Blog contributor ~ Just Because

Blog Contributor ~ Just Because

 

Funny, sometimes moving and always enjoyable, “Just  Because” is a whimsical, English  work of

Maria del Carmen Polo Soler.  

http://justbecausecarmen.blogspot.com/

 

From the sophisticated city of Madrid Spain, Maria is a prolific blogger and writes about her life, travels, family, successes , struggles, hobbies and interests. A poet and artist, Maria shares her broad world views with us daily and we are better for it.

I would like to thank Maria for her contributions and encourage all with common interest to visit her on any or all of her blogs.

 

My Other Blogs & sites:

• LIFE AND TRAIL………………………………… http://vidaysendero.blogspot.com/
•  Firefly in the night…………………………… http://luciernagas-en-la-noche.blogspot.com/
•  NOMADS…………………………………………..http://carmennomadas.blogspot.com/
•  LES ROUGE Amandiers FLEURISSAIENT….http://lesamandiersfleurissaientrouge.blogspot.com/
•  REFLECTIONS……………………………………http://wwwlucesysombras.blogspot.com/

Blog Contributor ~ Adventures With Wendy

 

Blog Contributor ~ Adventures With Wendy

Wendy Farha

 

I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I love life, I love living, and I love the thought of encouraging people to pursue their dreams. I’m a pilgrim, just like you, walking along this path we call life. I started this blog when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2009. I hope it encourages you to read it as much as it encourages me to write it!

http://wwwadventureswendy.blogspot.com/

Health Tip

Health tip

                                                                                                                   

If you are only willing to invest 30 minutes a week in your Health maintenance!

A new study compared two groups of men 40 to 75 years old that did 30 minutes a week of weigh lifting versus fast walking; both groups reduced their risk of heart disease by 23% versus 18% respectively.

 

 

 

 

While earlier studies have clearly demonstrated the advantage of aerobic exercise, if you only have time for one thing, lifting weights may be what you should choose.

Getting adequate calcium and vitamin D is an important factor in reducing your risk of osteoporosis in addition to weight bearing exercise. If you already have osteoporosis, getting adequate calcium and

vitamin D, as well as taking other measures, can help prevent your bones from becoming weaker.

Our Past..An albatross?

A bit of history about this post: A few weeks ago I posed a question to a group that was based on a statement that was given to me previously.        As I read the statement I realized how much this person’s perception was reflected in it.  I concluded that this may be a wonderful way to get to know my group,  of 35 or so, better.  I asked them to give me their candid opinion about this statement. I informed them that there was no right or wrong answer and clarified that my primary interest was to get to know them better.

This is the statement that I shared with them:

“The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.” 

After 2 weeks time I shared with all of them my response as well. The following is my response and a snippet of the prospective that I received from the group.

“Hello my friends. Thank you for participating in my question game. I asked the question for one primary reason; To get to know you all better, in a more substantive way. As we have established, your  answers are not right or wrong. Each answer represents one person sharing with others their beliefs and feelings. This is a good thing, I believe,  in and of itself. Now that you have trusted me to answer the question I will also answer the same to share myself with you.

    Some of you believed the statement to be true for them just as it is stated. Others believe that all things do not have to be perfect and nice. That we need to just “make the best of what comes are way” or “to take life as it comes”. To live in the moment as they say. Yet others put value on the past, painful or good, to take from it lessons so that we learn from the past.

When I read this statement I saw it in the form of 2 statements:

1-The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past.

2-You can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

With the first statement I disagree. Reduced is the assumption:   Past = (failures+ unhappiness)

 This is such a dark prospective I believe this to be not only untrue but likely improbable. One cannot just forget what they have experienced since all things are logged in the subconscious mind and affects our behavior and responses to our world and others daily.

Short of “forgetting” the past one “represses the past” instead. When emotions are pushed down deep inside you, over time they affect our spirit and color our ability to relate to others. The repressed feelings can be pushed down in one place but will always pop up in another. So for me this is not good or healthy for us.

As for the second statement one cannot simply “let go” of failures and heartaches and I am not convinced that this is good to do. If we did this that we would repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Instead we learn from our failures and they become life’s lessons for us to take forward in our lives. Not to ruin our live but to enhance our life with the wisdom of living.

As for what we do with the pain or trauma of the past. How can we go forward if we carry too much pain?

We do this through the concept of “Resolution.”     It would not be possible to define it entirely in this post but it is an adjustment in our lens with which we see our world. When we are able to resolve this pain we may then remember the traumatic events without the pain that binds us and use this new outlook to propel us forward to a happier future.

Sometimes we need to take the time to step backward for us to go forward.

Thank you all again for sharing with me.

Always be well,

Carl

Are U a carrot, or an egg or coffee beans?

This post shared by my friend on Rediff iLand..Thank You for your contribution.

 A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.She did not know how she would make it and wanted to give up.She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard- boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?