoli are all good sources of calcium. If you, like me, do not like dairy products, Dr. Weil suggests 500 mg of calcium citrate daily -- because it is more easily absorbed than other forms of calcium. My own doctor has prescribed 1200 mg of calcium daily. Not only does vitamin D help with our bone health, it has more recently been linked to helping prevent cancer. Good health to us all! Happy Memorial Day to those who recognize that holiday -- the day we remember those who have died while serving in the military. It is also a good day to remember those people who were important in our lives and who have died. Who has been important in your life?
Dr. Weil contends that we can get most of our calcium needs from food, but that we cannot get our vitamin D needs from food. Milk products, canned salmon with bones, sardines, dark greens, and broccoli are all good sources of calcium. If you, like me, do not like dairy products, Dr. Weil suggests 500 mg of calcium citrate daily -- because it is more easily absorbed than other forms of calcium. My own doctor has prescribed 1200 mg of calcium daily. Not only does vitamin D help with our bone health, it has more recently been linked to helping prevent cancer. Good health to us all! Happy Memorial Day to those who recognize that holiday -- the day we remember those who have died while serving in the military. It is also a good day to remember those people who were important in our lives and who have died. Who has been important in your life?
May 26, 2013
Optimism
"Choose to be optimistic. It feels better." the Dalai Lama
Cheerful people have fewer heart attacks and strokes, higher levels of 'good' HDL cholesterol, and lower levels of triglycerides than gloomy people. The more upbeat you are, the more cancer-fighting carotenoids you have in your blood. Optimistic people tend to eat right, exercise and take good care of themselves. It is said that being happy is a decision. You deserve to be happy. Why not decide, today, to be happy. One way to increase our happiness is to have fun. Playing is good for our health. I know my health is improved by playing with my granddaughter. We can also dance, do anything in which we can be engrossed creatively, watch a funny movie or comedienne or comedian, and create an adventure for yourself. What can you do today to have fun?
Cheerful people have fewer heart attacks and strokes, higher levels of 'good' HDL cholesterol, and lower levels of triglycerides than gloomy people. The more upbeat you are, the more cancer-fighting carotenoids you have in your blood. Optimistic people tend to eat right, exercise and take good care of themselves. It is said that being happy is a decision. You deserve to be happy. Why not decide, today, to be happy. One way to increase our happiness is to have fun. Playing is good for our health. I know my health is improved by playing with my granddaughter. We can also dance, do anything in which we can be engrossed creatively, watch a funny movie or comedienne or comedian, and create an adventure for yourself. What can you do today to have fun?
May 25, 2013
The Mysterious
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." Albert Einstein
It is unclear to what Einstein is referring in the above quote, but in another quote by him, he says that all he wants is to know the mind of God -- so apparently, here too, he is referring to the Divine. It is said that Einstein took brief cat naps all day and that is was from his dreams that his great inventions and ideas came. I think that source of mysterious is available to us all. Through meditation, prayer, sleep and dreams, moments of inspiration -- all of these can bring us brilliant ideas that we have not thought before and can be a great source of creativity.
I took Dwane to decorate a family member's grave in recognition of Memorial Day. It was a good day. He seems to move from one perseveration to another, and right now it is what lawn mower I am using at home. I choose to use a reel mower - for several reasons, and he seems to think I should be using a gas mower. It is interesting to witness what things hold his attention. The mind is an interesting thing in all of us.
It is unclear to what Einstein is referring in the above quote, but in another quote by him, he says that all he wants is to know the mind of God -- so apparently, here too, he is referring to the Divine. It is said that Einstein took brief cat naps all day and that is was from his dreams that his great inventions and ideas came. I think that source of mysterious is available to us all. Through meditation, prayer, sleep and dreams, moments of inspiration -- all of these can bring us brilliant ideas that we have not thought before and can be a great source of creativity.
I took Dwane to decorate a family member's grave in recognition of Memorial Day. It was a good day. He seems to move from one perseveration to another, and right now it is what lawn mower I am using at home. I choose to use a reel mower - for several reasons, and he seems to think I should be using a gas mower. It is interesting to witness what things hold his attention. The mind is an interesting thing in all of us.
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