Joe: “My girlfriend says she wants a long distance relationship with me.”
Pete: “How is that working, Joe.”
Joe: “As long as I don’t call and stay at least 100 meters away from her, the police won’t bother me.”
Month: January 2022
🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Breaking the Sugar Habit
You Can Break the Sugar Addiction
If you’re “hooked” on sugar, don’t try to eliminate all sugary foods at once. If you deny yourself even a single piece of candy or sliver of cake, you’ll only crave sweets more. Instead, eat a healthy diet made up of more satisfying foods—whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, and lean protein. “Steer yourself away from sugar and eat these foods, which are digested more slowly. They’ll help to even out your blood sugar and you won’t have spikes and crashes all the time,” Dr. Hauser says.
Here are a few suggestions to help you break the sugar habit:
Keep sugary foods away. Don’t tempt yourself by stocking candy, cookies, and other high-sugar foods in your cupboards and fridge.
Sweeten foods yourself. Start with unsweetened iced tea, plain yogurt, and unflavored oatmeal. Then add your own sweetener.
Watch for hidden sugars in foods. Be wary of foods where sugar tends to hide, including reduced-fat products. “When companies take out the fat, they add back almost all the calories in sugar,” . . . Read labels. Avoid products that list sugar as the first ingredient or that contain several different types of sugar (brown sugar, cane nectar, etc.)
Eat breakfast. Start out your day with a filling, nutritious meal, so you’ll be less likely to give in to cravings. Steel-cut oatmeal, eggs, and fruit are all good breakfast choices.
🌾 Today’s Poem ~ On Death
On Death
Kahlil Gibran
Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death.
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
✒️ Writers’ Wisdom ~ Do Your Characters Audition?
“My characters have to talk, or they’re out. They audition in early scenes. If they can’t talk, they’re given less to do, or thrown out.” ~ Elmore Leonard
💡 Something to Think About
There’s no telling what tomorrow will bring. It’s all part of the great adventure of living. It makes no sense to run and hide. Step out into the sunlight and enjoy the ride. Whatever happens, you’re strong, intelligent, and savvy. You’ll do just fine.
👊 Today’s Power Thought ~ Learn from the Lessons
Everyone we meet has gifts we don’t. Learn from them, be grateful for the lessons they offer us.
💡 Something to Think About
Where we spend our time says a lot about us. If we mapped how we spend our time, we’d have a true sense of our life’s direction and purpose. Are you spending your time on things that really are the most important to you?
🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Want to Lose those Last 5 Pounds?
Losing those last 5 pounds can be maddening. You’re eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise, but no matter what you do, you can’t seem to move the needle on the scale. Runners call it “hitting the wall,” and it happens to dieters, too. When you hit the “last 5 pounds” wall, making some simple changes can often help. WebMD talked to experts who recommended steps to power past the plateau.
Weight loss expert Dawn Jackson Blatner teaches her clients how to muscle up using the FITT (frequency, intensity, type, and time) theory to shave 100 calories a day to lose those last 5 pounds. “Most people need to shake up their fitness routines because their bodies become more efficient and burn fewer calories.” Her theory is to modify the frequency, intensity, type or time of exercise to burn off an extra 100 calories that will kick-start the weight loss. “It may mean adding 10-20 minutes onto your walk or if you stroll, push it up a notch and walk at a brisker pace,” suggests Blatner.
✒️ Writers’ Wisdom ~ Writing from the Character’s Point of View
“I focus on characters as individuals with attitudes and write each scene from a particular character’s point of view. That way, even narrative passages take on the character’s sound. I don’t want the reader to be aware of me, writing.” ~ Elmore Leonard
🤗 A Better Life ~ Are You Ready to Breathe Life into Your Dreams?
Have you set big dreams for 2022? Is your dream a wish or is it something you will commit to bringing into reality? It’s in your hands. Don’t let a day go by without working to breathe life into your dreams.
