Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that fountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life!
~ John Muir
Health
March 25, 2011
Simple Statement of the Day
March 24, 2011
Simple Statement of the Day
Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye — it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.
~ Edvard Munch
March 23, 2011
Power of the Pooch
With so many military returning from active duty, both have seemed to acquire a need for each other. In All Animals, the bi-monthly HSUS publication, a recent article moved me almost to tears while at the same time provided much awareness for our hapless pets here in the U.S. and admiration for our troops abroad.
The article focused on our military personnel returned from duty, many times multiple tours, suffering from PTSD, harsh physical ailments from IED's, witnessing deaths of friend and foe first hand, as well as so many other atrocities. This has left many a soldier broken and bewildered as to how to acclimate back into society.
Enter side stage, the hapless pooch. Therapy dogs, some rescue / some bred for this very act, to assist in the re-engagement of these brave men and women back into the throws of daily living. The article went into extreme detail of how these dogs pull these soldiers out of the depths of despair and back into the circle of society, family and friends. One particular example was that of a soldier who returned from multiple tours, with permanent physical ailments and substantial mental/emotional issues to deal with. In group therapy sessions the man was a shell of his former self; not willing to talk or listen...until a therapy dog entered the scene. Time after time, during the session, the pooch would insist upon attention from this particular soldier. The dog would nudge him on the right, the man would turn away. The dog would nudge him on the left, the man would turn away. Finally, the dog had enough, and put his face directly in the face of the soldier. The soldier looked into the face of this pooch and finally broke through with a smile.
This is just one of the many amazing stories that can be told of animals and their ability to not judge and just be there as a companion, friend, and sometimes, life-saver. Albeit a pharmaceutical company’s nightmare, no drugs, just compassion...it's a wonder that more programs like this aren't avidly running around the country.
I found it fascinating that these men and women, who have served and were helped by these incredible creatures, are now also perpetuating the string of assistance by enlisting themselves as trainers for shelter dogs to find forever homes. This is a prime example of courageous people returning from active duty to active everyday life back home. It is almost one hand helping the other. It is putting together wounded soldiers/veterans with shelter dogs in an effort to expand this fantastic program and help thousands of others in need; two-legged and four-legged alike.
Amazing how the power of the pooch prevails!
March 17, 2011
Simple Statement of the Day
Adventure is a state of mind and spirit.
~ Jackie Cochran, Aviation Pioneer (1906-1980)
March 16, 2011
April Brings Earth Day Into Focus
With the upcoming month of April approaching quickly, so does Earth Day and the HSUS's promotion of Animal Cruelty Prevention Month. These two concepts heavily coincided for me as I was reading the most current issue (March/April) of the HSUS magazine, 'All Animals'. As I flipped through the pages, it became inherently apparent to me the connection with us, the world we live, and the delicate balance by which our environment survives every day.
Via a multitude of articles based upon that same delicate balance, it was shown time and time again how we have not and if we do not preserve this wonderful world of ours, the landscape will forever change never to return. For anyone who believes that extinction is not a form of animal cruelty (i.e. - starvation due to climate changes, senseless hunting to brink of extinction, and oceanic changes diminishing food supply) think again. Going to the grocery store is a simple task but foraging for food has become dire for many creatures. The HSUS issue touched upon the extinction of dozens of creatures, ocean habitats, and climate changes threatening our very existence. We may not worry now with the adage, "I'll be dead before I seen things like that" but guess what...your children won't...and their children won't. What would it be like to grow up in a world without natural ocean habitats abundant?
Two decades ago, people bristled at the audacious thought of living in a world without polar bears, with melting icecaps, and coral reefs becoming extinct. And surprisingly enough, in this day and era of people living longer, you may just get to see these horrific events occur. The face of climate change threatens to diminish such animals as polar bear, walruses, monk seals, and certain shark species just to name a few ocean creatures. With respect to land lovers, koala's, the arctic fox, wolverines, and bison all stand to perish or diminish into such drastically small numbers that any effort to save them would be difficult at best. Just one look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is the size of Texas one realizes that it is definitely not one of the 7 great wonders of the world to behold. The site of it would make almost any human being blanch at its imposing expansiveness.
Yet with all this real information at our fingertips, we continue to support factory farming, the purchase of plastic bottles for water, dismiss massive food recalls as an inconvenience, and not once do we scream at the top of our lungs to the government to "Take a Stand" and "Make It Stop". People think the government won't do anything. Perhaps not yet they won't. But when millions upon millions of people stop buying plastic water bottles, spend an extra $1.00 a week on non-factory/organic farm raised meat, and buy more local fruits and vegetables, industries would come to a crashing halt and suddenly say, "What is happening here?”
It may sound crazy, but one small change every 6 months has an enormous impact locally, globally, and spherically.
March 09, 2011
More Sunshine, More Daytime, More Happiness with Daylight Savings
It affects many, the winter doldrums. But when the days start becoming a little longer and daylight savings approaches, we all look forward to driving home in the light once again. People are in better moods and not to be funny...but has anyone ever noticed that on that first work day after daylight savings people tend to drive a little crazier? Perhaps the sudden shock of driving home in the light has an altering effect on our ability to accelerate?
Regardless of roadway outcomes, daylight savings also tends to make people a bit more inspired, light-hearted, jovial, and downright happy. It's the penultimate week before spring will have sprung! Green grasses, floral colors abound, and open windows billowing the curtains and breathing life into our static homes. So in honor of this weekend's bringing us into the light celebration, I hope the following will not only inspire emotion but provoke and cause stirrings of joy for the sunshine and warmth that is to come.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." ~Maya Angelou, Author
"You lose your sense of time, you're completely enraptured, and you're sort of swayed by the possibilities you see in this work. The idea is to be so saturated with it that there's no future or past, it's just an extended present in which you're making meaning." ~Mark Strand, Poet
"The chiefest point of happiness is that a man should be willing to be what his is." ~Erasmus
"It is neither weatlh, nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which gives happiness." ~Thomas Jefferson
"It it not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness." ~Charles H. Spurgeon
"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do." ~James M. Barrie
March 02, 2011
Inspiration and the Pending Spring Season
With the pending spring season upon us, snow melting, birds chirping, and the sun shining, I find myself (as I do every year) pondering the wonderment of the upcoming season with life anew.
To make me laugh at myself and in keeping with the situation, I compare my renderings akin to that of the main character in the movie "Groundhog Day" as Bill Murray (portraying Phil Connors) realizes the err of his ways (as he's forced to live and relive the same day over and over again) and begins to contemplate each day, every moment, filling himself with knowledge and the beauty of wonderment as opposed to kidnapping a groundhog (punksatony phil) and telling him "don't drive angry...". For anyone who has seen the movie, I hope this made you chuckle.
I truly believe Bill Murray's character had the right idea and hope the appreciation and inspiration becomes contagious this season.
I find that I tend to read more inspirational things during the spring and summer months and now with spring just a few weeks away I've delved into many inspirational thoughts and readings. Here are some that I wanted to share. Whether it brightens someone's day, makes them think, or just makes them go "hmmmmm", I believe that they serve their purpose well.
"The most effective way to do it, is to just do it!" ~Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) Aviator
"The principle of happiness should be like the principle of virtue: it should not be dependent on things, but be a part of personality." ~William Lyon Phelps
"They can conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
"To improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach is the great art of life." ~ Samuel Johnson
There will be many more over the course of the next few weeks until spring has sprung. I hope it brightens someone's day!
October 22, 2010
A new take on the school lunch line
The New York Times posted an interesting take on school lunches - not in changing what foods are being offered, but how to offer them so that kids will be better able to make healthier choices. An interactive graphic posts some impressive stats and strategies:
Experiments that we and other researchers have done in cafeterias at high schools, middle schools and summer camp programs, as well as in laboratories, have revealed many ways to use behavioral psychology to coax children to eat better. Here are a dozen such strategies that work without requiring drastic or expensive changes in school menus.
Now if we could just get Jamie Oliver behind this....
May 17, 2010
It's Time to Get Up
Recent news over the past few months has been talking about the hazards of sitting for too long at one time. I work at a computer and sit for most of my eight-plus-hours workdays. Though I knew I wasn't getting fitter as I sat, I didn't realize I was actually getting less healthy, even if I was also adding exercise to my daily routine.
It turns out that "After four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences said in a study published earlier this year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down. This all means we can be fatter, and have a higher chance for heart disease and diabetes. Working out for eight hours will not eliminate the harmful effects of sitting down for eight hours (though don't stop working out!).
So, since I want to be healthy, I decided to try the stand up desk. I looked around at some places that make stand up desks online just to get ideas and from that research determined I wanted the desk height at just around elbow height. This ended up working well, it turns out, for both work on my computer, and other types of work I do at a desk. I immediately noticed the difference and just felt more alert and focused, but I did start feeling it in my legs and a little in my back. Though, already in a standing position, I found I was doing a lot of stretches and bends that I didn't normally do because I'd have to get up to do them (sounds lazy, I know, but you know what I mean!). So not only am I standing up more, I'm moving more in terms of pacing (thinking) and stretching (while waiting for a file to upload).
I had my desk built with 2x4s (I used an existing desk top), but there other ways to make a stand up desk. Be creative!
Some more background:
- One study found that the chance of developing metabolic syndrome, a condition that can lead to diabetes, rose by 26% for every extra hour a woman spent sitting, no matter how much exercise she did.
- Doctors from the Karolinska Institute and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm say the only way to lessen the effects of sitting is to cut the amount of time we're inactive/sitting.
- The chemical reactions triggered in the body from inactivity cannot be canceled out with more exercise.
- Sitting up straight, it turns out, isn't the best way to sit.
- In a study published last year that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about 12 years, researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independent of whether or not they exercised.
- Figures from a U.S. survey in 2003-2004 found that we Americans spend more than half our time sitting.
It's only been a little over a week, and I'd read that it takes a week or two to get used to it but I knew right away I was going to stick with it. Here are a few tips if you're considering this change:
- Don't lock your knees. Stand up straight and then dial it back just a bit to give your knees the cushion and flexibility they need.
- Keep moving. Even though you're already standing, go ahead and move around, shift your weight, bend one leg and stand on the other (try the lotus yoga stand). Even if you're not doing the stand up desk, moving around regularly is a must.
- Don't give up. From all the research I did I found that almost unanimously, stand up desk people had a hard time their first week or two. You might even be sore, but hang in there, it will pay off.
Here's an article with tips on getting your boss to sign on! The ideal situation would be able to go from standing to sitting, but that either means two desks or one that adjusts to different heights. For me, I have a stool nearby :-)
May 03, 2010
Simple Statement of the Day
TODAY: Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
~ Mary Jean Iron
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