“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
~ Chinese Proverb
Month: April 2021
✒️ Writers’ Wisdom ~ The Healing Power of Poetry
“My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he will find himself guided along paths which will heal him, and this is more important, actually, than any of the poetry he writes.”
~ Robert Bly
🤗 A Better Life ~ A Good Friend
A good friend loves you in all your moods. A good friend loves you when you fly and when you fail. A good friend shows up when you need help. A good friend knows when to listen to you and when to speak to you. How do you measure up as a good friend?
🍎 Today’s Health Question ~ Do You Need a Reason to Enjoy Mangos?
Two Reasons To Make Mangos Part of Your Diet
- Lowers Risk of Cancer
- Supports Heart Health
Mangos are rich in beta-carotene, a pigment responsible for the yellow-orange color of the fruit. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant, just one of many found in mangos. The antioxidants in mangos have been shown to fight free radicals, which can cause damage to your cells and potentially lead to cancer. Mangos are also helpful for supporting your cardiovascular system. They are a great source of magnesium and potassium, both of which are connected to lower blood pressure and a regular pulse. Furthermore, mangos are the source of a compound known as mangiferin, which early studies suggest may be able to reduce inflammation of the heart.
👊 Today’s Power Thought ~ There’s a Reason for the Passion in Your Heart
Don’t give away your fire. There’s a reason for the passion within you. Discover the reason and you’ll discover the path for your life’s journey.
💡 Something to Think About
All the experts tell us to set goals and work to achieve the goals. When we achieved the goals, set new goals and work to achieve them. Sounds like a broken record. What if you didn’t know where you were going and tried to figure it out without the map someone gave you? Perhaps you’d discover a new path and meaning to life.
💡 Something to Think About
Personal freedom is a precious human right. How we balance our personal freedom with our collective responsibility to each other shapes the quality of our lives.
✒️ Writers’ Wisdom ~ What Is Your Motivation for Writing?
“When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.”
~ George Orwell
🌾 Today’s Poem ~ Laughing Blue Steel
Laughing Blue Steel
Carl Sandburg
TWO fishes swimming in the sea,
Two birds flying in the air,
Two chisels on an anvil—maybe.
Beaten, hammered, laughing blue steel to each other—maybe.
Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a fish.
Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a bird.
Take these two chisel-pals, O God.
Take ‘em and beat ‘em, hammer ‘em, hear ‘em laugh.
Two birds flying in the air,
Two chisels on an anvil—maybe.
Beaten, hammered, laughing blue steel to each other—maybe.
Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a fish.
Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a bird.
Take these two chisel-pals, O God.
Take ‘em and beat ‘em, hammer ‘em, hear ‘em laugh.
🍎 Today’s Health Question ~ What Happens When You Give Up Sugar?
Three Things That Will Happen When You Give Up Sugar
1, You’ll sleep when you’re supposed to.
The crash from a sugar high leaves you with mid-day sluggishness. It also triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which interferes with slumber. Giving up added sugar makes one more awake and alert during the day, and also better prepared to sleep at night.2.You’ll sidestep diabetes.
Eating added sugar promotes the buildup of fatty deposits around your liver. These deposits contribute to insulin resistance and undermine the work done by your pancreas, which normally stalls the production of insulin.3. You’ll finally lose that extra 10 pounds.
While you’ll probably replace some of those sugary calories with other foods—you won’t be eating as many calories overall. Scaling back on a sugar habit by 200 calories a day could help you drop 10 pounds in 5 to 6 months. Now that’s sweet!
