Are you rooting for a special team right now? With college basketball play offs narrowing down, you may be finding yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, cheering for your team!
Are you hoping that the ball will have just the right amount of spin go in for more points or dance around the rim to keep the opposing team from taking the lead?
Passions runs high. Just look at the faces of the fans in the stands. You see everything from pure ecstasy to total despondency. And the players … every missed shot will be replayed for the rest of their lives.
Actions bring results – every time. Being good – or bad – depends on the action.
Players work very hard on perfecting their actions. They hone their skills and work so closely with each other every day, they can read and anticipate their teammates’ movements in an instant.
Getting a team to function like a whole does not happen overnight. Each member must be totally committed to the team. Their goals are the same. They are headed in the same direction. Everyone has each other’s back. They pull for each other.
YOU are on a team.
You ARE the team.
Each of us needs our brain, body, and emotions to be working together as a team – pulling in the same direction.
Oh, your body may be dragging along with your brain, but are the decisions your brain is making helping your body?
Is your body being allowed to rest enough to help your brain function and keep your emotions balanced? Are you feeding your team the right food?
Or, are you putting diesel fuel into a gasoline engine and still expecting it to drive smoothly?
Keeping our respective teams functioning smoothly is what foodtalk4you is all about. Food for the body, mind, and spirit!
After an innocent conversation with a fellow patient in a doctor’s office waiting room recently, I felt compelled to remind each of us about the concept of teamwork.
We were just passing the time and making the day by talking about collards, of all things. Her daughter had remarked earlier about wanting some collards. I added that they sounded good to me, too. We exchanged information about where to buy the freshest ones.
As we all gradually moved up the next-patient-to-be-seen pecking ladder, we were ultimately transferred to the inner office waiting room before being called to see our doctors. We resumed our collard collaborations.
How do I fix mine? I render out a piece of “streak of lean” – that’s Southern for salt pork with a bit of meat in it – followed by steaming cut, cleaned collard leaves, minus the stems, in that same pan. I rely on the moisture of the wet leaves and on gradual small additions of low sodium chicken broth to steam the leaves until tender. The rendered fat will be chopped and added to the cooking leaves. Maybe add some crushed red pepper. Extra salt may or may not be needed. Everyone loves my collards.
My waiting room companion exclaimed, “Oh, you do it healthy!”
She related her method which included generous portions of ham, some type of pig’s tails, lots of fat, and added salt.
Two people. Two choices. Two teams with different results.
You want a lower blood pressure? Your body certainly does! Rather than reach for another blood pressure pill, take the reins and captain your team!
Allow your body to work the way you’d like it to work. You want it to work perfectly – all day, every day, right? Pull in the same direction. All day, every day. Stop putting diesel fuel into your gas engine!
Okay, but there’s Thanksgiving – Christmas – Hanukah – New Year’s – Super Bowl – Valentines – St. Patrick’s – March Madness – birthdays – anniversaries – graduations – (I-could-go-on-and-on).
Clearly, there is no time to avoid justifying going off the deep end.
Every day could be a cheat day – if you think that treating your body is a negative.
Is loving your sweetheart a negative? How about your child? A negative? Looking for a ‘cheat’ day to not love them?
Sounds outrageous, right?
Sometimes it may take an extra effort to do what’s right for our bodies, but we are on a TEAM and we are called to do what’s right because we love our team.
What we put into our bodies, how we treat our bodies, should be a reflection of that love.
Just sayin’-
Deidre –
I’m headed to the kitchen for a workout with Beach Boy oldies playing. There’s too much pollen outside to walk or jog around a la Jane Austen (see last week’s post). Trying to show some love here.
tempting. A great gift idea, too. Haven’t taken that swab plunge yet, but sometimes a very Nordic, “Yah,” periodically comes out of my mouth that I wonder, “where did that come from?”
what I mean: some ‘random’ thing that leads to something else that leads to something else? The dominoes keep tipping over in a beautiful opening of blessings?
One evening, we dined with an Amish family who served traditional Amish fare supplied by a local restaurant and who opened up for an honest and frank question and answer period. As a personal thank you gift, I gave her a signed copy of my book, Toolkit for Wellness, as a gesture of sharing, in kind, a bit of myself.
when her husband had died in 2010, but that she waited two years to read it. She said that reading the book, When God Winks at You, changed her life.
accident that you just picked up When God Winks. In fact, you may have suspected all along that there is more to coincidence than meets the eye. These seemingly random events are actually sign posts that can help you successfully navigate your career, relationships, and interests. By recognizing the God winks our Creator sometimes places in our paths, we can understand—and embrace—the journey God has laid out for us.
Speaking of book-giving at Christmas – where did that tradition come from? I have always loved giving and getting books for Christmas. Yah?
items readily available to give as gifts at Christmas. Hence, a strong tradition of book ownership, reading, and Christmas gift preferences.
While change is one of the few constants in this world, it’s the one we tend to like the least. The older we get, the tighter we cling to the old ways and resist anything new.
I have to say that the simple wisdom found in this quick read of Out of the Maze has helped me in my own transitions of late. It’s a great book to pull off the shelf at the start of each New Year as we all move forward with our lives and pause to reflect on our progress or to consider if we are ‘stuck’ in a maze.
targeted to be ‘food’ for your mind, body, and spirit.
Thanksgiving? Leftovers may be my favorite part of the holiday, so it seems appropriate to have savored my Cranberry Secret Sauce over some peanut butter on gluten free toast for breakfast today.
Check last week’s post to keep that tasty and versatile jewel of redness around for the whole holiday season.
bacterial hand soap.
Finally, Bath and Body Works and other purveyors of “soap-ness,” have returned to offering most of their wares in the non-antibacterial form. Excellent!
squirt-top container, I discovered regular liquid is too thick to go through the apparatus. What to do? I tried diluting the liquid – one-part soap to 2-3 parts water – guess what? Foaming soap! Think of all the water I had been buying all those years.
No matter what soap we use, the trick is in proper handwashing technique. Rub, rub, rub those dirty paws thoroughly. Get to all surfaces of the hands, between fingers, and scrape your nails along the palm of the opposite hand to drive the soap bubbles underneath them. The rubbing process with soapy hands should last for 15-20 seconds or two hums of the Happy Birthday song.
truly proper handwashing, coupled with not touching your face, will break that hand-to-mouth/eye/nose circle of germ circulation.
Today’s next tidbit is something I’ve successfully employed in my recovery from being in a hypervigilant state for the past two years – even longer, as I endeavored to be “on-the-ready” for my husband’s changing needs.
mean our nervous systems magically switch to a normal maintenance mode. Some of my symptoms were manifesting as an irregular heartbeat at bedtime.
Maybe you, too, are trying to come off of a hypervigilant state. Whether it’s a different living circumstance, a change in jobs, or a change in relationships, converting to a calmer state of mind is not easy. Others may wonder why you may be having a rough time since the “problem” has been eliminated.
While I am still very much a work in progress, I would like to share a bit of success that may help you, too. Curing hypervigilance and anxiety requires a multi-faceted approach, often with professional counselors, but this may be a starting point for you.
This is how that went for me – here comes that nightly tension; I’m feeling those strong erratic beats of my heart which causes more anxiety – and instead of the usual tailspin, I applied alternate thinking.
quiet breathing.
Remember to be “off screen” before bed each night; the blue light of electronic screens is detrimental to the production of sleep-inducing hormones. Read something relaxing and helpful from a good old-fashioned printed book. It can be part of your winding-down routine for a good night’s sleep.
working is a big job. While post-hurricane mold spores swirl in the air along with the usual mix of wintertime viruses, many of us are walking a thin line between health and vocal collapse.
I’ve cheated the all-night simmering of chicken bones with large boxes of organic, free range, chicken bone broth.
2 chicken thighs
It’s that good.
“bad ones”
1 cinnamon stick
sweetness later on during cooking)
Place a sieve over a bowl. Pour raspberries and their juices into sieve. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, press the berries through the sieve until only seeds remain.
Dice up the peeled pear. I usually make a small dice by slicing through the thick part of each pear quarter, make lengthwise slices of both layers, then cut horizontally to make small pieces. Add pear to the cooking berries.
When you deem the sauce is finished cooking by noting the consistency and the popped state of the berries, turn off the heat and allow to cool a bit. Remove the cinnamon stick.
some of the happiest times of the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year’s Day – to name a few. Maybe a birthday or an anniversary will be added to the mix. Some of us, however, may be caught up in the poignancy of All Saints’ Day Memorials – remembering those who have passed away in the last 
year – or in Veterans’ Day tributes to those who have given their all for us in battles of war.
may have resulted in the physical and emotional rugs being jerked out from under us, many of us are just trying to suck in all of our emotions.
But is that the right approach?
produce about 10 ounces of tears a day and 30 gallons a year. Toddlers probably exceed that.
such as dust, wind, or onions.
Tears release toxins from the body – The tears we release when crying actually wash away the chemicals that raise the stress hormone (cortisol) inside of us. Other chemicals found in our emotional tears include the “feel good” hormones, called endorphins, that help to decrease pain.
have been shown to help kill anthrax.
Tears relieve stress – Stress activates our Sympathetic Nervous System or our fight-or-flight response. Tears counter that by activating our calming system called the Parasympathetic System. Again, our tears cause the stress hormones and toxins to wash away, thereby reducing tension. As one article pointed out, tears are certainly a healthier option to punching a brick wall and cause no physical injury, no headaches, and do not contribute to higher blood pressures.
moments and can put an emphasis on the emotional component of a verbal exchange.
If you aren’t going to be home for Christmas; if your family does not look like a Norman Rockwell painting; if you are going to spend the first holidays without a special someone; chances are, a good cry may come your way.
others in similar circumstances (or worse) and be a light in the darkness for them. Call others on a whim. Surprise an acquaintance with a small gift or flower, or physically be there for someone in need.
box of Kleenex. You may need to see the doctor. Be alert for signs of depression in yourself or others which will also include some, or all, of the following indicators:
Depression will not be fixed by a good cry. Depression is not fixed by “pulling up your own boot straps.” If you see yourself in the list above, please make contacting a physician a priority. You do not have to feel like that. There is help!