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Posts Tagged ‘Top ten’

  1. How to Soothe Body, Mind and Soul to Promote Healing

    November 15, 2015 by Diane

     

    Comfortable homey scene: Book on a tray with a candle

    I spent all of last week fighting a severe cold.

    Not fighting, really. Just lying in bed while it pummeled me.

    Some folks are masters at riding out a cold. Me? I’m cowed by the swagger of it. I crumble under its weight, pinned to the mattress, my world narrowed to the confines of my anxious mind. Without defenses to act as filter, the “what if” thoughts gain traction and I lie curled in my warm blanket believing that all of those books I’ve read on mindfulness and healing and treatments and nutrition are bunk. All of those words of wisdom didn’t slay the dragon. The dragon won.

    Oh, boo hoo. Cue the violin. The cello. The bass, for cryin’ out loud.

    Disgusted, I rise up. I’m done being sick! The surge of anger propels me to my feet, fumbling for thick socks, tucking a muffler around my throat, unwrapping a menthol lozenge, pulling on boots and jacket, flinging open the door and blinking at the thin winter sun, grateful for the blue sky. I walk the neighborhood and fill my senses with the signs of life. Life is bigger than the dragon. Life is everywhere. It’s in the oak trees that hold onto their stiff curled leaves. It’s in the squirrels dashing though fence holes carrying acorns in their jaws. It’s in the carload of children shoving each other in the back seat. It’s in the mossy roofs and the falcon cruising overhead with an eye for a thick brown mouse. It’s in the free little library stuffed with worn paperbacks that lean on each other for support. I saunter through the neighborhood and return home renewed in spirit but tired in body, my lymph glands swollen and painful from the work of draining, draining, draining.

    There is always something to buckle our knees from behind. We prepare ourselves for the worst and hope for the best. It’s the only way.

    When you’re feeling under the weather, here are ten steps to soothe your body, mind and soul as you weather the storm:

    1. Watch your thinking. Are your thoughts of the dreadful variety? Dwell on the opposite. For five minutes. Then ten. Then twenty. Be Shirley Temple at heart, Scarlett O’Hara in determination. Tell yourself: “I can choose to focus on my anxious thoughts, or I can choose to do what I can for myself in this moment to feel better.” Tell yourself: “I can choose to worry about this or I can be mindful of these thoughts and not spiral into the bottomless pit of anxiety.”
    2. Infuse yourself with healing energy. Here’s a short Qigong exercise to cleanse your lungs and clear away feelings of lethargy and sadness. Or try some of Donna Eden’s healing techniques, like this one to help a sore throat. If nothing else, her joyous vibe is a balm.
    3. Focus on what you love. The scruffy cat curled next to you. The man in the kitchen washing dishes. That kid who dreams of becoming an astronaut.
    4. Surround yourself with comfort. A soft blanket, your terrycloth robe, a book within arm’s reach, a fuzzy teddybear.
    5. Distract yourself. Watch funny movies. Read feel-good novels. I recommend The Rosie Project, anything by P.G. Wodehouse, or anything by Rosamunde Pilcher. Listen to audio books. Anything to distract you, to lift you from your lonely self.
    6. Take in nourishment. Warm broths. Herbal teas. Oatmeal. A protein smoothie. When you read, take in the inspirational words. When you walk, take in the abundance of life. Take in the memory of that fine day at the beach when a seagull kept you company and the waves rolled gently on the white sand.
    7. Let go. There’s nothing you need to do except allow your body to heal. You’re tired, so give in to the mattress. Let go of the body tension. Let go of those depressing thoughts that scratch at your throat.
    8. Drink up. Lots of water to flush away the virus lingering in the hallways of your immune system.
    9. Do self-soothing activities. Nap. Draw. Doodle. Write without regard to a finished product. Do crossword puzzles. Sip warm water. Meditate. Pray. Talk to someone who cares: your mother, your sister, your best friend, your lover, your spouse, your inner wise self, God. Whatever soothes the soul is good medicine.
    10. Look to the future. Tell yourself: “I look forward to feeling strong and healthy again.” Tell yourself: “This is a temporary situation and I will rise again.” Tell yourself: “I’m healing. I’m mending. I’m so over this friggin’ cold.” Buckle the knees of that dragon and gouge out it’s red eyes. The dragon is a bit player in your life’s comedy. Refuse to give it a starring role.

     

    And you? How do you soothe yourself when feeling under the weather?

    Category Fer Cryin' Out Loud | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 10 Comments

  2. How One Obscenely Large Crow Turned Me Into A Vegan Overnight

    July 5, 2015 by Diane

     

    Cartoon ravens talking

    I can name a dozen reasons why I decided to choose a whole-foods lifestyle. I’ve listed ten, below. But there’s only one thing that convinced me to make the switch from carnivore to herbivore overnight.

    An obscenely large crow.

    How obscenely large?

    Try…a crow who smokes cigars and struts around in a pinstripe suit and hat.

    That crow was in my backyard, dining on a rat.

    At first, I didn’t realize it was a rat. I just saw Mr. Crow machine-gunning something with his beak, and that something leaping into the air trying to get away. I thought, My God, it’s eating a squirrel! I marched outside to shoo the crow away, and skidded to a stop.

    If there’s one thing I dislike more than crows, it’s rats. And that pecked pecker was definitely one big honkin’ rat.

    This is nature in progress, I told myself. This is an example of dining out on the food chain.

    But the rat was STILL ALIVE! (And there may have been some entrails involved.)

    I spun around and fled to my cottage and closed the blinds and shouted to the empty room, “That’s it! I’m not eating meat anymore.”

    I had already given up diary (lactose intolerance) and gluten (gluten intolerance) so officially, I was announcing my veganism to the world (barnyard animal intolerance). I’ll admit, it took another month for me to get into the swing of eating the whole-foods way. But now, two weeks in, I can honestly say…hmm.

    And…I kinda like this.

    And…hey, I’ve got my pep back! I’m not snoozing at my desk at three-o’clock in the afternoon.

    So, for all of you who are curious about why someone would swear off meat and dairy, here are the top ten reasons why I chose to go vegan.

    1. The aforementioned crow.

    2. The butcher at Safeway. When I went shopping for ground turkey, he appeared, with bloody fingerprints on his white lab coat. Now, I have it on good authority that it wasn’t blood; it was the red dye butchers use to make meat look…bloodier. Still, it looked like blood, and that’s one thing I didn’t need to eyeball when planning my dinner menu.

    3. I’d rather get my protein from a living organism than a dead one. Nuts grow into trees. Seeds grow into plants. Even the lowly potato keeps sprouting things after it’s harvested. Dead animals? Dead meat. That energy is kaput. Oh sure, a chicken’s body will dash around for awhile after its head is removed. But by the time that carcass is plucked and packaged and shipped and cooked and served on your mother’s best china, it’s dead, with a trace of lingering adrenaline the poor bird released right before it was whacked. I’m manufacturing plenty of adrenaline on my own thank you very much; I don’t need to imbibe more.

    4. What do cows eat? Grain. What do chickens and turkeys eat? Seeds. I’m skipping the middleman and eating direct.

    5. It’s cheaper. Unless I’m shopping at Whole Foods.

    6. I can buy the bulk of my dietary needs outdoors, at the Farmer’s Market. No fluorescent lights. No canned music from the 80’s. No employees who don’t have a clue about the food they’re stocking. I’ve sung my praises of the outer aisles here.

    7. I have more energy. (See # 3 above.)

    8. I sleep better. Can’t explain that one, but I’m eternally grateful.

    9. I feel cleaner inside. My digestive system is happier. It doesn’t feel like I’m churning lard through my guts.

    And last but not least…

    10. When Vegans pass gas, it doesn’t stink. It says so, right in the literature, and I’m standing by it. If you happen to be standing by, you’ll notice: my farts don’t stink. This alone makes the world a better place.

    Want to learn more about eating the whole-foods way? I recommend the following books:

    The Forks Over Knives Plan by Alona Pulde, MD and Matthew Lederman, MD

    My Beef with Meat by Rip Esselstyn

    and the DVDs:

    Forks Over Knives, Virgil Films and Entertainment

    The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn

    Category Fer Cryin' Out Loud | Tags: ,,, | 8 Comments

  3. Feeling socially awkward? Take some tips from Twitter

    April 26, 2015 by Diane

    Twitter bird

    Twitter is a hugely popular social media site. There’s something appealing about schmoozing with total strangers in 140 character increments. As an introvert, it fits my comfort level.  But what about face-to-face interactions? Could Twitter teach the socially-awkward something about communicating in person? Based on what I’ve observed on the site, here are my top ten do’s and don’ts for making a connection in the flesh.

    1 Do get to the point when talking. With 140 characters, there’s little room for idle chit-chat. On behalf of introverts everywhere, I’ve decided to make this a rule. Get to the point. Nobody wants to hear everything going on in your head. Just the highlights.

    2. Don’t share highly personal information with people you don’t know. Would you approach a group of strangers and blurt out the details about your parents’ divorce? Would you turn to the person squeezed next to you on the subway and tell them you have a cyst on your ovary? No. Why? Because they don’t know you. And they don’t know what to do with that information. It’s best to keep your interactions with strangers light, funny, or helpful. Don’t bleed in the lap of someone you’ve just met.

    3. Don’t expect to have meaningful conversations when you’re in a room packed with 1,650 people who are all shouting at the same time.

    4. Do shut up occasionally, and wander amongst those 1,650 people, and listen. When you hear something interesting (and you will, eventually), tag the person who said it, draw them to the side, and respond.

    5. Don’t approach every person you meet, tell them you’ve just published a book and it’s available on Amazon, and then walk away. People will start to avoid you.

    6, 7 and 8. Do expect to capture the attention of, oh, say a publisher, if you have 5,000 people following you around every day. Especially if they’re eager to pay for whatever wisdom you choose to emit. But don’t pretend that you know anything about those 5,000 people, except maybe the dozen disciples in the closest proximity who can actually hear what you’re saying. Those stragglers in the back? They’re eventually going to stop following you, because hey, where’s the joy in following someone you can’t even see or hear? Don’t take it personally when those stragglers disappear.

    9. Don’t expect to feel nourished when walking past a line of people who have exactly one second to tell you something important.  That’s about as fulfilling as trying to read a constantly changing Twitter feed. Real nourishment comes from having a one-on-one conversation, sharing meaningful ideas.

    10. Don’t be surprised if people take offense when they can’t engage you in conversation. As an equivalent to lining up tweets on HootSuite, theoretically you could wake up early, leave a voicemail or text on the cell phone of everyone you know, and assume that at some point during the day, probably while you’re working your nine-to-five desk job, they’ll hear that message. Alternatively, you could place a cardboard cutout of yourself on every street corner, spouting a tape-recorded monologue. While this technique may be highly appealing to introverts, it doesn’t foster a connection with others. Still, it’s highly appealing. On second thought, let’s make this a do.

    Category Fer Cryin' Out Loud | Tags: ,,,, | 4 Comments

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