Month: August 2023

Poem for Today ~ Orchard

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Orchard

H. D. (Hilda Doolittle)

I saw the first pear
as it fell—
the honey-seeking, golden-banded,
the yellow swarm
was not more fleet than I,
(spare us from loveliness)
and I fell prostrate
crying:
you have flayed us
with your blossoms,
spare us the beauty
of fruit-trees.

The honey-seeking
paused not,
the air thundered their song,
and I alone was prostrate.

O rough-hewn
god of the orchard,
I bring you an offering—
do you, alone unbeautiful,
son of the god,
spare us from loveliness:

these fallen hazel-nuts,
stripped late of their green sheaths,
grapes, red-purple,
their berries
dripping with wine,
pomegranates already broken,
and shrunken figs
and quinces untouched,
I bring you as offering.

 

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Joke of the Day

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Joe: “I should rob a bank where all the security guards are women.”

Pete: “Why?”

Joe: “Because I’d be invisible to them.”

Healthy Lifestyle Tip ~ Preventing Injuries at the Gym

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A Few Tips on How to Prevent Injuries While Exercising at the Gym

  1. Preventative care – Melanie McNeal of Baylor University applies a tree analogy for people who are starting to lift weights, comparing the human body to a tree. Trees need a strong trunk to grow nice, stable branches just like people need a strong core for lifting heavy weights for arms and legs. Beginners should spend two to four weeks developing a strong core, working the abdominals, glutes and back muscles, before incorporating other lifting exercises in their routine.
  2. Moving up in weight – If you do about 15 repetitions in a weightlifting workout and continue repping with ease, it might be time to increase weight. If you load 50 pounds in a leg press for 15 to 20 reps and can keep going, increase it to 60 pounds. If you can only do about four reps, move it back to the 50 pounds to complete your reps, then rest and start over again. As you get strong, you will be able to move up and keep it at 60 pounds through 15 reps.
  3. Injuries – If you strain a muscle at the gym, stop your workout and put ice on the injury for 15 to 20 minutes. You can ice it throughout the day if you feel sore, then apply a compression sleeve to keep it warm. Visit a physical therapist if you still feel pain after two or three days.
  4. Powering through the pain – “I would never say to power through a sudden pain in a workout,” McNeal said. As you get older, arthritis and other conditions may bring discomfort in certain workouts, but as the joints get lubricated, you might feel better. If you feel pain on the first three reps, keep going until you hit the 10th rep. If the pain subsides, the joint just needed lubrication and you can keep exercising. If the pain feels the same or worse by the 10th rep, consult with a physical therapist.

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Photo for the Day ~ Clear Sailing Ahead

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Feel Good Tip ~ Exercising Provides Multiple Benefits

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Exercising helps me to feel good. I’ve always enjoyed exercising. I like the feel of pushing my muscles through a workout. I like the feel of sweat running down my face. I can be carrying a load of troubling thoughts when I begin to exercise. Somehow, exercising cuts the troubling thoughts down to size. If I’m fortunate, I’ll have a brainstorm that will pop out of out nowhere as I exercise. For me, exercising is beneficial on multiple levels. It helps me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If you’re into exercise, you know what I mean. If you’ve been thinking about exercising, start slow, and find a routine to works for you.

Photo for Today ~ Caring Matters

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Poem for Today ~ Lord, I Ask a Garden . . .

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Lord, I Ask a Garden . . .

Alfonso Guillén Zelaya

Lord, I ask a garden in a quiet spot
where there may be a brook with a good flow,
an humble little house covered with bell-flowers,
and a wife and a son who shall resemble Thee.

I should wish to live many years, free from hates,
and make my verses, as the rivers
that moisten the earth, fresh and pure.
Lord, give me a path with trees and birds.

I wish that you would never take my mother,
for I should wish to tend to her as a child
and put her to sleep with kisses, when somewhat old
she may need the sun.

I wish to sleep well, to have a few books,
an affectionate dog that will spring upon my knees,
a flock of goats, all things rustic,
and to live off the soil tilled by my own hand.

To go into the field and flourish with it;
to seat myself at evening under the rustic eaves,
to drink in the fresh mountain perfumed air
and speak to my little one of humble things.

At night to relate him some simple tale,
teach him to laugh with the laughter of water
and put him to sleep thinking that he may later on
keep that freshness of the moist grass.

And afterward, the next day, rise with dawn
admiring life, bathe in the brook,
milk my goats in the happiness of the garden
and add a strophe to the poem of the world.

Source

Healthy Lifestyle Tip ~ Eat Right & Protect Your Skin

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6 Sun-Protection Foods to Turn Your Skin Into an Anti-Wrinkle Fortress

According to an article on Healthline.com, there are six foods that can help prevent sun damage. Who wants crinkly, worn out looking skin, right?

Here are the 6 foods:

  1. Blueberries – due to sun exposure and stress. Blueberries are even more powerful if they’re a wild variety. They’re also a very good source of vitamin C, which can help prevent wrinkles from a day on the beach.
  2. Watermelon – Watermelons actually contain far more lycopene than tomatoes. Lycopene absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation, although it may take several weeks for the skin to become more photoprotective due to its turnover rate, according to a 2012 study.
  3. Nuts  and seeds- Walnuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and flax all contain omega-3 essential fatty acids. . . . What do omega-3s do for your skin? They help maintain your skin’s integrity and are anti-inflammatory, too. Omega-3s also help your body naturally cope with the effects of spending a little too much time in the sun.
  4. Carrots & leafy greens – Carrots and leafy greens like kale and spinach are great beta carotene-packed additions to your meals, even breakfast smoothies. In particular, leafy greens are high in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. These have been found to protect against wrinkling, sun damage, and even skin cancer.
  5. Green tea – In a 2010 studyTrusted Source, researchers found that green tea consumption led to fewer tumors induced by UV light in mice. This was due to a flavanol contained in both green and black tea known as EGCG.
  6. Cauliflower -This cruciferous veggie is the exception to the rule. Cauliflower contains potent antioxidants that help fight off oxidative stress from free radicals. On top of this perk, cauliflower is also a naturally sun-protective food thanks to histidine. This alpha-amino acid stimulates the production of urocanic acid, which absorbs UV radiation.

Daily Inspirational Quotes ~ You Know You Can Do It

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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

Jimmy Johnson

Thinking Out Loud ~ Do You Dare to Dream?

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Great Achievements Begin with a Dream

James Allen in his book, As a Man Thinketh, writes, “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” P. 44

As a Man Thinketh is available online at gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.

NOTE: Do you dare to dream? Do you dare to dream a great big dream? Do you feel yourself worthy to have your dream come true? What if the greatest dream you had for yourself came true in this moment? How would you feel? How would your life be different? The first thing you can do to make your dream become reality is to take the first step. The first steps in reaching for our dream are never easy because they are associated with a learning curve. Sometimes the learning curve is steep. That’s where many people fail. They allow the learning curve to tell them that it’s too hard, too difficult, too steep. Those who achieve their dreams keep on pushing, keep on learning, and eventually succeed. It’s up to you.

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