“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” ~ Rudyard Kipling
Month: February 2022
✒️ Writers’ Wisdom ~ What Writer’s Should be Reading
“Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do. If what you really love to read is y, it might be hard for you to write x.”
~ Jennifer Egan
🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Make These Brain Foods Your Friend
Research shows that the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels, including the following:
-
- Green, leafy vegetables. Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene. Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline.
- Fatty fish. Fatty fish are abundant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, healthy unsaturated fats that have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid—the protein that forms damaging clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Try to eat fish at least twice a week, choose varieties low in mercury, such as salmon, cod, canned light tuna, and pollack.
- Berries. Flavonoids, the natural plant pigments that give berries their brilliant hues, also help improve memory, research shows.
- Tea and coffee. The caffeine in your morning cup of coffee or tea might offer more than just a short-term concentration boost. In a 2014 study published in The Journal of Nutrition, participants with higher caffeine consumption scored better on tests of mental function.
- Walnuts. Nuts are excellent sources of protein and healthy fats, and one type of nut in particular might also improve memory. . . .Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Diets rich in ALA and other omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries. That’s good for both the heart and brain.
💡 Something to Think About
When I was a kid I loved baseball. I dreamed of being a major leaguer. I could hit a ball a long way and catch anything hit in my direction. I couldn’t hit a curve ball and my dream ended. We all have dreams of what we want. It’s great when our dreams align with our true gifts. If we discover our true gifts, chances are they’ll whisper a new dream in our ears.
🤗 A Better Life ~ Finding the Shared Common Space
As different as we are from each other, we share a common space. The common space is different for each pair of people. Yet, when discovered, it provides a place where we can begin to better understand each other. For example, I was speaking to a woman who recently lost her husband. I could understand and relate to her sorrow and suffering. In our conversation she knew that I knew what she was experiencing.
Today’s Smile 😃
Joe: “My wife went with me for my physical exam. The doctor asked me for stool sample.”
Pete: “How did it go?”
Joe: “My wife looked at me and said, ‘Just give him your undershorts.”
🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Enjoy the Health Benefits of Whole Grains
9 Benefits of Eating Whole Grains
-
- They’re linking to a lower risk of type-2 diabetes.
- They’re high in fiber.
- They’re a good source of complex carbs.
- They’re linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
- They provide a protein boost.
- They improve digestion and satiety.
- They’re linked to better gut health.
- They’re a good source of plant based iron.
- They’re linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers.
🤗 A Better Life ~ Keep Moving
One thing I know for sure, if I’m driving west on the highway and pull over to the shoulder and stop, I’ll never reach my destination. The metaphor works for life. As long as we’re trying, putting in the effort, we have a chance of reaching our destination. Keep at it. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.
🌾 Today’s Poem ~ The Dream
The Dream
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love, if I weep it will not matter,
And if you laugh I shall not care;
Foolish am I to think about it,
But it is good to feel you there.
Love, in my sleep I dreamed of waking,
White and awful the moonlight reached
Over the floor, and somewhere, somewhere
There was a shutter loose- it screeched!
Swung in the wind- and no wind blowing-
I was afraid and turned to you,
Put out my hand to you for comfort-
And you were gone! Cold as the dew,
Under my hand the moonlight lay!
Love, if you laugh I shall not care,
But if I weep it will not matter-
Ah, it is good to feel you there.
👊 Today’s Power Thought ~ A Pathway to Success
One way to be successful is to work to make those around you successful. It always works.
