OK.....so let's talk about laughter today......for I truly believe that if any doctor's appointments were met over the last month, there was no mention of how powerful and healing a tool laughter can be. Now I've known this for a very long time, in dealing with my own health issues, and always being sure that I have ways to release the physical pain that I have a tendency to carry with me each day, but since I'm human, and getting older, I will plead ignorance for now, and promise that I will never set this extremely helpful tool aside ever again.
Now I don't want the focus here to be totally about pain, and how terrible pain is, and how we must get rid of the pain....and honestly this can be physical or emotional here. We can all wear our big girl/boy panties and profess that none of us have any emotional issues, but I'm here to tell you, if you are in fact human, then you've had something at some point happen to you that you carry with you most of your life. However...........I will focus on how to lessen or redirect the pain so that we're not all lying in a ditch on a deserted dirt road waiting for someone to drive by and pull us out. Now I'm sorry, but for me....it's the most accurate way to describe how I feel some days physically.
Now, back to the doctors office. I am weary of watching most of them try to pull a rabbit out of their hat, and instead offer ways of finding a healthy level of acceptance of the situation by using some valuable tools such as laughter. Mine used to be crying. Yes.....and it's not a pitiful crying......its a wailing actually that would have to happen in order to release the pain in my body. Some days I have to put a sad movie in the player just to give me a prompt, which may sound insane, but it works really well. However.....after talking to a dear friend on the phone last night, and having moments of uncontrollable gut level laughter, and how good it felt, I decided I would get out the Seinfield DVD's today and let her rip.
So now......if I can recognize how helpful this is....why wouldn't a doctor know? I realize they have to be objective, and of course offer the newest medication that is on the market to make money for all those involved, but when does it become more about healthy changes that are just plain and simple and honestly help the most? And I'm not getting into a doctor bashing here....but after a while, I think we just have to get back to the nuts and bolts of what is available and FREE as far as healing our bodies. I believe God gave us those tools, but on the whole, it's not really encouraged, at least not in my neck of the woods. Which again is no excuse, I can search and find whatever works for me, but for today, I'm going to be grateful that I remembered that laughter is like a healing balm for the soul, mind and body, and it will be part of my daily routine from now on. We all have access to the internet and can watch whatever we find funny at any given time. So I encourage you to do the same.
So for today, have a laugh, and see if it makes a difference in how you feel. Will it makes all your health issues go away....probably not, but it changes something even more important than that. It changes how you SEE your pain and suffering, and how you can lessen the severity. I promise at the least it will bring a smile, and for heavens sake will keep you out of the ditch!
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The World at 4am
So why would any normal person get up at 4 in the morning? I don't ask myself that question too much anymore, probably because what I find when I do get up is the quiet I so desperately crave. Course I have always been an early riser for some reason, even as a child. And again, I can say at that particular time of life, I was craving peace and quiet, and this was in a very small town in south carolina, for sure off the beaten path.
So what' so important about peace and quiet? Well for me, it's the only time I can hear the crickets, a long lost friend of mine, that was used at the end of a cane fishing pole. Good bait for sure, but for now, it's just that lovely sound they make very early in the morning. I hear no traffic, no slamming doors, no leaf blowers, mowers or garbage trucks. It amazes me at how engines and electrical gadgets, supposedly that get the job done quicker, can completely steal the sounds of nature. So disruptive. But this is the world now, and for several reasons, I am not able to find a quiet and peaceful place in which to live. I make do with what I have before me, and remind myself the reasons are valid and good.
But for the meantime, my crickets will do, and I am grateful to have my noisy desktop computer that goes clickety clack under my fingers. However do wonder why people are so anxious to fill up the quiet. That quiet that soothes the soul and refreshes the mind. Like an etch a sketch board, where you can draw and write, and when you're done, turn it upside down, give it a shake, and it's all erased. We have the gift of a clean slate in which to fill for the day.
Course the sad part is not realizing that we can fill it with whatever we choose. We make choices every single day with how we wish to do that, but sadly, I think too many people are so haunted by their choices, priorities and direction, that they feel it necessary to each day find some other way to fill up the hours with some activity that' not absolutely necessary, but seems like the right thing to do at the time.
So while that goes on each day, you find less and less time to stop and appreciate or make future plans of slowing down, checking things off your busy list to appreciate the quiet. And just because you now think that it's ok to slow down a bit, does not mean you have become a slug, or lacking in productivity.
I'm not exactly sure what I'm shooting for here, for I was just trying to convey my feelings and reactions to a day that starts at 4am. I myself love it, will continue to do it, though it can vary between 4 and 5.....and listen for those heavenly creatures that can only be heard while the rest of the world sleeps. My own little quiet haven in which to draw strength, courage and hope.
For me....I would rather go to bed at 9 and get up at 4 or 5, than to go to bed at 10 or so and sleep till 9. If you have never tried this, I think it might be time. Maybe you've never even heard a cricket before, or heard them in a very long time.....so enjoy.
So what' so important about peace and quiet? Well for me, it's the only time I can hear the crickets, a long lost friend of mine, that was used at the end of a cane fishing pole. Good bait for sure, but for now, it's just that lovely sound they make very early in the morning. I hear no traffic, no slamming doors, no leaf blowers, mowers or garbage trucks. It amazes me at how engines and electrical gadgets, supposedly that get the job done quicker, can completely steal the sounds of nature. So disruptive. But this is the world now, and for several reasons, I am not able to find a quiet and peaceful place in which to live. I make do with what I have before me, and remind myself the reasons are valid and good.
But for the meantime, my crickets will do, and I am grateful to have my noisy desktop computer that goes clickety clack under my fingers. However do wonder why people are so anxious to fill up the quiet. That quiet that soothes the soul and refreshes the mind. Like an etch a sketch board, where you can draw and write, and when you're done, turn it upside down, give it a shake, and it's all erased. We have the gift of a clean slate in which to fill for the day.
Course the sad part is not realizing that we can fill it with whatever we choose. We make choices every single day with how we wish to do that, but sadly, I think too many people are so haunted by their choices, priorities and direction, that they feel it necessary to each day find some other way to fill up the hours with some activity that' not absolutely necessary, but seems like the right thing to do at the time.
So while that goes on each day, you find less and less time to stop and appreciate or make future plans of slowing down, checking things off your busy list to appreciate the quiet. And just because you now think that it's ok to slow down a bit, does not mean you have become a slug, or lacking in productivity.
I'm not exactly sure what I'm shooting for here, for I was just trying to convey my feelings and reactions to a day that starts at 4am. I myself love it, will continue to do it, though it can vary between 4 and 5.....and listen for those heavenly creatures that can only be heard while the rest of the world sleeps. My own little quiet haven in which to draw strength, courage and hope.
For me....I would rather go to bed at 9 and get up at 4 or 5, than to go to bed at 10 or so and sleep till 9. If you have never tried this, I think it might be time. Maybe you've never even heard a cricket before, or heard them in a very long time.....so enjoy.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
What are you a slave to?
A most ominous subject I should think, but of course from my side, one that's worthy of digging a little deeper for meaning. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear that word, having been born and raised in the south, is a person who is the legal property of another, and forced to obey them. But there is another way of looking at this word, and that is a person who is dependent....excessively dependent.....upon or controlled by something. Of course you see the difference here, where you can be controlled by someone or something, and honestly sometimes I don't know which is worse. You would think that being controlled by a person would be far more oppressive than a thing, but I suppose it would depend on the thing.
Someone can say or do something to make you feel bad about yourself, just by what they say and how they say it, but how does some "thing" make you feel bad about yourself? I guess it depends on how overpowering the thing is. It could be as simple as food, work, perfectionism about ones self, money, sex.....the list goes on. All those little pesky things that get in the way of peace and contentment, that can so easily slip into the unhealthy bracket, that if we found a healthy perspective could in fact allow us to awake each day looking forward to what lies ahead instead of dread.
So how do we get a healthy perspective? Well, it definitely takes some time in recognizing exactly what trips you up each day. And I think we all know on some level what those things are, but have just managed to keep it under the radar so we don't have to own up to it. Hey, been there done that. It's so easy to get busy with life and our own particular challenges each day, that we just hope it goes away on it's own, or at least ease up on the intensity.
Here is my latest, and its not a major issue, but it's one that sort of nags at me each day. I've been down this road before, knowing that tea is probably a better option for me heath wise, but so easily getting sucked into the coffee madness that goes on each day. Of course I love coffee, but love tea as well, and I guess I could reach a healthy balance of one of each per day, or of course my preference would be to nix the coffee completely, and get back to just tea. So today I decided to tackle it head on, and found that if I make a ritual out of my morning and afternoon drink, meaning getting out my really nice tea service, then it turns into something very special.
I truly believe you can do this with anything, but the most important part of this, is actually recognizing that you are in fact a slave to something, and it's not going to change until YOU make some sort of movement in a different direction. I suppose it would make it easier if you have something that will replace the thing you're trying to get rid of. Sort of like buying some yummy yogurt instead of reaching for the cookies and ice cream.
So for me.....switching things up today freed me up, and it's a good feeling. Now will I cave and head for the Starbucks while I'm out? Well, maybe....but maybe not. And I'm actually looking forward to having some really good tea in the morning with my china, Earl Grey, and low fat milk instead of sweetener, which has been SO easy to get hooked on...........or a slave to! Think about it......see what comes to mind that would be fun to change up.
Someone can say or do something to make you feel bad about yourself, just by what they say and how they say it, but how does some "thing" make you feel bad about yourself? I guess it depends on how overpowering the thing is. It could be as simple as food, work, perfectionism about ones self, money, sex.....the list goes on. All those little pesky things that get in the way of peace and contentment, that can so easily slip into the unhealthy bracket, that if we found a healthy perspective could in fact allow us to awake each day looking forward to what lies ahead instead of dread.
So how do we get a healthy perspective? Well, it definitely takes some time in recognizing exactly what trips you up each day. And I think we all know on some level what those things are, but have just managed to keep it under the radar so we don't have to own up to it. Hey, been there done that. It's so easy to get busy with life and our own particular challenges each day, that we just hope it goes away on it's own, or at least ease up on the intensity.
Here is my latest, and its not a major issue, but it's one that sort of nags at me each day. I've been down this road before, knowing that tea is probably a better option for me heath wise, but so easily getting sucked into the coffee madness that goes on each day. Of course I love coffee, but love tea as well, and I guess I could reach a healthy balance of one of each per day, or of course my preference would be to nix the coffee completely, and get back to just tea. So today I decided to tackle it head on, and found that if I make a ritual out of my morning and afternoon drink, meaning getting out my really nice tea service, then it turns into something very special.
I truly believe you can do this with anything, but the most important part of this, is actually recognizing that you are in fact a slave to something, and it's not going to change until YOU make some sort of movement in a different direction. I suppose it would make it easier if you have something that will replace the thing you're trying to get rid of. Sort of like buying some yummy yogurt instead of reaching for the cookies and ice cream.
So for me.....switching things up today freed me up, and it's a good feeling. Now will I cave and head for the Starbucks while I'm out? Well, maybe....but maybe not. And I'm actually looking forward to having some really good tea in the morning with my china, Earl Grey, and low fat milk instead of sweetener, which has been SO easy to get hooked on...........or a slave to! Think about it......see what comes to mind that would be fun to change up.
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