Month: June 2025

Healthy Tips: Your Resentment Isn’t Renting Space—It’s Squatting

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That old beef from high school? Yeah, it’s now living rent-free in your brain, eating your joy, and leaving dishes in the sink. Time to evict it.

Strategy:

Visualize the Eviction: Picture your anger as an unwanted tenant. Write an “eviction notice” letter to that anger. Read it, then rip it up. Symbolic but powerful.

Health Benefit:

Letting go enhances sleep quality by decreasing intrusive thoughts and tension that keep your brain buzzing at bedtime.

Pep Talk:

Your brain deserves a luxury condo with a view—not a dingy grudge cave with bad lighting. Clear it out and redecorate with peace.

Lions and Ants ~ a poem by Walt Mason

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Lions and Ants

Walt Mason

Once a hunter met a lion near the hungry critter’s lair,
and the way that lion mauled him was decidedly unfair; 
but the hunter never whimpered when the surgeons, with their thread, 
sewed up forty-seven gashes in his mutilated head; 
and he showed the scars in triumph, and they gave him pleasant fame, 
and he always blessed the lion that had camped upon his frame. 
Once that hunter, absent minded, sat upon a hill of ants, 
and about a million bit him, and you should have seen him dance! 
And he used up lots of language of a deep magenta tint, 
and apostrophised the insects in a style unfit to print. 
And it’s thus with worldly troubles; when the big ones come along, 
we serenely go to meet them, feeling valiant, bold and strong, 
but the weary little worries with their poisoned stings and smarts, 
put the lid upon our courage, make us gray, and break our hearts.

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Ray’s Picks: What I Watched So You Don’t Have To

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I watch a lot of YouTube videos—especially the ones diving into healthy eating, fitness, longevity, and how to live well without going full kale cult. Some are fantastic: backed by solid research, clear data, and practical advice. Others? Let’s just say… entertaining, but not exactly science-friendly.

Here’s the deal: when I come across a truly helpful, research-based video that offers real value, I’ll share it here with you. No gimmicks. No hype. Just useful insights that can help us live longer, feel better, and maybe even dodge that third trip to the doctor this month.

Stick around—this new feature is your shortcut to smart, evidence-based health wisdom (minus the rabbit holes).


Let’s get healthier—one good video at a time.

Calm Like Thunder: Why Storms Might Handle Stress Better Than You Do

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While the skies were throwing an electrical tantrum last night, I was oddly at peace—dozing between thunderclaps like a seasoned nap ninja. If only I could summon that same calm during a Wi-Fi outage or when I realize I left my grocery list on the kitchen counter.

Yesterday, we were under tornado watch from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. Around 9 p.m. thunderstorms rolled in one after another throughout the night. I enjoy thunderstorms. I’d wake up when a lightening flash and the accompanying thunder were seemingly instantaneous, then it was off to dream land. If there was a tornado, hoped the sirens were loud enough to wake me. I’d like to feel as calm as I feel during a thunderstorm when I get caught up the day’s chaos. That’s a good goal to work toward since most of the day’s chaos isn’t too important. Yet, it is easy to give it more importance than it deserves. Let’s try walking through today and let the small irritations flow on by. Keep a smile on and shine your light.

Who Buried Grandma’s Ashes in the Neighbor’s Sandbox?” (And Other Writing Prompts to Confuse the FBI)

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Tired of writing about serial killers who leave rose petals on the crime scene and always strike during a full moon? Spice up your mystery writing with a prompt that’s weirder than your cousin Eddie’s browser history. We’re talking stolen urns, missing parrots that scream alibis, and nosy neighbors with a thing for digging.

Fiction Writing Prompt:

“The Parrot Knew Too Much”

When an elderly widow reports her late husband’s ashes stolen, the police dismiss it as a prank—until a child digging in the neighbor’s sandbox finds an urn. The only witness? A parrot that screams “Not guilty! Check the freezer!” every time the neighbor walks by.

Example Opening Sentences:

Detective Marley never took cases involving birds, but this parrot could recite the Miranda rights and whistle The Godfather theme. It perched on its stand like a feathery mob boss, glaring at the sandbox where the mystery began—and probably where it would end.

Today’s Quote: How Are You Living Your Life?

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“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ― Albert Einstein

Open House ~ A Poem by Theodore Roethke

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Open House

Theodore Roethke

My secrets cry aloud. 
I have no need for tongue. 
My heart keeps open house, 
My doors are widely swung. 
An epic of the eyes 
My love, with no disguise. 

My truths are all foreknown, 
This anguish self-revealed. 
I’m naked to the bone, 
With nakedness my shield. 
Myself is what I wear: 
I keep the spirit spare. 

The anger will endure, 
The deed will speak the truth 
In language strict and pure. 
I stop the lying mouth: 
Rage warps my clearest cry 
To witless agony.

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Healthy Tip: Grudge Holding Is Not a Cardio Workout (But It Will Exhaust You Anyway)

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Beginning with this post I will provide five posts that are arranged around the theme of letting go of past grievances and anger. We’ll focus on the positive and how letting go of past grievances and anger will improve your health.

Still holding onto that ancient grudge like it’s a winning lottery ticket? Discover why letting it go is the real power move—for your peace and your blood pressure.. You’re not getting six-pack abs by replaying that argument from 2003. All you’re doing is mentally bench pressing emotional baggage—and let’s be honest, you’re not even getting paid for it.

Strategy:

Use the “3-Day Rule”: If you’re still mad after 3 days, write it down, reflect, then commit to releasing it. Holding onto it longer just drains your emotional energy.

Health Benefit:

Letting go of long-term resentment lowers cortisol levels, which reduces blood pressure, inflammation, and the risk of heart disease.

Pep Talk:

You weren’t born to be a grudge gardener. Rip out the roots, and make room for something beautiful to grow.

Healthy Foods: Revenge of the Sweet Potato: The Spud That’s Smarter, Hotter, and Healthier Than You Think

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You’ve overlooked it, mashed it, and probably only thought of it during Thanksgiving—but this orange tuber is plotting a delicious comeback. Packed with stealthy nutrients and ready to spice up your Tex-Mex cravings, the sweet potato is here to say: “Step aside, boring starches. I’m the whole enchilada.”

🥔 Four Surprising Health Facts About Sweet Potatoes:

  1. They Have Built-In Blood Sugar BalanceSweet potatoes are rich in resistant starch and soluble fiber, which help stabilize blood sugar levels instead of spiking them like their white potato cousins.
  2. They’re Brain Food in DisguiseThanks to choline and manganese, sweet potatoes support memory, learning, and overall brain function—think of them as root-based nootropics.
  3. They’re Basically Edible SunscreenHigh in beta-carotene (which your body converts to vitamin A), they help protect your skin from sun damage from the inside out. Beach body, meet beach brain.
  4. They’re Gut-Hugging MarvelsWith both soluble and insoluble fiber, sweet potatoes keep your microbiome humming and your digestion, well, pleasantly regular.

🌶️ Tex-Mex Recipe: 

“Sweet Potato Picante Power Bowl”

🔥 Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or more if you like to live dangerously)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Fresh cilantro to garnish

🥄 Directions:

  1. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400°F for 25–30 minutes until crispy on the edges and soft inside.
  2. Sauté bell pepper, onion, and corn in a pan until just tender.
  3. In a bowl, layer: sweet potatoes, sautéed veg, black beans, and sliced avocado.
  4. Squeeze lime juice over the top, garnish with cilantro, and serve with a side of sass.

🧡 Why You’ll Love It:

  • Protein-packed, fiber-rich, and absolutely fire in flavor.
  • Pairs well with a margarita and a low-stress lifestyle.
  • Leftovers? Toss them in a tortilla tomorrow and boom—Tex-Mex tacos.

Stumbling Along

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I’ve never been one delve into the past. I think I am oddity that way. I know lots of folks who like reunions, going to museums, reading historical novels, and going on Facebook to stay in touch or check on folks with whom they grew up. Just thinking about this stuff gives me the hives. I like looking forward to tomorrow, meeting strangers and turning them into friends, and seeking out the next adventure. It’s a good thing to discover our path and stay true to it. We’re all different, that’s for sure. In some ways, life is an adventure where we are constantly refining our search for our path. There are lots of stumbles and potholes on the way. The worse thing is to live a path that someone else defines for you. To me, it’s better to stumble along trying to figure it out. Happy discovering.

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