T H O U G H T S ?
DO ANY OF THESE STRATEGIES WORK FOR YOU?
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
Don’t tell anybody, but I turn to music to feel better in almost any situation, You?
(My thanks to Polly Castor for the graphic.)
FEEL BETTER
Who Cares - What Matters
T H O U G H T S ?
DO ANY OF THESE STRATEGIES WORK FOR YOU?
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
Don’t tell anybody, but I turn to music to feel better in almost any situation, You?
(My thanks to Polly Castor for the graphic.)
FEEL BETTER
In the 1990s, some researchers observed that French people—despite eating lots of saturated fat—tended to have low rates of heart disease. Dubbing this phenomenon the “French paradox,” the researchers speculated that regular wine consumption may be protecting their hearts from disease.
A little later, in the early-2000s, evidence began to pile up tying Mediterranean-style eating and drinking patterns with longer lifespans. One component of these diets that got a lot of attention was the consumption of wine—red wine, in particular.
Even among people who ate healthy Mediterranean diets, those who also drank wine regularly and in moderate amounts—a glass or two a day, usually red and usually with meals—lived longer than heavier or lighter drinkers, some of the research concluded. One study found that middle-aged Italian men who drank up to five glasses of wine a day—almost all of it red—tended to live longer than men who drank more or less alcohol.
Almost 30 years have passed since those early “red wine is good for you” studies came to light. While some newer research on saturated fat makes the French paradox seem a little less paradoxical—that is, there’s some disagreement about whether saturated is truly unhealthy—public and scientific interest in red wine’s longevity benefits is still strong.
Unfortunately, the evidence supporting those benefits is mixed.
For example, a 2017 review in the journal Circulation found that the bulk of evidence suggests that low-to-moderate red wine consumption is good for the heart. And there’s a lot of research linking light, regular drinking—not just of red wine, but of any alcohol—to longer lifespans. On the other hand, a studypublished last year in The Lancet concluded that even very small amounts of alcohol raise a drinker’s risk for cancer and early death.
Findings are inconsistent, but researchers are searching for explanations. “It’s been hard to tease out why small amounts of alcohol seem to be linked with decreases in various diseases,” says Aaron White, a senior scientific advisor with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. While red wine has gotten a lot of attention, he says there’s evidence that any type of alcohol, as long as it’s consumed in moderation, may confer longevity benefits.
“Alcohol could be beneficial through biological mechanisms like increasing [healthy] HDL cholesterol, affecting clotting mechanisms and blood platelets, or [having] effects on the vascular system,” says Dr. Claudia Kawas, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Irvine whose research has found that some of the oldest-living adults tend to drink alcohol in moderation.
But one of the challenges in assessing the health effects of red wine (or any other type of alcohol) is the fact that other lifestyle variables can muddy the evidence. For example, a 2006 study published in the BMJ examined people’s grocery purchases and found that wine drinkers tended to buy healthier foods than beer drinkers. If the average wine drinker eats more healthfully than most, that could explain away some of the longevity benefits linked to vino.
“It may be that the association has nothing to do with alcohol consumption, but rather with things that may travel along with alcohol consumption,” Kawas says. People who drink alcohol may simply socialize more, she offers, which comes with health benefits, and they may not have illnesses that would discourage drinking. These are all possible explanations for the link between longevity and alcohol consumption.
But there are some unique components of red wine—which are not found in other types of alcohol—that may be especially healthy.
Red wine is packed with bioactive compounds, including a number of flavonoids and phenols that research has independently tied to various health benefits. In particular, a lot of the red wine studies have focused on the effects of resveratrol, a compound found in the skin of grapes. “The concentration of polyphenols, and more specifically resveratrol, is 10-fold higher in red wine than in other alcoholic drinks,” says Dr. Adrian Baranchuk, a professor of medicine at Queen’s University in Canada and coauthor of the 2017 Circulationstudy on red wine.
Studies have tied resveratrol to improved heart health and longevity, and there’s evidence that resveratrol may combat inflammation and help improve blood health. But a lot of this evidence has come from animal or lab models, and some research on humans has failed to find any effects from resveratrol.
Still, focusing on specific red wine compounds may be missing the forest for the trees. “There are hundreds of different chemicals in alcoholic drinks, and it may well be the net effect of these chemicals as much as the alcohol itself [that provides a benefit],” says Dr. Paul Gow, a liver transplant physician with Australia’s Austin Health who has examined the research on red wine and health. Gow says red wine seems to be associated with “the most benefits.” But again, the findings are conflicting.
“It’s entirely possible that wine consumption has some added benefits,” White says. “But it’s a complicated issue, and it’s been hard to tease out answers.” At this point, he says there’s not enough data to recommend that drinkers switch to red wine—or that non-drinkers take up alcohol in order to extend their life.
“Despite hundreds of studies,” he adds, “there are things we just don’t know.”
B U T
There are things we do Know
There are things we are most certain
That no matter what we eat
That no matter what we drink
That no matter what meds we take
That no matter what Doctors we see
That no matter what therapies we try
That no matter what Medical Communities we visit
That no matter what interventions we attempt
One out of One of US
D I E S
Get Remembered?
Be a wave that becomes an everlasting-never-ending Ripple that becomes an eternal Tsunami rearranging shores and changing landscapes. . .
Be A Caring Catalyst
Be more than a pulse
Be more than an inhaled/exhaled breath
Be more than just another quickend heartbeat
Be A Caring Catalyst
Change yourself
Changes others and the World
. . .that’ll go a very long way
past the etched dates/dash
on your tombstone. . .
BE THE DIFFERENCE
Be the Difference
between
STAYING ALIVE
and
BEING ALIVE
T O A S T
to
THAT
C H E E R S
It happens every year about
T H I S T I M E,
doesn’t it?
We are all encouraged to get a Flu Shot
to keep down the chances of getting the Flu
and feeling worse than a bad Winter Day for days on End. . .
. . .and here’s the real frustration—
no matter how much we scrub,
no matter how much PURELL we bathe or lather ourselves. . .
we still get THAT Cold
or THAT Virus
or THAT Flu. . .
and oh by the way,
the Holidays have a way of really beating you up
even more
because we are c e l e b r a t i n g,
l i v i n g
out of our element. . .
How about trying a little C O M P A S S I O N
on for some Immune System Protection?
Seriously?
Uhhhhhhh,
it’s NOT the what the survey says
so much as what the S T U D I E S S H O W
The data originated from Emory Collaborative for Contemplative Studies, whose researchers discovered that individuals who practice compassionate acts and empathy may benefit by reductions in inflammatory and biological responses from stress which might indeed, weaken one’s immune system:
‘WHEN EVENTS IN LIFE LEAVE US STRESSED, CORTISOL AND INTERLEUKIN-6 USUALLY INCREASE, ESPECIALLY IF THE SITUATIONS ARE LONG-LASTING AND WE CANNOT SHAKE OFF THE STRESS. BUT ENTERING INTO COMPASSIONATE ACTS OF KINDNESS AND EMPATHY BUFFERS THE EFFECTS OF STRESSFUL LIFE SITUATIONS, NOT ONLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY BY MAKING US FEEL BETTER, BUT ALSO PHYSICALLY BY REDUCING THE ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL AGENTS OF POTENTIAL ILLNESS IN OUR BODIES, THEREBY PROTECTING US FROM’
–w a i t f o r i t–
I L L N E S S
Beats taking the needle, doesn’t it?
Who would have ever imagined. . .
Opening a door
Smiling
Tipping
Complimenting
Listening
Giving
Caring
and especially the E T C . . .
(which are C O U N T L E S S)
had health benefits for the
G I V E R
and the
R E C E I V E R ?
Compassion absolutely comes in many forms
and it enhances our lives and those around us. . .
That is why it’s one of the driving forces
behind people who go out of their ways
to take care of the environment and animals
and best of all—-
E A C H O T H E R
The best medicine there can be
won’t be found in a bottle,
a syringe,
an intervention or treatment but
Y O U
Unleash The Cure
May the Compassion Cure
begin with YOU
(for the Health of it)
Do it. . .
Try it. . .
I DARE YOU
I Double Dare You. . .
I–CHRISTMAS STORY–TRIPLE–DOG–DARE–YOU
TO
(B E)
F E E L B E T T E R !
It just may be the greatest
h o l i d a y g i f t
you may give
or actually receive
this (UN) flu
S E A S O N. . .
And so there it is. .
.
My poor left knee. . .
Most likely more than you wanted or needed to see, huh. . .
And yet it shows the painful truth that at nearly
6 3
I have arthritis
and I am bone on bone
because of all the years of running;
Hmmmmmm and here I thought I was actually taking care of myself. . .
It wasn’t the 8 marathons
so much the
T R A I N I N G
for the 8 marathons
AND ffter having a really rough time getting in and out of a car
climbing up and down stairs
getting out of a chair
or even walking comfortably
I finally
with the advice of my family doctor
went to see in orthopedic surgeon. . .
He confirmed what my knees were screaming:
‘your knees maybe nearly 63 years of age but they look like a 95-year-old man’s. . .
O U C H
~~Literally~~O U C H
. . . after talking and confirming the obvious
we talk different plans and maybe different interventions
The least invasive was
getting a Cortizone shot
(It was painless)
and even more so
before I actually got off the examination table
I was pain-free for the first time in 3+ years. . .
I N C R E D I B L E
It kind of got me to thinking though. . .
if I can take a shot for something like this
and alleviate this physical pain
that I have Night and day
and worsened under certain conditions. . .
Is there such a shot intervention for the pain in the
S O U L. . .
I believe you’ve experienced that
I believe without going to a physician
or counselor
you can have that even at this very second;
I believe it can last longer than three weeks
or three months or
possibly even six months at its best. . .
I believe it has no downside
no side effects
and the only bad reaction
is limited to how often I apply
or take the treatment/intervention/therapy. . .
It’s the most effective,
least evasive,
absolutely cheapest,
without a doubt the best guaranteed treatment available. . .
In fact it not only what makes a soul,
A SOUL
But it’s also what
D E F I N E S I T :
C O M P A S S I O N
If it were possible to take an x-ray of the soul
each and everyone
would contain this element of compassion
and the only obstacle would be how we dispense it
and how often we do. . .
And this is where we believe the L I E S :
COMPASSION can only be dispensed very sparingly or else it will cease to be compassion
or very effective compassion. .
.
THAT
Every once in a while compassion is all that’s needed
not each time or one time but every time. . .
The shot of compassion normally does another soul good
but
E S P E C I A L L Y
THE O N E S O U L
which dispenses it even better with greater effects. . .
THIS COMPASSION
(GIVEN)
absolutely has no limit;
no shelf life
no expiration date
W H E N
GIVEN and RECEIVED
f r e e l y
not just magical
but miraculous things
take place to both the Giver and the Receiver
The B A D N E W S :
T H A T
Will never show up on an x-ray
or an MRI
or a blood test;
there will never really be a device
a mechanism
and instrument
that’ll ever be able to measure
I T
but there won’t be a device
and instrument
a mechanism
that will ever be able to deny it. . .
Some of this out giving
Of C O M P A S S I O N
from your soul to another soul
may not be able to be completely measured;
B U T
it will be absolutely
unequivocally
undeniably
not just received
but wonderfully
E X P E R I E N C E D
Uhhhhhhhh, Yeah. . .
I don’t want to shot of that
(I WANT AN OVER DOSE)
Pssssssssssssssbsssst, R E M E M B E R:
Pay Attention, Class:
This past Wednesday afternoon
there was a small gathering of staff in the Atrium
at David Simpson House House on
East 185th Street
to celebrate a very important
Member of the Hospice Staff
Tallulah
She’s been a therapy dog at The House for the past seven years
and it would be impossible to try to calculate
just how many lives—
patients. . .
families. . .
staff. . .
Tallulah has not just touched
but inspired—
patients. . .
families. . .
staff. . .
to also reach out and
T O U C H
We all gathered together
and surrounded her in a-not-so-perfect
c i r c l e
and while Tallulah was in the center
chewing on a treat
Dr. Kevin Dieter
led us in a unison reading,
TO LEARN FROM ANIMAL BEING:
Nearer to the earth’s heart, Deeper within its silence; Animals know this world in a way we never will.
We who are ever Distanced and distracted by the parade of bright windows thought opens; their seamless presence is not fractured thus.
Stranded between time gone and time emerging, we managed seldom to be where we are: Whereas they are always looking out from the here and now.
May we learn to return and rest in the beauty of animal being, Learn to lean low, leave our locked minds, and with freed senses feel the earth breathing with us.
May we enter into lightness of spirit, and slip frequently into the feel of the wild.
Let the clear silence of our animal being; cleanse our hearts of corrosive words.
May we learn to walk upon the earth with all their confidence and clear-eyed stillness so that our minds might be baptized in the name of the wind and the light and the rain.
One by One
each of us
by instinct
rather than instruction
left the circle and went into the middle
and gave her our own
little blessing that only
a heart can shout
and a mouth can’t begin to whisper
. . .I stood there and noticed
that eyes were weeping
what tissues can’t ever quite absorb
and chose not to think it was some kind of a
meaningful, sincere
G O O D B Y E
as a much more
intentional
devout
T H A N K Y O U
Tallulah
was making her last visit to the House
but not giving us her
Final Lesson. . .
Her Last Lecture
if we are Student enough to
l e a r n:
J u s t
S H O W I N G U P
B E I N G P R E S E N T
brings a
h e a l i n g
not found in an
intervention
therapy
prescription
plan of care
I V
syringe
pill
capsule
s a l v e. . .
And like her. . .
makes us the
BEST IN SHOW
Willie Morris wrote a book called
MY DOG SKIP
The Family Movie came out in 2000
As I was standing in that most sacred-imperfect Circle
the ending scene came to mind:
Good Bye?
THANK YOU?
For now
and
for an ever
May the Peace that
Tallulah
has brought to many
now be that
Profound Peace
she’ll enjoy
f o r e v e r m o r e
as she crosses over
The Rainbow Bridge
but never out of our hearts.
I don’t know. . .
is a terrible answer.
Does I don’t know ever sit well with anyone, for anyone?
Does I don’t know ever make the heart beat lighter, the mind more peaceful, the soul more settled after a room full of Doctor’s all through out the day parade in, giving theories, hypothesis, checking, re-checking, testing, re-testing and after IT all
I DON’T KNOW
is the end all answer Erin and I were given after five seizures, five nights at Cleveland Clinic, numerous tests, a spinal tap, blood work and more worry than two mixed up minds could possible comprehend.
“BUT SOMETIMES, SOMETIMES, ‘I DON’T KNOW’ is the only answer there really is,” the Doctor told us before we went home.
He told us to take solace in all of the things we now know IT IS NOT: A mass or tumor, a hemorrhage or a bleed, or a stroke.
Maybe we’ve come to expect too much when it comes to our modern day medicine and our sophisticated ways of diagnosing and prognosing infections and diseases?
But out of all of the Punctuation we use or is used against us, none is more haunting or frustrating than
THE QUESTION MARK
In the three weeks, home now from the hospital, there have been a few more question marks that have arisen but most of them have become more vapor-like because as the Doctor’s promised,
“These symptoms of the headaches, ear pressure, dizziness and endurance will diminish over the next three weeks, going along with our theory that it was a viral infection that we just can’t prove in the lab.”
So life. . .like it so often does,
from the Mt Everest’s to the Dead Seas
goes on. . .
The clock’s have ticked their Toc’s
The Calendar pages have been ripped away and discarded
The Sun has risen and the moon has become full
Medicines have been taken
Meals eaten,
L I F E G O E S O N
with Periods, Commas, Exclamation points, Hyphens, Semi-Colons,
QUESTION MARKS
. . .and that IT GOES ON
dims. . .if not in fact, eliminates the
?
making the other side of the sheets a little more bearable
(This is the third installment of four of the ROUGH SIDE OF THE SHEETS: These are some of lessons experienced, learned, and how hopefully, shared. It’s my hope that you enjoy these journey-ings, and more, take the time to share a few of yours so that we can all learn a little more about those razor blade laden sheets…and in the sharing, soften them a little)
Commercials have just one purpose and one purpose only, don’t they?
TO SELL. . .LOTS!
To be sure, it costs lots to advertise so there is much done to assure that the very highest returns are going to be about as guaranteed as possible.
Commercials during the Holidays have the same, purpose–to SELL–unless. . . .
I remember listening to Jimmy Durante in my grandparents home. We use to make fun of his album covers and his humongous “S C H N O Z.”
I remember, in particular this song, MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
I remember, in particular being told that IT was the easiest thing to do–make someone happy.
I remember, in particular being SHOWN IT was the easiest thing to happen–being made happy.
We often get it wrong, don’t we? We think that it’s a huge World-wide project–it’s NOT.
It’s NOT about the World or a Country. . .
It’s NOT about a State or a Town. . .
It’s NOT about a neighborhood or even the street you live on. . .
IT is just about A Person!
Just ONE SINGLE PERSON. . .
The ONE closest to you,
The next ONE meet,
The next ONE you happen to run into wherever you might be.
NO ONE ELSE CAN DO FOR ANOTHER WHAT IT IS THAT YOU CAN DO!
(That should be enough to make your HAPPY SELF spill over and splash many who happen to be in YOUR Range)
Commercials have just one purpose and only one purpose. . .until they don’t. . .and then you don’t so much buy, but BUY IN.
Here’s to BUYING IN to what Amazon Prime never stocks and Coca-Cola will never quite quench–that which seems so very much enhanced this time of the year: HAPPINESS!
May it be that one PANDEMIC that we never recover–whatever the Season.
May it be that YOU are an infected carrier for which there is no antidotes, medications, interventions or cures.
MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
And then try, defy yourself NOT to be Happy as well.
Now THAT’S a Ripple that’s endless–
Look at YOU!