What Would The Neighbours Think?

“It’s just too hot to wear clothes today,’’ Jack says as he stepped out of the shower. “Honey, what do you think the neighbours would think if I mowed the lawn like this?’’ 

“Probably that I married you for your money,’’ she replied.

Swallow's Love

A heartrending story of a swallow’s love. Sad, very sad!

Here its wife is injured and the condition is fatal. She was hit by a car earlier as she swooped low across the road.

Here he brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.

He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead. He tried to move her....a rarely-seen effort for swallows!

Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cries with adoring love.

He stood beside her, saddened of her death.. .still crying

Finally aware that she would never return to him, he stood beside her body with sadness and sorrow.

And many people think animals don't have a brain or feelings.

An Attack Of The Blues

Moods are elusive things and they afflict everybody in some shape or form. The only difference is that some of us are more aware of them and managed to control them better than others.

No matter how fortunate or how lucky we are, there are times when life gets us down. It is not always the result of coping with problems and people and our various ups-and-downs, but a feeling deep inside us of restlessness and apprehension.

We may feel discouraged and depressed for no apparent reason; dissatisfied with ourselves and our lives, uncertain of people, and unsure of the future. Like the weather, a ‘fit of blues’, as we often call it, can come upon us quite suddenly taking us out of the sunshine of happiness into a cloud of gloom.

Usually, it does not last long, but departs just as suddenly as other people and the things we have to do distract our attention from ourselves. In the hustle-bustle of life we can carry on being busy without admitting these things to ourselves. 

It is possible, however, to find it happening more frequently and lasting longer and becoming harder and harder to throw off – especially if we are naturally moody individuals.

Small temporary frustrations they may be, but if left to itself, ‘a fit of blues’ will persuade us to think about all the miserable things, the unpleasant people and our failures.

Hence, when we have ‘an attack of the blues’, the first step is to recognize it for what it is – a temporary condition where you feel low, and out of sorts. This might last a day or two and it will disappear as suddenly as it appears.

The next step would be to keep your mind off the situation by engaging in activities which require your attention or concentration. Go to the movies, call up your friends, go for a swim, or a jog. Get busy, do something. 

Whatever you do, do not dwell on the situation. It will only make you feel worse. If you must know what is happening and why it is happening, understand that it is your bio-rhythm at work. 

Just as there are days when we feel great for no apparent reason, there will be days when we fell terrible for no apparent reason. It is all part and parcel of our emotional build up. It afflicts us all, and this will happen throughout our lives.

Inevitably, the ‘fit of blues’ will leave you in a day or two and all will return to normal.

Choose You This Day

Choice. What choices do we have and what do we do with these choices? We can ponder endlessly how much life is predetermined, how we are limited by heredity, intellect, social status, environment, economics. That is not the issue here; nor do I believe that it is important. However limited the choices, what matters is what we do with the choices we have. 

I believe we have a great deal of choice; that most of us do not make the most of these choices and that we tend to live our lives based on other people’s decisions and expectations. I believe that too often we lack the courage to act on our decisions. I believe this freedom to choose is one of the most important aspects of our lives, and that to act responsibly on those choices determines the success or failure of our lives. 

All choice combines freedom with responsibility; they are inseparable. We pay a price for all our decisions and our indecisions, but we have the individual freedom to determine for ourselves when the price is too high. 

Each day bring new opportunities for choice. Each day brings countless decisions to be made. I submit that all choices matter and that the potential for a better life is all around us. It is by the choices we make – the large, the small, the important, and the seemingly trivial, that we determine who we are and the quality of our lives. I believe we become the sum of our choices. 

Let’s talk about choice and some of the areas in which we can exercise our freedom to choose. 

We can choose love. We can decide who matters in our life; we can nurture the relationships we care about. We can make time for the people we love. We can find new people to love. 

Choose to have more love in your life. 

We can choose health – both mental and physical. Again, we choose not from our limitations, but from the freedom we do have. We can choose not to abuse our bodies, how we spend our days. We can choose not to whine about imagined aches and pains. 

Choose good health. 

We can choose to be happy. If you are unhappy, it is your fault. It is your responsibility, no one else’s. If you permit someone to make you unhappy, you choose to do so. I believe we are most influenced by other people in this area; only you know what makes you happiest. 

Choose to be happy. 

We can choose to have fun, to be spontaneous. We can choose to dream. In the words from South Pacific, “If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?” 

Dream your own dream. 

I would persuade you to make choices and have the courage to act on those choices. Remember that choice means to select the best part, to discard that which is not. I would persuade you to make deletions in your life. If someone consistently makes you uncomfortable or unhappy, why are they a part of your life? If you are unhappy with your life, are you looking for ways to make it better? 

Choose what you want in your life and what you do not. 

All choices involve responsibility for those choices. We have to pay our dues. I believe in choice for myself. I believe in choice for other people. I believe we have the right and the freedom to make our own decisions – not from selfish motivations, but from our own uniqueness and integrity. 

We become the sum of our choices. It is your choice..... 

- Jean Cole Stayton 

Stress: Give Vent – Or Just Let Go

Stress, one of the risk factors in heart disease, can be turned into “new energy”. 

The way you handle stress dictates whether you are going to be fired up with energy or constantly suffering fatigue. 

The number one way to energize your body is to tackle stress effectively so that it no longer drains you emotionally and physically. 

As you solve one stress inducing situation your life, your body is fired up with new energy to beat the next stressful situation, and so on. It has a snowball effect. 

First, recognize the fact that you are being affected by stress. Many people do not realize that various physical symptoms are related to some type of stress they are under. 

The most common symptoms suffered by people overloaded with stress are fatigue, muscular aches and pains, headaches, indigestion, bowel cramps, irregular heartbeat and rapid heartbeat. Most feel drained of energy. 

If you are going through a period where you feel you cannot cope with life, and you notice these symptoms starting to occur, you are likely suffering form acute stress. 

Next, identify the cause of your stress. 

Take a close look at current situations in your life. Chances are you will be able to pinpoint a problem that is triggering your stress. 

Take action to dispose of your stress. Talk about your problem with a close friend. Face the stress-causing situation head on – do not run away from it. 

You can displace your anger, too, by cussing a golf ball or yelling at the cat. You do not have to punch somebody out to blow off steam. 

If situations where you cannot show your anger, get away from the stress-causing situation for a while. Take a break, walk around the corner. 

If you can physically remove yourself from the stressful situation, you can minimize its effects on you. This is one of the best therapies for relieving stress. 

When you are faced with a serious problem, do not try to solve it all at once. Take one step at a time. You will ultimately be able to resolve the problem. 

To make it easier to tackle the problems causing your stress, you should take good care of your body. Eat properly, get enough rest, avoid pushing yourself to physical and emotional limits, and exercise. 

Place stressful factors in perspective. Do not agonize over stress-causing situations you cannot control. For instance, if you lose a loved one or friend, do not let it gnaw away at you for months and months. Realize you cannot bring the person back – and get on with your life. 

Also, do not waste time worrying about problems that really are not serious. Stand back and ask yourself whether another person would allow that particular situation to cause them anxiety. Often you will realize that you are overacting. 

Do not resort to alcohol or drugs when you are under stress. These only compound the stress. When the drugs or alcohol wears off, the stressful situation is still there. 

Avoid doing anything to hurt yourself as a response to stress. Vent your stress in a non-harmful way. 

Following these steps is the number one way to turn stress into energy. Not only will it give you the strength and resolve to handle stressful situations – it also will dramatically reduce those occasions when you suffer the symptoms of stress. 

- Source Unknown 

Marathons May Cause Heart Damage

There is good news and bad news to report about marathon runners and their hearts. Previous research had shown cardiac irregularities in some more inexperienced runners after a race.

A new study, presented recently at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego, appears to be the first to use cardiac, magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) after a marathon to test for heart injury. CMRI allows physicians to assess cardiac function and health.

Researchers from the University of Manitoba in Canada studied 14 casual runners who ran in the 2008 Manitoba Marathon. They were tested before the race for cardiac biomarkers that revealed the health of their hearts. After the race, they were given additional blood tests, plus echocardiograms and CMRIs.

The bad news: Results of the echocardiograms and CMRIs immediately after the race showed abnormalities on both sides of the heart. Also, the pumping capabilities of the right ventricle went from 64 per cent to 43 per cent.

The good news: Even tough cardiac biomarkers were irregular after the marathon, researchers concluded that there was no sign of permanent injury to the muscle.

Plans are in the works by the researchers to conduct further studies to see if these abnormalities cause any permanent damage in people who run more than one marathon a year. 

- Los Angeles Times 

Reality And Imaginary

              A noted archbishop once asked an actor this question: “Can you tell me why actors can make people feel as if all that transpires on the stage is reality, while we in the church seem to give people the impression that what we are talking about is imaginary?”

              The actor replied, “Why really, I don’t know. Unless we actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real; while you in the pulpit speak of things real as if they were imaginary.”

The Girl's Dilemma

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. 

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. 

The cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. And the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag. 

If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail. 

All the villagers were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. 

The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. 

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. 

Now, imagine you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble. 

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat. 

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment. 

Take a moment to ponder over the story. 

The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers. 

What would you recommend to the girl to do?

Well, this was what she did……

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." 

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one. 

MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. 

Charisma

People who radiate magnetism are closely in touch with their senses and their deepest, rawest emotions. They’re not necessarily always what is called ‘gentlemanly,’ or ‘ladylike,’ but they are human, honest and very much alive. And very few people are immune to their attraction.

You were born with the capacity to be imaginative, inquisitive, creative, exciting. You have the potential to radiate that strange and nearly irresistible quality. But you may be afraid that it may make a mockery of ‘refinement.’ And, as a result, you miss out on an untold wealth of experience and pleasure.

You have probably worried so much about what others think of you that you have managed to lose every shred of individuality and imaginativeness you ever possessed.

Freeing your imagination means recovering that youthfulness or spirit that you once had. It means being your unique self without worrying about what you’re ‘supposed’ to be for your age, or your position in the world. It doesn’t take any special skills or tricks. Simply free your senses; let them enjoy all the experiences life has to offer.

People will be swept along with you if you can get in touch with your repressed imaginative powers. It is something everyone is really dying to do. So be the leader. Be the one who starts a song session at a party, who suggests a picnic lunch in the park. Be the one to dress as the spirit moves you. The one who isn’t afraid to get up and dance, to be silly or to sit quietly in an armchair by the fire and dream.

Plunge without fear into the repressed regions of your mind; open up conversation with the inner you, the imaginative, creative, emotional you. You may well find wild contradictions there; inside you there may a sage and a clown, a mountain-climber and a mystic, a beach bum and an intrepid explorer. That’s okay. There is no eternal law that says you have to be consistent. 

You are really many people. Discover them all; get acquainted with the many facets of your personality. You’ll be refreshed, inspired. Other people will be fascinated and attracted to you. And more important, they will be inspired by you. By showing them the power and the breadth and the excitement of your imagination, you will help them discover their own.

Here are some areas you have to work on if you want to radiate magneticism, if you want to be charismatic:

a) Your conversations

b) Your emotions

c) Taking risks

Conversations

Life is too short to waste doing meaningless things! If you want your social life to be more interesting and exciting, if you want to get more stimulation out of life and people, and if you hope to be more attractive to others; to be someone who is remembered, admired, liked, desired – get rid of the whole concept that conversation has to be polite and inoffensive.

When you’re with others especially with people you don’t know too well and on whom you want to make a positive impression, you probably repress at least 75 percent of the things that come to your mind – because your built-in censor tells you that there are vulgar, crazy, hurtful, provocative, etc. Of course, the censor can’t be completely inoperative – there are some things that shouldn’t be said – but as a rule, that little blue pencil crosses out much too much. 

You are probably over-careful, you bend over backwards in order to avoid giving offence or giving ‘the wrong impression’, and as a result it’s often only the most banal, insipid, meaningless things that get said. You have to go a lot further than you think you do in breaking the rules of ‘polite’ conversation in order to get into trouble.

You don’t have to believe it: just try it. Express yourself honestly and freely; don’t bottle up your feelings in the service of some unwritten code of polite conversation. Polite conversation is really non-conversation. 

Breaking through the inane trivia of small talk always makes an impression. People will remember you. Of course, if you sit and make small talk with someone for an entire evening, they may well remember you also, simple because they’ve spent a long time with you. But they won’t remember what you’ve said, because there will have been nothing to set you apart from a hundred or a thousand other people. After hours of talk, you won’t know them, and they won’t know you.

People who are gutsy enough to say what they feel come across as decisive, forceful, positive – as someone to be reckoned with. Words can make a beautiful, dynamic person out of one who is quite average-looking.

The first attraction may come through the eyes, but people almost never remain attracted for long unless there’s more to someone than just a pretty façade. Your words – what you choose to say, and the way you say it – express your personality.

Don’t limit your vocabulary – that’s boring. Explore new words; words you like the sound of, that have special meanings for you, that express precisely the shade of meaning you’ve been looking for.

Words are uniquely human. They’re your greatest tool in connecting with others and making yourself interesting to others. Use them! Do not be afraid and too inhibited to let your words express you. 

Emotions

It’s often been said that someone deeply in love radiates an inner beauty. This isn’t just poetic overstatement. It is literally true. 

Strong emotion like love, joy, anger, and excitement can have an effect, not only on your face, but also on your movement, posture and bearing. It can change a person’s whole appearance.

You probably keep your emotions tightly in check when you are with other people.

From the constant habit of restraining those emotions, eventually you begin to lose your capacity to feel them. Your ‘public’ self – the ordinary, calm, businesslike image that you think is the ‘safe’ one to show to the world – starts to block the inner self, the feeling self, not only from the public but also from your own consciousness. You lose touch with your own reality. You become a plastic person – neatly packaged, antiseptic, and not really alive.

Have you really ever allowed yourself, since you became an adult, to feel as deeply and completely as you could when you are a child? When’s the last time your whole being was swept up in something – a cause, a belief, and experience, a person? When’s the last time you got up at dawn and felt the mystery and wonder of the world’s reawakening? Or lost yourself in the rapture of love? Or knew there was something so important to you that you would willingly sacrifice everything for it.

Watch the faces of the people you know. See what happens to the ones who permit themselves to show emotion. Happiness, love, excitement, brings about a visible – and positive – change in the features. Their eyes glow, their cheeks blaze, they look powerful and commanding. 

To be alive means to be warm, vibrant, and passionate. The next time you find yourself feeling a strong emotion, don’t turn it off, even if you’re with other people. Allow it to happen. Allow yourself to feel deeply, and then to show that feeling – to laugh or weep or clap your hands in joy. 

People are always drawn to those who aren’t afraid to let themselves feel, who add drama and excitement to life, who give them that rush of sensation, that shock that reminds them that they, too, can be more fully alive. They are swept along by those who are wide open to life, as though on the crest of a wave – they want to join you, to participate in the funny, crazy, sad, beautiful experiences of life, if someone will only show them the way.

Taking Risks

Taking risks is scary. But if you are willing to take a risk, to do something that frightens you, you will excite and stimulate people, and set their blood racing in a way that the dull, secure plodder can never hope to do.

Taking risks, after all, is what life is all about. Everyone who has ever taken a job, gone on a trip, embarked on any kind of enterprise whatever, has taken a risk. Most people take only the risks that are an integral part of living, that can’t be avoided.

Do something that frightens you; choose something that you’ve wanted to do, but have been reluctant because it frightens or threatens you. Make an agreement with yourself that you’re going to do it - whether it’s calling someone you’re attracted to but who intimidates you, or asking for a raise, starting a conversation with a stranger, or whatever. 

Watch your reactions as you do this frightening thing. Let yourself experience the fear; don’t try to turn it off or avoid it. Live through it. You will realize that it hasn’t killed you, that you’re intact, maybe even exhilarated for having survived it. And the next time, you will probably be able to meet a challenge with more confidence.

Learning to take risks can be mind-opening and life-expanding experience. When you are able to do things you’re afraid of, your self-confidence will jump 100 percent. It will show in your expression, in the way you carry yourself, the way you behave toward others.

Most of the risks that you’re afraid of are probably small things: Taking a new job, going back to school, calling the person you’re attracted to, speaking out in public, taking a trip alone. Because of the fears and lack of confidence, they often loom larger in your mind than trekking across the Sahara.

Success or failure may not be the most important thing. It’s your willingness to risk that will make you a more attractive dynamic interesting person.

- Source Unknown

Banish Bad Breath With Parsley?

The claim: Eating parsley can eliminate bad breath.

The facts: People have long tried to freshen their breath with parsley.

              Its fresh, strong flavour would seem to make it a natural deodorizer. And its deep green colour is a sign of ample chlorophyll, which is thought to have some antibacterial properties. (The sulphur compounds that give rise to bad breath are produced by various strains of bacteria that feast on food deposits and other debris in the back of the mouth.)

              However, researchers who have looked into this particular folk remedy have found little evidence that it works. Studies that have examined its effects in the mouth have found that while it may have some small initial effect on odour – mostly by masking it – parsley odes little to reduce the concentration of volatile sulphur compounds.

              One unlikely food that has been shown to reduce levels of sulphur compounds, however, is green tea, although the effect may be temporary, lasting no more than an hour or two.

              Mouthwashes can be effective when they contain two ingredients in particular: zinc and chlorhexidine.

              However, those that contain alcohol may make the problem worse by drying the mouth. Several studies have also identified a number of other factors that contribute to bad breath, including being overweight, drinking heavily and smoking.

The bottom line: There is little evidence that parsley can counteract bad breath.

- The New York Times