Wait! . . . What About The Pandemic?! November 13, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Humor, Joke, Mindfulness.comments closed
I just received this holiday missive in my in box from Visit Orlando:
Florida Residents – Don’t Skip These Savings!
It’s holiday season in Orlando!
Come share in the holiday spirit in Orlando’s world-famous theme parks and resort hotels as they dazzle with jubilant cheer along with miles of garland and twinkling lights.
Holiday traditions and joyful celebrations transform Orlando — Theme Park Capital of the World ® — into a magical wonderland guaranteed to have your family singing “fa-la-la-la” all the way home.
Celebrate the holiday season with our list of events, parades and lights, including several options at low or no cost, or included with theme park admission.
Because the holidays are a joyous time — and no destination is more joyous than Orlando.
No mention of Covid-19.
No mention of the rising case load and overcrowded hospitals.
No mention of asymptomatic health care workers who’ve tested positive for Covid being kept in the rotation to treat patients.
No mention of masks or social distancing or pandemic precautions.
WTF?!
Are “miles of garland and twinkling lights” enough to entice Covidiots to ignore the experts and put their lives on the line in order to stand in line?
Oh, wait . . .
My mistake.
It’s a “magical wonderland” . . . I guess that means that Cinderella’s fairy godmother waves her magic wand and eradicates the virus from all and sundry entering the theme parks.
Fa-La-La-La-La!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Who Ya Gonna Call? November 1, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Health & Wellness, Less IS More, Life Balance.comments closed
Feeling Anxious?
Out of sorts?
Not your normal cheery Tiggerific self?
Ready to get back on track?
To stop trudging through the sludge?
To restore your demeanor and return a bounce to your step?
Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters?
Nah! Halloween’s over. The US Election is on Tuesday. And we’re still in the midst of a Pandemic.
What we need to alleviate accumulated anxiety is some high quality Stress Busters!
Like Water Lilies!
What? Not enough?
Don’t worry, I got your back.
If those gorgeous water lilies didn’t calm your inner beasties . . . check out the New York Times “Election Distractor” for soothing waterfalls, mesmerizing undersea creatures, flickering candles, wafting smoke, plus infant stars, a bevy of swans, bright moons, thirsty sheep, tired Teddy Bears, etc.
First up ~> rotating Avocados!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Earth Optimism September 21, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Less IS More, Life Balance.comments closed
Change is happening . . . sometimes for the good!
Aah . . . that’s better!
To learn more: Earth Optimism (Smithsonian Conservation Commons)
Social Distancing Can Be Squirrely August 15, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Home & Garden, Humor.comments closed
Aah . . . that’s the ticket!
To read about the extra precautions William & Mary is taking as students return to campus for Fall Semester:
Let There Be Music July 27, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Life Balance, Music & Dance.comments closed
Listening to music is good for your mood . . . and your health!
“Studies have shown that music can buoy your mood and fend off depression. It can also improve blood flow in ways similar to statins, lower your levels of stress-related hormones like cortisol and ease pain.
“Listening to music before an operation can even improve post-surgery outcomes.”
To learn more: Is Listening to Music Good For Your Health? (TIME)
Music is especially good for your health if you ZUMBA while listening!
“The workout-in-disguise has unique physical and mental health benefits. [One] study linked Zumba’s hip-swinging, stomach-gyrating movements to increased core and trunk strength and better balance in older overweight women. After just eight weeks, the women’s quality-of-life scores jumped 9% and their self-esteem increased 16%.
“A related study on Zumba’s psychological benefits found that people who practice it feel more independent and said that their lives seemed more purposeful.”
To learn more: Why Zumba is Insanely Good Exercise (TIME)
Aah . . . that’s better!
Changes For The Good June 17, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Health & Wellness, Home & Garden.comments closed
The CoVid-19 Pandemic has changed our lives in many ways . . . and some of those ways are good for us.
We’re shopping less and exercising more. We’re eating out less and doing more home cooking. We’re taking time to slow down and spend more time in nature . . . right in our own backyards!
Best of all?
Many of us plan to hang on to those changes even after the current pandemic ends.
To read more:
The Coronavirus Quarantine Has Changed Us ~ And It’s Not All Bad (VOX)
Aah . . . that’s better!
A Spot of Humor April 21, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Humor, Joke.comments closed
Late-night comedy:
After protesters called for the end of stay-at-home orders, Jimmy Kimmel said, “It’s like if the Titanic was headed towards the iceberg, and half of the passengers were like, ‘Can you please speed this thing up?’”
Opening up too soon = surrendering to the virus.
Stay well by staying well apart from others.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Acceptance Is Power March 26, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Life Balance, Mindfulness, People.comments closed
I read an interesting article yesterday in the Harvard Business Review about the “grief” we’re feeling as a result of CoVid-19 and its inherent uncertainty:
That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief
The article is worth a read. Here’s a brief excerpt:
You said we’re feeling more than one kind of grief?
Yes, we’re also feeling anticipatory grief. Anticipatory grief is that feeling we get about what the future holds when we’re uncertain. Usually it centers on death. We feel it when someone gets a dire diagnosis or when we have the normal thought that we’ll lose a parent someday. Anticipatory grief is also more broadly imagined futures. There is a storm coming. There’s something bad out there. With a virus, this kind of grief is so confusing for people. Our primitive mind knows something bad is happening, but you can’t see it. This breaks our sense of safety. We’re feeling that loss of safety. I don’t think we’ve collectively lost our sense of general safety like this. Individually or as smaller groups, people have felt this. But all together, this is new. We are grieving on a micro and a macro level.
What can individuals do to manage all this grief?
Understanding the stages of grief is a start. But whenever I talk about the stages of grief, I have to remind people that the stages aren’t linear and may not happen in this order. It’s not a map but it provides some scaffolding for this unknown world. There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed.
Acceptance, as you might imagine, is where the power lies. We find control in acceptance. I can wash my hands. I can keep a safe distance. I can learn how to work virtually.
I can accept the what is.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Sleep, Rinse, Repeat . . . March 22, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Health & Wellness.comments closed
Getting plenty of deep, restful sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. Now comes word of yet another way that sleep is good for us: it triggers rhythmic waves of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that appear to function much like a washing machine’s rinse cycle, which may help to clear the brain of toxic waste on a regular basis.
Aah . . . that’s better!
To read more: Discovering the Brain’s Nightly “Rinse Cycle”
For Quarantines, Stock Up On Beans! March 17, 2020
Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Health & Wellness.comments closed
If you’re wondering which canned goods to put in your grocery cart to keep you satisfied during COVID-19 quarantines, start with beans!
They’re loaded with Fiber, Iron, B Vitamins, and Protein for a few cents a serving.
Eating beans will aid digestion, lower cholesterol levels, and regulate blood sugar (reducing the risk of diabetes).
Beans are good for your heart, great for your waistline, and they might even reduce your risk of colorectal and other cancers.
And they are so versatile ~ add them to soups, stews, or casseroles; whip up a batch of hummus; add garbanzo beans to your tossed salad; serve refried beans for Cinco de Mayo; enjoy a hearty bowl of black bean soup; etc.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Spirit Lights The Way 