Think of a late winter’s day where the sky is a bright blue and the sun shines brightly on your back. I can recall many a such day and the sun’s warmth warmed away the winter’s chill giving me hope of a coming spring. That’s what happens to other people when we shine in their presence. How do we shine? It starts with a warm smile followed by a kind word and perhaps a handshake or hug. That’s the kind of stuff you can’t buy online or in a store. It comes from your heart as a free gift to all who pass your way. When you shine, you’ll feel better and you’ll make everyone who comes your way feeling better. Shine on.
Month: September 2022
Today’s Power Thought ~ Keep Moving Forward
One can fail, rise, and try again and again. If one gives up, the door closes, the shades drawn. and the lights are turned off. Failure offers a lesson, learn the lesson, apply the lesson and move on. Keep moving forward. Don’t waste a moment looking back. Today is what you have, but tomorrow is jam packed with promise.
Today’s Inspiration ~ Don’t Doubt
“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.”
Today’s Health Tip ~ Want to Lower Your Cholesterol?
Pistachios are a Heart Healthy Choice
Note: I snack on unsalted shelled pistachios. There are a great treat.
One of the first indicators of a healthy heart is your cholesterol levels. There are two types — LDL and HDL. High levels of LDL cholesterol can raise your risk of heart disease, so it’s often referred to as “bad” cholesterol, according to the CDC. Meanwhile, higher levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk.
One way to improve cholesterol levels is with the help of a healthy diet, per the National Library of Medicine (NLM). This involves choosing healthy fats, such as nuts, to make up anywhere between 20 and 35 percent of your daily calories. “Most of the fat in pistachios are unsaturated fats, which are linked to lower cholesterol,” explains Jim Liu, MD, a cardiologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “There are studies specifically linking pistachios to lower LDL cholesterol levels.
It’s true: A small study showed including pistachios can improve total cholesterol levels and other metabolic risk factors in adults with type 2 diabetes, according to results in the November 2016 issue of Metabolism.
Today’s Good Word ~ Search
We’re always searching for something. What are you searching for? We may not think about it often, but I believe we’re searching for meaning. We’re searching to discover why we’re alive and what we are supposed to do with the life we have. Searching for life’s meaning is not meant for the faint of heart. It takes courage to commit to this search. We may discover that what we were searching for is not where our search is leading us. Our search for meaning may be leading us down a road we’d never choose, yet, once it takes us down this road, we have no choice but to continue the search. What we will discover will change our lives. Our search will lead us to our life’s purpose and a deep understanding why it is meant for us and us alone.
A Better Life ~ Life is Better When You Feel Healthy
Life is better when we’re healthy. You know what it’s like to wake up with a back ache – ouch. It seems like we hurt all over. It feels so good when the back ache disappears into a memory. is it time to consider doing all the things that encourage good health and feeling good? You don’t have to start big, but start. A baby step at a time. Here are some ideas.
- If you like bread, knock it off a couple of days a week.
- If you like dessert after a meal or while you watch TV, switch out to fruit or popcorn a couple days a week.
- Go for a walk after dinner. You don’t have to walk a marathon, once around the block.
- Before you know it these small habits will take traction and you’ll be expanding them.
Today’s Smile
Joe: “My boss caught me playing a game on my computer and said, “Hard work never killed anyone.”
Pete: “How did you answer your boss?”
Joe “I said, ‘That may be true, but why take a chance?”
Today’s Poem ~ Sky Song
Sky Song
Robert Desnos
The flower of the Alps told the seashell: “You’re shining”
The seashell told the sea: “You echo”
The sea told the boat: “You’re shuddering”
The boat told the fire: “You’re glowing brightly”
The fire told me: “I glow less brightly than her eyes”
The boat told me: “I shudder less than your heart does when she appears”
The sea told me: “I echo less than her name does in your love-making”
The seashell told me: “I shine less brightly than the phosphorus of desire in your hollow dream”
The flower of the Alps told me: “She’s beautiful”
I said: “She’s beautiful, so beautiful, she moves me.”
The seashell told the sea: “You echo”
The sea told the boat: “You’re shuddering”
The boat told the fire: “You’re glowing brightly”
The fire told me: “I glow less brightly than her eyes”
The boat told me: “I shudder less than your heart does when she appears”
The sea told me: “I echo less than her name does in your love-making”
The seashell told me: “I shine less brightly than the phosphorus of desire in your hollow dream”
The flower of the Alps told me: “She’s beautiful”
I said: “She’s beautiful, so beautiful, she moves me.”
Today’s Inspiration ~ There’s So Much to Enjoy
“Life does not come with instructions on how to live, but it does come with trees, sunsets, smiles and laughter, so enjoy your day.”
Something to Think About
Lots of researchers have written about being in the flow or in the zone. Great athletes find themselves in the zone where everything else is blotted out and time slows down; it’s as if they’ve move into another dimension. Getting into the flow or zone is available to all of us. I find it when I am writing or cooking a meal. Without knowing it, I slip into the zone. It’s not something I can make happen, it happens. My guess is that most people have been in the zone and not realized it was the zone. I think it happens more frequently when we’re more deeply connected with what we’re doing and not letting extraneous thoughts cloud our minds. Happy traveling through the zone.
