giving thanks for my life, physical work, and lovely weather

Sat., Jan 7:  I give thanks for my life.  We went to a memorial service for a friend who chose to leave this world at the young age of 28.  The outpouring of love for this person was tremendous, and he left behind a family and huge crew of friends who will miss his presence so very much.  Life is such a gift, to be treasured, and though the road can be insufferable at times, we must always remember that others suffer too, that no matter how great our suffering, someone has it worse, and that 'this too shall pass'.  Count your blessings, and keep moving forward.

me & my sweeties in our backyard.  what you see is only a small fraction of the wood around here.  good exercise.  :) 

Sun., Jan 8:  I give thanks for physical work and a healthy body.  I stacked a ton of wood on the front porch today (all of which my darling husband first cut and stacked at the back and side of the house) - which was a good thing apparently, since we got snow yesterday.  I love work like this; it can be very meditative for me.  I am so happy to have a body that works well, with no major aches and pains, in cooperation with my mind and spirit.  During my last pregnancy I was so incredibly sore for a good number of months that I really understood how difficult it must be to live with chronic pain that never goes away.  At least I knew, or hoped, that mine would subside once this lovely little being finally emerged into the world.  I cannot imagine suffering like that with no end in sight.  I will offer the insight, however, that meditation helped me tremendously with the pain, on the days I had the wherewithal to make myself sit mindfully still for at least ten minutes. 

Mon., Jan 9:  I give thanks for the weather!  The snow was lovely, and it's nice to have a change of seasons, change of scenery, change of ambience, and yes, even a change of temperature.  It's so silly when we complain about the weather, and some people always seem to want it to be something other than what it is.  I love it all.  True, I'm a bit wimpy about the cold in wintertime, however, I have my awesome wood stove and that makes it so much more enjoyable.  I love keeping the fire burnin'.

meditation for sanity

ten minutes of stillness each day makes all the difference in the world.  to keep me from killing my family - just kidding :)     but really, life is stressful, especially when you're trying to balance so many roles and responsibilities.  now, generally speaking, i'm not an angry person, or one to just fly off the handle.  in fact, i have been told in the past that i have the patience of a saint.  but lately, it seems i've been losing my ground.  there has been a lot of yelling going on in the house.  this is hard to admit publicly, but i know most families probably have those moments.  it doesn't feel good.  when i can see myself from the outside, i think "whoa, who is that?!"  and i've heard myself saying way too often "aaaah, you guys are driving me crazy!"  the forces of evil are trying to infiltrate our (mostly) peaceful and lovely home.  we are all fire-y in this family.  i have been praying for help to use my fire to warm people, not hurt them.  so much of it lies in how you say something to someone.  this is very important to remember, whenever possible.  you can say the exact same thing two totally different ways, and it will be received quite differently depending on how it is delivered.

so, my routine has been to make a fire in the morning after atom leaves for work (i get up with him at 4:45 a.m.!) and meditate, sit quietly, whatever you wish to call it for a good ten minutes or so.  and i finish with a wish or two, or a few...  if i don't do it first thing, i try to make sure it happens fairly early in the day.  i haven't done this regularly for a few years now, sad to say.  i've been back at it for 3 weeks or so, and it really does make all the difference in the world.  when a stressful situation arises, i stay calm; even if the impulse arises in me to fly off the handle, i usually catch it before i blow.  and there is a difference in my way, my tone of voice, my body language.  i am the peacekeeper, the mediator.  i can help those around me to stay calm & see their way through conflict to resolve.  i love it.  i love my family.

have you had any experience with this?

high fructose corn syrup - gotta give it up

i've already heard many bad things about high fructose corn syrup, and yet in the past couple years i've slipped again and have been ignoring it to some extent. pick and choose your battles as they say. yes, i've had my fair share of cokes and candies and other seemingly delicious products over the past few years. and have even dropped my guard enough to allow my daughter to consume some of these sinful items as well, on occasion. not anymore. this battle has begun again. and it is difficult, because it is in everything. read your ingredient labels.

why is it bad? for one, in layman's terms, and from my own research and common sense, the pesticides used on non-organic corn are some of the absolute worst. research atrazine, to begin with. unless you are committed to eating organic (at least your produce), you are consuming alot of pesticides. why is that bad? from an article titled The Dangers of Pesticides to Humans on purezing.com: "Pesticides effects on humans are damage to the nervous system, reproductive system and other organs, developmental and behavioral abnormalities, disruption of hormone function as well as immune dysfunction." read the full article. especially if you have children.

i believe that high fructose corn syrup is directly related for a panoply of health problems that have inundated our society during my lifetime, including obesity and autism. the incidence of autism has sky-rocketed in the past 20 to 30 years, this just happens to coincide with the period when HFCS started being put into everything. do your own research, there is plenty of information out there. a really great video on youtube by dr. vincent bellanzi addresses HFCS and the dangers of processed 'foods' in general.

well, now, some researchers are coming out with a study announcing that toxic levels of mercury have been found in high fructose corn syrup, which has found its way pervasively into our 'food chain' over the past 30-35 years or so. it is the 2nd or 3rd ingredient in so much of what the average person consumes, including sodas, candies, salad dressings, barbeque sauce, jam, yogurt, gatorade, nutra-grain cereal bars, and the list goes on... read an article on it by reuters uk that goes into more detail. or you can watch or listen to a segment on this, (and the recent story that came out about salmonella-contaminated peanuts that were shipped out by a georgia plant) on democracy now!. there is some really great specific information in this segment about how this mercury got into the HFCS and the FDA's role in this.

there are tons of chemicals in the foods most people typically eat. in my opinion, the FDA and the AMA have been conducting a mass experiment on the american people over the past 50 to 60 years. what we call 'organic' farming today used to be the norm. but that's the subject for another post.

the bottom line is, we all indulge from time to time, but there are so many delicious, truly healthful things you can eat. overall, a good rule of thumb is this: the ingredient list should be short. if you can eat whole, organic grains, fruits, and vegetables, locally grown when possible, and foods with the least amount of processing and preservatives possible, your body, heart, & mind will thank you.