I’ve always thought that seeing a rainbow is a good sign. Here’s a double rainbow for you and the hope that good fortune follows you closer than your shadow on a sunny day.
Month: February 2023
Today’s Poem ~ Your Hands
Your Hands
Angelina Weld Grimké
I love your hands:
They are big hands, firm hands, gentle hands;
Hair grows on the back near the wrist . . . .
I have seen the nails broken and stained
From hard work.
And yet, when you touch me,
I grow small . . . . . . . and quiet . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . And happy . . . . . . . .
If I might only grow small enough
To curl up into the hollow of your palm,
Your left palm,
Curl up, lie close and cling,
So that I might know myself always there,
. . . . . . . Even if you forgot.
Today’s Poem ~ Chance
Chance
Elsa Gidlow
Strange that a single white iris
Given carelessly one slumbering spring midnight
Should be the first of love,
Yet life is written so.
If it had been a rose
I might have smiled and pinned it to my dress:
We should have said Good Night indifferently
And never met again.
But the white iris!
It looked so infinitely pure
In the thin green moonlight.
A thousand little purple things
That had trembled about me through
the young years
Floated into a shape I seem always to have known
That I suddenly called Love!
The faint touch of your long fingers on mine
wakened me.
I saw that your tumbled hair was bright
with flame,
That your eyes were sapphire souls with
hungry stars in them,
And your lips were too near not to be kissed.
Life crouches at the knees of Chance
And takes what falls to her.
Today’s Inspiration ~ Where Real Strength is Found
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.”
~ Saint Francis de Sales
Today’s Photo ~ Leap Out in Faith
There comes a moment when we’re asked to leap out in faith. Those who dare will discover their date with destiny.
Kindness Works ~ What Makes Acts of Kindness so Powerful?
Kindness is a Wellness Pill You Take with Each Kind Act
It makes sense that when someone kindly holds the door open for us, we benefit by not getting smacked in the face with the door. But research suggests that practicing kindness also significantly improves our own physical well-being. Even after researchers account for differences in factors like age, gender, education, personality and mental health, studies show that kinder behavior is linked to having fewer health problems—such as heart disease, sleep disorders and even hearing loss—and to greater longevity.
Studies have also found that being kind can help lower blood pressure and anxiety. Helping others even lessened symptoms of depression in people who had lost a spouse. Experiments show that doing something kind for someone is more likely to boost your mood and lower your stress than doing something for yourself. Plus, a recent sweeping review of data from nearly 200,000 research participants around the world found that prosocial behavior (things like donating money to charity, volunteering and spontaneously helping out) was linked to better physical and mental health.
What makes these acts of kindness so powerful? Think of life partly as a series of choices. “Each small daily choice we make either nurtures our emotional well-being or aggravates stress, and that helps or hinders our physical health,” Dr. Harding says. Practicing kindness is on the helping side of that equation.
Source: DIGIULIO, S. (2022). Why Being Kind is GOOD for your HEALTH. Good Housekeeping, 273(2), 41–44.
Today’s Health Tip ~ Is Your Blood Pressure on a Roller Coaster?
Not drinking enough fluids can send your blood pressure on a rollercoaster ride.
The importance of maintaining a healthy blood pressure gets a lot of attention — and rightfully so. It’s key to keeping blood flowing so it can deliver oxygen and nutrients to every nook and cranny in your body.
The good news? There’s something simple you can do to assist the process and keep your blood pressure stable: Drink plenty of fluids.
Being dehydrated can cause your blood pressure to plummet and then potentially skyrocket in response. In extreme cases, this wild fluctuation could send you into a life-threatening case of shock.
Today’s Positive Thought ~ There are Important Lessons in our Challenges
“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds
and diamonds are made under pressure (Peter Marshall ).”
One of life’s mysteries is that the most important lessons we learn rise out of our most difficult circumstances. The lessons are transformative and change our lives for the better, we become stronger and wiser..
Today’s Joke
Joe: “The doctor told my uncle he has only six months to live. My uncle told the doctor he can’t afford to pay him.”
Pete: “What did the doctor say?
Joe: “The doctor said, “Let’s make it a year to live.”
Today’s Positive Thought ~ Never Give Up
“Survival can be summed up in three words – never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying (Bear Grylls).”
Never give up, never quit. In the times when you feel so low you can’t sink any lower, never give up. Sunshine and rainbows are waiting for you. Hang in a little longer. Don’t let go. Fight on. You’ll surprise everyone.
