Stress Buster

I've spent this week working on two writing jobs and I must admit that my creative index is a little low at the moment. I was starting to stress out about what I was going to post this week - and after talking about stress last week I should have read my own advice. But then what do I find in my e-mail in-box but this wonderful gem that I'm going to use for my post this week.

The English language can be tough for non-English speakers to learn. It can be tough for native speakers too since there are so many sound-alike words that have different meanings. This e-mail takes a humorous look at some of them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did (I just love these kinds of word play). Thanks Carla!

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U.C.L.A.

The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

A will is a dead giveaway.

A backward poet writes inverse.

A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France , and resulted in linoleum blownapart.

He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

A calendar's days are numbered.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Acupuncture: a jab well done.

Too Much Stress

I don’t remember who told me this, but when I’m stressing out (something most of us do too often) I try to follow it: “Don’t sweat the petty stuff and don’t pet the sweaty stuff.”

Let’s face it, life can come at you pretty hard these days. I’m still looking for a job but that doesn’t stop the bills from coming in. Listening to the news I know I’m not the only one trying to make ends meet. Money must be one of the biggest stressors in a lot of people’s lives. There are so many things that add stress: your job (or lack of one), your family, medical issues, bills, news, and who knows how many more things I could list. No wonder so many people have trouble sleeping or battle high blood pressure.

But are we truly dealing with what is really important? Probably not. It is so easy to let things get the in way of what you should be doing or thinking about. I think it’s something about not being able to see the forest for the trees. Life is about the journey, not the destination. We need to remember to try and enjoy our journey.

OK you say, where in this [insert expletive here] world is there something to enjoy? Well, I can’t tell you. Instead just stop for a minute and look around you. Let me give you an example: I had to drive somewhere during rush-hour traffic. The road was more of a slow moving parking lot than an intrastate highway. I was stressed out because I was going to be late, people kept trying to cut me off, the person in the car in front of me wasn’t going fast enough, etc. Then I looked out my window at the concrete barrier between the two sides of the highway. There growing from a crack in the concrete was a small plant (OK, weed), but it had a lovely bunch of purple flowers on it. My point is this: take a minute and look around you – even in the midst of concrete and asphalt you can find something beautiful.

I’m not saying that you need to go out and start looking for flowers. What I am advising is that you stop for a minute or two during your day and look for something that makes you feel happy. For example, animals can be great therapy. Studies have found that petting a dog or cat can lower blood pressure. Here’s an article that has quite a bit of information on how animals can improve our lives. Some other ideas: share a joke with a friend, read a cartoon, look out the window, hug a family member, or read a book. Want some more ideas? Check out this Web site for a long list of suggestions.

What’s something that I do? Well, one thing that I enjoy is photography, so if I can, I go take pictures. Here’s one that I took the other day:

Ignorance is bliss

I worry that we are becoming a nation of blind people. By blind I don’t mean that we are unable to see, but rather that we lack the ability, and especially the knowledge, to see. The knowledge I fear that has been lost to us is common sense and critical thinking.

Let’s start with public schools. I know that they are failing our children (who are the future of our country) because of something that happened to a friend of mine. He supervises a small staff of warehouse workers, many in their early 20’s. His employees know that he reads a lot (he generally reads a book during lunch), and one day one of the young men there asked him “What are stars?” This young man has a high school education and doesn’t know what a star is (and I’m not talking about the ones in Hollywood)! Another friend of mine got a job teaching at a brand new high school. He told me about his ‘adventures’ there: no books for students (generally there is just a set in the classroom for the students to look at during class), no homework given to students (he was told “they don’t do it anyway, so why assign it to them”), unruly students and limits placed on what teachers can do to discipline them, and that’s just some of what he’s told me.

Humans are not born with the ability to think rationally, it has to be learned. Unfortunately with a steady diet of video games (generally violent), commercial television (look at how families are portrayed), and movies (a co-worker once told me that if stuff wasn’t blowing up in the first 30 seconds that the movie was no good), I have little faith in the future of our society.

Ignorance is a dangerous thing. And things are not being helped by the fact that most television news programs and newspapers are now owed by mega-corporations. Have you ever noticed how no matter what nightly news show you turn to they are all showing the same thing – at the same time? Heck, they even have commercials at the same time! By using a “cookie-cutter” approach it makes it easy for the owners to produce the shows. Unfortunately it also makes it easy to control what information is made available to the public, and what real and vital information is withheld from the public. I did a post on January 1, 2008, about New Years Resolutions, take a look at my fourth suggestion for a list of alternative sources for information.

We as a nation have to do better. We are failing our children. Our educational ranking, as compared to other nations, has been slipping for some time. There is an organization called the National Education Association, they have some interesting things to say about public schools and education. Lastly, because of the Federal No Child Left Behind program, teachers are just teaching students how to pass a test, not the things they need to know to survive in the real world

Wish I could end this on a better note. Parents have a lot on their plates and so many work multiple jobs just to make ends meet which gives them little quality time to spend with their kids. Families are scattered and often don’t have the support of grandparents, aunts, or uncles to help with raising the next generation. There are some volunteer organizations out there, maybe that’s a start.

Bitten by a bug

This is not the Blog I had in mind for this week, but like many people at this time of year I’ve been bitten by a bug. No, I’m not talking about the small, flying type of bug like a mosquito, but rather the stealthy type that hops from person to person. I’m not sure who I should thank for this cold or flu or some combination of both that has felled me, but they could have kept it to themselves.

Now, I’m not a doctor nor should my advice be used in place of sound medical advice, but there are a lot of common sense things to do when you are under the weather. Some people call them folk remedies, naturopathic, or homeopathic medicines, but whatever you call them keep this in mind: for most of the history of humanity we did not have modern pharmaceutical companies producing wonder drugs, instead we used plants, minerals, and foods to cure what ailed us. Our ancestors must have known something or we wouldn’t be here.

The proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria should also be a warning to us that we rush to the doctor for antibiotics much too often. Heck, a cold or flu is not even caused by bacteria but rather a virus – and you can’t cure a virus with an antibiotic. Next time you’re bitten by a bug try some common sense folk remedies instead. They will lessen the symptoms just a well as some “wonder drug”, will cost a lot less, and probably be better for you anyway (have you ever read the drug fact sheet that comes with your prescription? those things scare me more than what made me sick to begin with!).

One of the simplest things to do is have some chicken soup. Many cultures over the ages have been feeding this to folks sick with a cold or flu. Don’t believe me, check out this article – it even comes with a handy recipe. It is simple, soothing, lessens your symptoms, and requires no FDA warnings.

What if you have a lot of congestion? Did you know that milk makes mucus? Now I love milk and when I’m sick a quick bowl of cereal is easy to fix. However, a very wise lady warned me about this, but not believing her at first I tested it out much to my discomfort. Here’s a Web article stating the same thing, plus it has a whole long list of other good advice. Looking for a quick way to open up those blocked sinuses? Try steam. Something as simple as a hot bath or shower can do wonders to open up your sinuses. Add some lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus to aid the process.

Now I know it’s the American way to work no matter what, but I wish people would stay home with their illness instead of sharing it with everyone, especially in the early stages when you are so very contagious. And I especially ‘enjoy’ shaking hands with someone who then (after letting me shake their hand) goes on to tell me how sick they are. Ugh!

If you or someone you love is not feeling well here are a couple of other Web sites with more good advice and remedies. This one has tons of advice for colds or flu, while this one includes some advice for herbs that may help prevent or reduce the effect of the bug. Common sense is the best remedy for simple illness. Save the doctor for the big stuff. Oh, if you need a doctor that knows a lot about natural and homeopathic medicines, check out Dr. Samuel Mason.